OIL AND NATURAL GAS COMMISSION HAVING ITS OFFICE Vs. PETROLEUM EMPLOYEES UNION BEING A REGISTERED TRADE UNION HAVING ITS OFFIE AT TEL RASAYAN BHAVAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (for short the Corporation*) is in appeal aggrieved by the order of the learned Single Judge dated January 13,1997 whereby the Corporation has been directed to absorb the canteen workers at serial Nos. 1 to 48 and 50 to 52 in Exhibit "A" annexed with the writ petition from the date of filing of the petition.

(2.) The Petroleum Employees Union and General Employees Association - respondent Nos. 1 and 2 (for short the Union) filed the writ petition before this Court inter alia, praying for absorption and regularisation of the employees as shown in Exhibit "A" to the petition employed in the canteens in the establishment of the Corporation. The case set up by the Union in the writ petition was that the Corporation has the canteens situated at LPG Plant, Uran, Exploration Business Offices, Priyadarshani and Andheri and Transportation and Shipping Office, Ballard Pier for the benefit of its workers. The LPG Plant, Uran is the factory under the Factories Act and the Corporation is obligated to provide canteen there under Section 46 of the Factories Act. The statutory canteen at LPG Plant, Uran as well as the other canteens under reference, though are looked after by the contractors, the entire management, control and supervision is with the Corporation and the contractors are only paper agents. The Union averred that the furniture, utensils, groceries, gas equipment etc., which are necessary for running the canteen are provided by the Corporation; water and electricity bills are paid by the Corporation and the cost of the uniform supplied to the canteen workers is reimbursed by the Corporation.

(3.) The Corporation contested the writ petition and disputed the claim of the Union that the contract workers were the employees of the Corporation. The case was set up by the Corporation that though the canteen run at LPG Plant, Uran is the statutory canteen within the meaning of Section 46 of the Factories Act, however, for running the said canteen, the contractor has been appointed genuinely and the workers employed by the said contractor are the employees of the contractor and not the employees of the Corporation. They cannot claim any absorption and regularisation in the Corporation. As regards the other canteens at Exploration Business office at Priyadarshani and Andheri and Transportation and Shipping office at Ballard Pier, the case was set up that these canteens were non-statutory canteens and that the Corporation has legal right to withdraw the said canteen facilities at any time looking to the exigencies of the business. The Corporation raised the objection that the writ petition involved serious disputed questions of fact which cannot be conveniently gone into in the extra-ordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.