TAMILNADU ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. TAMIL MANILA THOZHILALAR SANGAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SINCE all these three Writ Appeals relate to an identical issue, they are being disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) WRIT Petitions, against the orders of which these WRIT appeals are filed, were : (i) for a declaration, declaring the workmen listed in Annexure I and II to the writ petition to be the workmen of respondents 1 and 2 therein, namely, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, who is the appellant herein, and consequently to direct the Board to regularise and absorb the workmen in service and pay them all past benefits as was paid to the permanent workmen, who were doing the same work before, and (ii) for a mandamus, directing the Government of Tamil Nadu, to exercise its power under Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,1970, and issue a notification, abolishing the employment of contract labour in Coal Handling plant Division and Central Stores in the workshop of Tamil Nadu Electricity board at Mettur Dam and consequently direct the Board, to absorb the workmen/petitioners.

(3.) THE learned single Judge, on going through the materials available on record and considering the rival contentions made by the learned counsel for the parties and also discussing the issue in detail as to whether the Contract Labour System has to be abolished in the areas where the petitioners are working, in terms of Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Abolition and Regulation) Act,1970, held that before issuing any notification under sub-section (1) of Section 10, the appropriate Government has to take note of the conditions of work and benefits provided for the contract labour in that establishment and also other relevant factors as enumerated in clauses (a)to (d) to sub-section (2) of Section 10 of the Act. THE learned single Judge also followed the settled legal propositions, particularly the decision of the hon'ble Supreme Court in Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour union, AIR 1997 Supreme Court 645, and directed the Government of Tamil Nadu to issue a Notification, abolishing the employment of contract labour system in central Stores and Coal Handling Plant Division, in the workshop of Tamil Nadu electricity Board at Mettur Dam, and to regularise and absorb the writ petitioners/workmen within a period of eight weeks thereafter.