PERUNGOTTUKURISSI SERVICE COOPERATIVE BANK LTD Vs. BALAKRISHNAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A Service Cooperative Bank is the petitioner.Respondents 1 and 2 are its employees.The 3rd respondent is the Labour Court and the 4th respondent is the State of Kerala.Respondents 1 and 2 filed C.P.545 of 1976 and 546 of 1976 under S.33C(2)of the Industrial Disputes Act,1947(hereinafter referred to as the Act)before the 3rd respondent claiming amounts alleged to be due to them from the petitioner society.Exts.P1 and P2 are the applications filed.The case of the 1st respondent in Ext.P1 was that he was employed under the petitioner as measurer of ration shop No.87 from 15th October 1969 onwards and that he had been paid at the rate of Rs.20 as salary for the first three months and thereafter at the rate of Rs.30 per month.This amount is far below the minimum wages fixed by the Government as well as under the Cooperative Societies Act,1969 and Rules.He also alleged that no dearness allowance was also paid to him.The total claim made by the 1st respondent was Rs.9,350.

(2.) THE 2nd respondent also made a similar claim,the total amount claimed by him being Rs.9,035.Exts.P3 and P4 are the receipts filed by the petitioner bank and Exts.P5 and P6,the rejoinders filed by respondents 1 and 2.On these materials and the evidence adduced before it,the 3rd respondent passed Ext.P7 combined order accepting the claim with slight modification regarding 1st respondent's claim.Ext.P7 order is under challenge in this petition.

(3.) THE .learned counsel for respondents 1 and 2 met the above contention with the plea that the claims come squarely within S.33C(2)of the Act,that it was not a matter to be decided by the Registrar and that respondents 1 and 2 were workmen under the Act.