MANAGEMENT DINDIGUL LADIES POLYTHENE WORKERS INDUSTRIAL CO OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED Vs. CONTROLLING AUTHORITY UNDER THE MINIMUM WAGES ACT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Short point falling for consideration is whether Minimum Wages Act is applicable to the Members of Co-operative Society who are engaged in the manufacture work.

(2.) Petitioner-Society has been registered under Factories Act and it has engaged in the production of Polythene bags. Petitioner-Society admitted 32 members/workers who were doing the work of folding, cutting etc. 2nd Respondent-Assistant Inspector of Factories, Dindigul inspected the Petitioner- Society. In the Claim Petition No. 55/2001 filed before the Authority under Minimum Wages Act, 2nd Respondent has stated that 32 workers are employed in the Polythene bag production work performing "jobbers" work, the employees are covered under Employees' State Insurance Act and Employees' Provident Fund Act and hence, Petitioner-Society falls under the coverage of Minimum Wages Act. The said 32 workers were not paid Minimum Wages as notified by the Government in G.O.(2D) No. 59 dated 19.12.1997 under the Minimum Wages Act for the period from January 2000 to August 2000.

(3.) Petitioner-Society resisted the Claim Petition stating that the members of the Society cannot be the employees and the said 32 persons are not the employees, but only members of the Society and those persons remain in the factory only one or two hours and that they are at liberty to leave the premises immediately after the completion of the quantum of work assigned to them. According to Petitioner-Society, their status cannot be equated as "Jobbers" which is grouped under the skilled categories in G.O.(2D) No. 59 dated 19.12.1997.