NATIONAL PROJECTS CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION LTD. E Vs. NATIONAL PROJECTS CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION WORKERS UNION AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition challenges an award of the Labour Court, Agra published in the U. P. Gazette dated 13th May, 1972, Annexure 15-B to the writ petition. By this award the workmen employed in the petitioner Company drawing wages above Rs. 200/- per month have been granted house rent allowance at the rate of ten per cent per month as was granted to workmen getting wages below Rs. 200/- per month.

(2.) The petitioner is a public sector undertaking. Its shareholders include the Central Government and the Government of other States. The principal business of the petitioner-Company is to take contracts for execution of river valley projects and other allied civil works, It has its registered office at Delhi and other project offices at various places including Agra. The petitioner Company maintains an establishment at its Agra Unit. The workmen of the Agra Unit formed a Union and made various demands to the petitioner. One of the demands was that the work charged staff should be paid an increased house rent allowance. The work charged staff consisted of two categories of workmen, one drawing less than Rs. 200/- per month and the other drawing more than Rs. 200/- per month. The workmen drawing less than Rs. 200/- per month were allowed house rent allowance at the rate of 71/2 per cent by the Company, while those drawing wages above Rs. 200/- per month were paid that allowance at the rate of Rs. 5/- per cent of their wages in accordance with the Rules of the Corporation. The Union made a demand for the increase of the house rent allowance of the work charged staff. As a result the Government of Uttar Pradesh by its Notification dated 21st April, 1969 made a reference under Section 4-K of the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act to the Industrial Tribunal (II) Lucknow, for adjudication. The relevant issue for the present purposes was issue No. 3 which reads as follows:

(3.) Both parties appeared before the Industrial Tribunal. The workmen claimed an increase in allowance at a flat rate of 20% of their wages while the petitioner urged that the allowance paid to the employees needed no revision.