KERALA CONSTRUCTION AND TAILORING WORKERS SOLIDARITY INTUC UNION,REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY SUKUMARAN N Vs. STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY FOR LABOUR DEPARTMENT, GOVT. SECRETARITE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in the writ petition is the General Secretary of a Trade Union of construction and tailoring workers. The grievance in the writ petition is primarily against the introduction of a new method of payment of contribution to the welfare fund constituted under the Kerala Tailoring Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1994. It is the case of the petitioner that, while under the erstwhile system of paying contributions, the workers had to pay the necessary contribution to the welfare fund by remitting the contribution amount in the bank in the account of the Welfare Fund Board, and produce the receipt evidencing remittance before the Welfare Fund Board for endorsement in a pass book that was issued to them by the respondent Board, in 2016 the system was changed to an online facility for payment of contribution, which is causing inconvenience to the members of the petitioner's union. It is also the case of the petitioner herein that in respect of some of the members of the union, while the members have produced the pass books issued to them, to show that the contribution had been paid to the welfare fund by the member concerned, during the period prior to 2016, in the virtual pass book that was made available thereafter, the prior contribution of the member concerned was not reflected. The petitioner, therefore, prays that such discrepancies noticed be directed to be corrected by the respondent Board immediately so as to enable the members of the petitioner unit to effect future contributions in accordance with the new format that is prescribed by the respondent Board.

(2.) A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the 2nd respondent Board, wherein the stand taken is that while, as per the provisions of the Kerala Tailoring Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1994, the Government as also the workers are required to effect a contribution to the welfare fund under the Act, and the workers concerned were effecting contribution by payment to the bank account of the Board, and thereafter, presenting the details of payments before the Board for entering in the pass book, it was found by the Board that a lot of entries made in the pass book were bogus, and hence, the Board decided to stop the practice of remittance of the contribution directly into the banks and set up a facility for effecting payments through electronic means. It is stated that, as per the present system in vogue, the workers concerned have only to register themselves initially through an Akshaya Centre or an Internet Cafe, and thereafter, they can use the said registration for the purposes of effecting contributions to the fund through the online banking facility of their choice. It is stated that the new system introduced by the Board prevents the possibility of any diversion of funds by the trade union leaders, which was noticed under the earlier system.

(3.) The counter affidavit filed on behalf of the 1st respondent also makes mention of the discrepancies noticed in the payment of contribution under the erstwhile system and it is stated that once the digitalisation work is completed, the worker concerned can access his/her account on online, and the said system would minimise the possibility of diversion of funds by trade union leaders that was noticed when the erstwhile system was in vogue.