PRIVATE HOSPITAL & NURSING HOMES ASSOCIATION Vs. SECRETARY LABOUR DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals take exception to the Judgment and order dated 29th March, 2019 by which, the learned Single Judge decided writ petition Nos.8388-8417/2017 and several other connected writ petitions.

(2.) The writ petitions arose out of the exercise of powers under Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (for short "the said Act of 1948"). Under Section 3 of the said Act, the Appropriate Government is required to fix minimum rates of wages payable to the employees, employed in any employments specified in Part-I or Part-II of the Schedule to the said Act of 1948. Section 5 of the said Act of 1948 lays down the procedure for fixing and revising minimum wages.

(3.) In the writ petitions filed before the learned Single Judge, which were decided by the impugned Judgment and order, there was a challenge by the employers to the Notifications issued under Sub-Section (2) read with clause (b) of Sub- Section (1) of Section 5 of the said Act of 1948 by the appropriate Government, which in this case is the State Government. These were notifications issued in respect of thirty seven (37) sectors of employment in the State in exercise of powers under Sub-Section (2) read with clause (b) of Sub- Section (1) of Section 5 of the said Act of 1948. The rates of minimum wages were fixed by the said notifications in respect of various categories of employments. Apart from that, there were three final notifications issued under sub-section (2) of Section-5 which were withdrawn by the State Government. One draft notification issued under clause (b) of Sub-Section (1) of Section-5 of the said Act of 1948 was also withdrawn. Those four notifications were withdrawn on 22nd March 2018. The three final notifications withdrawn were in respect of Textile (silk) industry, Spinning Mills Industry, Cloth Dyeing and Printing Industry respectively which were issued on 30th December, 2017. The withdrawn draft notification dated 22nd February 2018 was in respect of Tailoring Industry. W.P.No.18621/2018 was filed by a Union for challenging the withdrawal of the said four notifications. The said writ petition was rejected by the impugned Judgment and order. Writ Appeal No.1520/2019 filed by the Union of employees arises out of said writ petition. The rest of the writ petitions were filed by the employers and/or their associations for challenging particular notifications out of the said 37 notifications. There were diverse challenges in the writ petitions which were considered by the learned Single Judge by a detailed Judgment and order which is impugned in this group of appeals. While dealing with the challenge to the Notifications by the employers, certain parts of the impugned minimum wages notifications were quashed by the learned Single Judge without disturbing the rates of minimum wages fixed there under. As far as the writ petition filed by the Union of employees is concerned, as stated earlier, the learned Single Judge has declined to interfere with the action of the Government of withdrawing the four notifications. However, a direction was issued to the State Government to accomplish the fixation/revision of minimum wages in respect of the sectors which were subject matter of the four withdrawn notifications within the outer limit of six months. For the sake of convenience, we are reproducing the operative portion of the impugned Judgment and order dated 29th March, 2019 which reads thus: