MAHADEV TEXTILE MILLS HUBLI Vs. ADDL INDUS TRIBUNAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Art. 227, is directed against the Award dated 2oth Dec. 1972, made by the Addl. Industrial Tribunal, Bangalore, in A.I.D. No. 1 of 1971. The matter arises in this way: There is a textile mill at Hubli. Its management was frequently changed from hand to hand. Once it was taken over by the Karnataka Cooperative Textile Mills, Hubli. Or some ground, the management closed the mill from 1st Septr. 1969. Tn September 1970, its management was taken over by Mahadev Textile Mills and the mill started functioning again from 5th September 1970. The new management refused to absorb the ex-employees. Those employees started agitation. On 23rd October 1970, an agreement was reached between the new management and the ex-employees. Clauses 5 and 7 of the agreement are relevant and are as follows :

(2.) Before the Tribunal, the Union filed its claim statement, inter alia contending as follows: The present management has taken the mills on lease and has started the mills from 5th Septr. 1970. Since from the beginning, the attitude of the management is of anti-labour. The management was not giving preference for the employment to the old hands. They were bringing persons from outside to work in the mills. The interest of the workmen who were formerly working in the mills suffered. Hence the workmen raised protests. On 23rd October 1970 an agreement was reached between the workmen and the management. According to that agreement, the management agreed to employ 25 workmen on or before 15th November 1970. The management after repeated requests acted according tp the terms of the agreement and gave employment to the 24 workmen. These 24 workmen were permanent workmen. They were neither badali nor casual. When this was the position, the management all of a sudden, removed these 24 workmen including 10 women with effect from 23rd January 1971. When the other workmen came to know about it they resorted to strike as a protest against the attitude of the management for removing 24 workmen from service without any reason and without giving them any notice. The Deputy Labour Commissioner, Hubli was called to the Mills and he immediately started negotiations. When the conciliation was In progress, the management declared lock-out of the Mills from 25th January 1971. There was no violence by the workmen. There were absolutely no grounds to declare lockout. The lockout was illegal. The workers, resorted to strike from 24th January 1971 as a protest for the illegal removal of- 24 workmen. The strike was legal and justified. The lockout declared by the management was illegal and was not justified."

(3.) The management filed their counter raising the following objections:-