THE MANAGEMENT OF HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH STATION YERCAUD Vs. THE PRESIDING OFFICER LABOUR COURT SALEM AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the management of Horticultural Research Station at Yercaud, Salem District. In this Writ Petition, they have come forward to challenge an order passed by the 1st respondent Labour Court in C.P.Nos. 104 to 111 of 2006 dated 12.9.2007. By the aforesaid common order dated 12.9.2007, the Labour Court computed a sum of Rs. 50,512/ - payable to each one of the respondents 2 to 9 in this Writ Petition. The Writ Petition was admitted on 18.12.2007 Pending the Writ Petition, interim stay was granted on condition that the petitioner department deposits the admitted amount before the Labour Court within a period of four weeks. Aggrieved by the grant of interim stay, the contesting respondents filed M.P.No. 1 of 2010 for vacating the interim order and M.P.No. 2 of2010 for direction to pay the amount determined by the Labour Court by the impugned order pending disposal of the Writ Petition. However, no orders have been passed in these two applications. In the meanwhile, the main matter was listed for final hearing.

(2.) HEARD the arguments of Mr.S.Jayaraman learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.S.Vaidyanathan, learned counsel appearing for the contesting respondents 2 to 9. The case of the workman has a checkered history. The workmen initially were terminated from service and hence raised an industrial dispute regarding their non -employment. It was admitted by the Labour Court, Coimbatore in I.D.No. 127 of 1985. Under the said award, the Labour Court directed reinstatement of the 9 workers herein as well as two others with service continuity. The Labour Court directed that since they were only daily rated employees, for the male workers at the rate of Rs. 10/ - per day and for female workers at the rate of Rs. 18/ - per day backwages shall be paid. Aggrieved by the award passed by the Labour Court, the petitioner management preferred a Writ Petition being W.P.No. 8438 of 1991. The Writ Petition came to be allowed by the learned Single Judge on 4.3.1999. The aggrieved workmen filed a Writ Appeal being W.A.No. 759 of 1999 and a Division Bench of this Court by judgment dated 10.11.2004 allowed the Writ Appeal and restored the Award passed by the Labour Court. In the operative portion of the order in paragraph 6, the Division Bench directed as follows:

(3.) SUBSEQUENT to the order passed by the Division Bench, it was agreed by both sides that the contesting respondents have been restored to service and the only hitch was the amount of backwages to be paid to the workmen. The workmen not satisfied with the stand of the management preferred various claim petitions before the Labour Court under section 33(C -2) of the Industrial Disputes Act. The claim petitions preferred in June 2006 were assigned numbers from C.P.No. 104 to C.P.No. 111 of 2006.