F M KOLIA Vs. MEMBER INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL AHMEDABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is directed against the award made by the Industrial Court Gujarat in Reference No. (1C) 69 of 1980 under sec 73 of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act 1946 The facts of the case briefly stated are as under:

(2.) The Chalthan Kamdar Mandal the petitioner served upon the company respondent No. 2 a notice of change in which they demanded that for the purpose of payment of bonus to the workmen employed by respondent No. 2 company detention allowance should be regarded as remuneration or wages. There were conciliation proceedings between the parties which failed. Therefore reference of the dispute was made to the Industrial Court under sec. 73A of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act 1946 The Industrial Court by its award dated 11/07/1980 held that retention allowance was not a remuneration and that therefore it could not be included in the wages for the purpose of payment of bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act 1965 It is that award which is challenged in this petition by the workmens Union.

(3.) The nature of retention allowance is as follows. Respondent No. 2 runs a seasonal factory which crushes sugar cane and produces sugar. It does not work for all the twelve months in a wear. There is an off-sea- son during the year during which the factory remains closed. For this off-season during which the workmen suffer forced idleness full wages are not paid. There are several categories of workmen employed by respon- dent No. 2 company. There are unskilled workmen who are paid 10% of basic wages and deadness allowance as retention allowance during the off season. The second category consists of semi-skilled workmen who are paid 25% of basic wages and deadness allowance during the off-season. The rest are paid 50% of basic wages and deadness allowance during the off- season. The rest include skilled workmen Class C Class B Class A and Class A/1 and supervisory staffs Class C Class B Class A/2 and Class A/1.