UTTAM SUGAR MILLS LTD. Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these bunch of writ petitions, private sugar mills of Uttarakhand are before this Court as petitioners challenging the order passed by the State Government which has been made under Sec. 3(b) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The powers under which the impugned order has been passed are emergency powers, which are given to the State Government to meet a particular contingency. The relevant provision of Sec. 3(b) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 reads as under:

(2.) In this case, effectively what has been done by the State Government while exercising powers under Sec. 3 (b) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is to increase the wages of the workers which includes skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers in sugar factories. This has been done considering various parameters in mind such as rate of inflation, variable dearness allowance, etc. and by adoption of a certain formula. This Court has been apprised that under law, salaries of workers (including workers in the sugar factories) have to be determined by a wage board which periodically sits and determines these wages. This Court has also been apprised that the last wage board which considered the wages of the workers was in the year 1992 and after 1992 there is no report of any wage board. In the State of Uttar Pradesh as well as in the State of Uttarakhand, the only provision under which the buying capacity of the worker can meet the inflationary trend is by invoking powers under Sec. 3 (b) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This can be done after hearing all the concerned parties specially by a tripartite agreement.

(3.) In the writ petitions pertaining to the year 2013 i.e. Writ Petition (M/S) No. 134 of 2013, Writ Petition (M/S) No. 145 of 2013, Writ Petition (M/S) No. 155 of 2013 and Writ Petition (M/S) No. 189 of 2013, the order dtd. 8/9/2012 passed by the State Government under Sec. 3(b) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 increasing the wages of the workers of the sugar factory has been challenged. No order is being passed in these writ petitions. For all practical purposes these writ petitions have become infructuous. The reason being that during the pendency of these writ petitions, another order dtd. 29/12/2016 has been passed by the State Government under Sec. 3(b) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which is also under challenge.