SIBYKUTTY FRANCIS Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether there is any distinction among the employees of the respondent Board; categorizing them as Officers and Workmen. Whether there is any bar on the so called Officers, from being members and office bearers of the Trade Union of Workmen. These are the two issues raised before this Court in the aforesaid writ petitions.

(2.) The petitioners are all Senior Superintendents/ Assistant Engineers under the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd. They had been going on with their trade union activities, associating themselves with the trade unions of employees of the Board for long, even after their promotion to the present posts. Some were elected as Office Bearers of a Trade Union and invited by the Management for the negotiations initiated between the Management and the Workmen to arrive at long term settlements. The others too participated actively in the union activities.

(3.) The petitioners challenge two orders one dated 30.05.2017 and the other dated 19.08.2017. The order dated 30.05.2017 is produced as Ext.P7 in W.P.(C) No.18766 of 2017 and is passed in compliance with the directions in W.P.(C) No.11027 of 2017, as evident from Ext.P3 produced therein. Ext.P3 is a judgment in a writ petition filed by a Sub-Engineer in the cadre of workmen, the party respondent in these writ petitions; relying on a Board Order and a Circular issued by the Chairman, prohibiting personnel in the officers cadre from indulging in trade union activities. The workman complained that the party respondents, who are in the officers cadre, continued as members of trade unions, got elected as office bearers and participated on behalf of the workmen in negotiations with the management. Ext.P7 relied on Board Order No. E.A. II - 18722/73 dated 19.01.1980 and Circular No. PSI/2946/2001/22 dated 05.01.2002 of the Chairman of the Board to find that the employees who get promoted to the Officers cadre like Assistant Engineer and Senior Superintendent shall not after such promotion indulge in trade union activities.