TAMIL NADU ALL CO-OPERATIVE AND PUBLIC SECTOR SUGAR MILLS Vs. NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE SUGAR MILLS LTD. AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Association by name Tamil Nadu All Co-operative and Public Sector Sugar Mills Staff Peravai has come forward with the writ petition in W.P. 2325/2004, challenging the impugned award made in I.D. No. 48/2000, in and under which, the 21st respondent Industrial Tribunal, though upheld the claim of the petitioner Association regarding parity in pay scale between the employees of erstwhile Common Cadre System (CCS) and the employees of non-common cadre system (non - CCS) in the Co-operative and Public Sector Sugar Mills in Tamil Nadu, has in order to achieve the parity, refused to enhance the pay of non-Common Cadre System employees on par with the erstwhile employees of Common Cadre System, but directed to restructure the pay of the erstwhile employees of common cadre system on par with other employees of equal status and directed the residue of higher pay that the erstwhile Common Cadre System employees enjoyed to be termed as personal pay susceptible for adjustment with future benefits. Aggrieved against that part of the award relating to the mode of achieving the parity, the petitioner Association has filed the present writ petition for issuance of a writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to quash the same and to direct the respondents 1 to 19 to pay the scale of pay, dearness allowance and house rent allowance and other benefits to non CCS employees on par with the erstwhile CCS employees of the respondent Mills, who are being paid all the benefits on par with the Government employees. During the pendency of W.P. No. 2325 of 2004 and when the issue raised in the writ petition is referred for mediation, the Commissioner/Director of Sugar passed an order dated 12.12.2008, thereby raising the Dearness Allowance payable to the erstwhile common cadre employees from 47% to 54% on par with DA payable to the Government employees, without allowing one such revision to non CCS employees. Challenging the same, W.P. No. 30656 of 2008 came to be filed by the petitioner Association to set aside the same and to direct the Commissioner/Director of Sugar not to widen the disparity in pay structure between two set of employees in the respondent Co-operative and Public Sector Sugar Mills.

(2.) The circumstances under which the reference was made before the 21st respondent Industrial Tribunal, are as follows:

(3.) The 21st respondent has passed the impugned award, while deciding the dispute raised before the same, which reads as follows: