BOMBAY GAS COMPANY LIMITED Vs. JAGANNATH PANDURANG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of the judgment of the Bombay High court in Special Civil Application No. 1967 of 1965.

(2.) The 118 respondents are workmen of the appellant company working in different departments of the company's works. Respondents Nos. 1 to 14 are syphon pumpers. They filed 14 applications before the Additional Authority under S. 15 of the Payment of Wages Act claiming overtime villages for the period February 195 7/01/1958. Respondents Nos. 15 to 20 are mains workers. They filed 66 applications before the same authority claiming overtime wages for the period December 195 6/11/1957. Respondents Nos. 81 to118 filed 38 applications before the Third Additional Authority claiming wages for weekly off days. They belonged to the mains, heating appliances and fitting departments. They had joined the appellant company after 1948. The relevance of the reference to their having become workers of the company after 1948 will become clear when we deal with the facts of this case later.

(3.) Before the authority under the Payment of Wages Act the company contended that all the claims were barred under an award of the Industrial tribunal in Ref. No. 54 of 1949, which was made on 30/03/1950 and published on 11/05/1950. The authority held that (1) the claims of the booster attendants for wages for overtime work and weekly off days were covered by the award, (2) the claims of applicants other than booster attendants were not covered by the award, and (3) the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act was not applicable to them, and dismissed the applications of respondents Nos. 1 to 80. The applications made by respondents Nos. 81 to 118 were allowed by the Third Additional Authority holding that the award was no bar to those applications and that the provisions of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act were applicable.