DASAPPA D M Vs. LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who is a co-owner of Gargandur estate in Coorg district has filed this writ petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution for a writ of certiorari to quash the award by the labour court, Bangalore, on 29 June, 1966 in Reference No. 68 of 1965.

(2.) An industrial dispute arose between the management of the estate and the 58 workmen represented by respondent 2 regarding payment of wages for 3 May, 1964, the date on which the management had declared a festival holiday. Amongst the workmen of his establishment, some of the workmen were paid the wages for that day while the 58 persons were denied the wages for that day on the ground that they had not been in continuous service for a period of thirty days immediately preceding the said holiday. The workmen contended that all of them were permanent employees having put in years of service in the estate and were therefore entitled to payment of full wages for the festival holiday in question. By an order PLM 279 LLD 64, dated 28 October, 1965, the State Government made a reference of the dispute to the labour court setting out the following question for adjudication : "Are all the permanent workers shown in the annexure of Gargandur estate, entitled for full wages on 3 May, 1964 declared as a festival holiday?" In the statement filed by the management before the labour court it was contended that the holiday in question had been declared on the representation made by the workers through their representatives and that only such workmen were entitled to wages for the holidays as had put in thirty days' continuous service preceding such holiday. They denied that the holiday had been declared unilaterally and pleaded that the claim of the 58 workmen for wages for that day was liable to be rejected.

(3.) The workmen, on the other hand, contended that the declaration of the holiday was made unilaterally without the consent of the workers and the concerned authorities of the Labour Department, that the 58 workmen were all permanent employees of the estate and that they were entitled to payment of full wages for the festival holiday in question.