MANAGING DIRECTOR Vs. INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant, a State Government undertaking is challenging the judgment of the learned Single Judge upholding Ext. P4 award of the Industrial Tribunal granting bonus to the headload workers engaged in one of the godowns of the appellant at Melamuri in Palakkad.

(2.) WE have heard counsel appearing for the appellant and counsel appearing for the second respondent and also gone through the judgment of the learned Single Judge and the award of the Industrial Tribunal. The contention of the appellant is that Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 (hereinafter called the Act) provides for bonus to employees and since the headload workers engaged for loading and unloading goods at the godown on contract are not employees of the appellant, they are not entitled to bonus under the Act. Counsel for the second respondent on the other hand contended that the very same employees were engaged althrough by the appellants depot for loading and unloading and since each of them have worked for more than thirty days in the relevant year i. e. 1990-91, they are rightly held to be entitled for bonus under the Act by the Industrial Tribunal as upheld by the learned Single Judge. Counsel further contended that it is a common practice that headload workers are paid bonus by various establishments including public sector undertakings.