BLUE STAR LIMITED Vs. BLUE STAR WORKERS UNION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, Blue Star Ltd. , has challenged order dated June 14, 1993 passed in Complaint (ULP) No. 1419 of 1989 by the Industrial Court, Maharashtra, Bombay, in this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

(2.) RESPONDENT No. 1, Blue Star Workers Union, filed a complaint against the petitioner, its Vice-President, Personal, and its Manager AC and R Sales, complaining unfair labour practice under section 28 (1) read with Item 9 of Schedule IV and Item 4 (a) of Schedule II of the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 (for short "the Act"), stating therein that the petitioner was not paying salary to Shri N. Vasudevan and that the petitioner violated the existing settlement dated November 1, 1985.

(3.) THE petitioner appointed Shri Vasudevan as a stenographer from October 26, 1964 vide its appointment letter of the same date on the terms and conditions mentioned therein, inter alia, that his appointment was otherwise subject to the standard rules and regulations of the company with regard to leave, Provident Fund, exclusive employment while serving the company. He accepted the same and joined the service. He was elected as General Secretary of the 1st respondent and thereafter he become its Vice-President in the year 1981, after he was elected as General Secretary of the All India Blue Star Employees Federation. He was allowed to solely do the union work by the company since 1983. Since then he was not assigned any company work. He has been carrying on union activities during office working hours. Shri R. M. Nadkarni, Manager, AC and R Sales, of the petitioner company, was arraigned as respondent No. 2 in the original complaint. He issued an official communication dated October 31, 1989 to Shri Vasudevan stating that the latter had refused to take up the companys sales work despite repeated instructions in that behalf and that in case he failed to take up the work, the company will have no alternative but take such action as deemed fit and to stop payment of salary/wages with effect from October 25, 1989. The communication reads thus:-