VAZ FORWARDING PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner No. 1 are a company and are working as clearing and forwarding agents. The Maharashtra Legislature enacted the Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and other Manual Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ) and the preamble sets out that the Act was for regulating the employment of unprotected manual workers employed in certain employment in the State of Maharashtra, to make provision for their adequate supply and proper and full utilization in such employments, and for matters connected therewith. Section 3 of the Act confers power upon the State Government to frame schemes in respect of unprotected workers in any scheduled employment or employments and the scheduled employments are set out in the schedule to the Act. The first item in the schedule is in respect of employment in iron and steel market or shops in connection with loading, unloading, stacking, carrying, weighing, measuring or such other work including work preparatory or incidental to such operations. In exercise of powers conferred under section 3 of the Act, the Government of Maharashtra had framed scheme Known as "the Bombay Iron and Steel Unprotected Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Scheme, 1970.

(2.) SECTION 6 of the Act provides for constitution of Board for any scheduled employment in any area. The section provides that such Board shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and to contract and can sue or can be sued in the name of the Board. The Board consists of members representing the employers and unprotected workers in equal number. The State Government also nominates one-third of the total number of members representing employers and unprotected workers and one of the nominee of the State Government is appointed as Chairman of the Board. The powers and the duties of the Board are set out in section 7 of the Act. The Board is responsible for administering scheme and has to exercise powers and to discharge the functions as directed by the State Government from time to time. In accordance with the provisions of section 6, the Government of Maharashtra has constitued board known as "the Bombay Iron and Steel Labour Board". The Board was constituted in year 1970 and is discharging the functions from that year onwards. The scheme framed by the State Government, inter-alia, provides by Regulation 6 (11) (v) that the Board shall determine the wage, allowances and other conditions of service including age of retirement of the registered workers. It is required to be stated at this juncture that every workman is required to file an application for being registered under the scheme in accordance with section 18 of the Act. It is also necessary for the employer to be registered with the Board and the wages payable to the workmen registered are those determined by the Board from time to time. It is not in dispute that the wages payable to the workmen are revised after every six months right from the date of commencement of the Scheme and the Scheme demands that both the employers and the workmen will be bound to accept the determination of the wages. The wages are revised in consultation with the members of the Board and as mentioned hereinabove, the members are respresenting both the employers and the workmen.

(3.) THE petitioners filed present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India on March 16, 1986 and the reliefs sought in the petition are in respect of certain bills which the employer is required to pay for the work carried out by the workmen supplied by the Board. The grievance of the petitioners is that the bills which are prepared in accordance with rates of wages determined by the Board are exorbitant and the rates are fixed without any nexus to the work undertaken by the workmen. Shri Singh, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners, submitted that under the provisions of section 3 (2) (d) of the Act, it is the duty of the State Government to provide in the scheme the terms and conditions of employment including rates of wages and the State Government cannot abdicate powers conferred by the Legislature by permitting the Board to revise the rates of wages from time to time. The learned Counsel urged that the Legislature has delegated powers to the State Government to prepare a scheme and provide for the Terms and Conditions of employment including rates of wages and the State Government, to whom the powers are delegated, cannot further delegate the said powers to the Board constituted under the Scheme. The learned Counsel also urged that the rates of wages settled by the Board are exorbitant and has no relation to the nature of duties performed by the workmen. It was further submitted that for the same kind of work, the rates of wages fixed by Bombay Dock Labour Board are considerably less and the respondents are unable to explain the rationale fixing rates which are far in excess. Miss Desai, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Board and Shri. Dixit, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of State Government, controverted the submissions urged by the learned counsel. It was pointed out that the rates of wages are determined by the Board right from year 1970 onwards and the rates are revised in accordance with guidelines issued by the State Government. It was further contended that the petitioners have accepted the rates all along and it is not open to challenge the powers of the Board to revise the rates merely because in respect of certain work already carried out, the petitioners feel that the rates are exorbitant. It was contended that it is impossible to compare the rates of wages with the work carried out by the workers under the provisions of some other Acts and the grievance that the Board lacks the power to revise the rates is without any substance.