RAMESH TAPADE Vs. BAJAJ AUTO LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL the above-said nine petitions since involve the identical questions, with the consent of all the parties, common arguments are heard in all these petitions and are being disposed of at the stage of admission itself by this common order. The order passed in Writ Petition No : 3935/98 shall govern all the above-said nine petitions.

(2.) THE petitioner in all the petitions happened to be the employees of respondent M/s. Bajaj Auto Limited and, undisputedly, they belong to the category of temporary employees, as are defined in Clause 3 (c) of the Certified Standing Orders for the employees doing manual/technical/clerical/supervisory work in M/s. Bajaj Auto Limited, Aurangabad Division, Waluj, Aurangabad. It is the grievance of all the employees in all these petitions that the services of the petitioners were being terminated before completion of their 240 days in the employment and employer used to give them a gap of seven months and, again, fresh letter of appointment to the petitioners as temporary employees, is given and this being the modus operandi of the employer, as alleged by the petitioners, the petitioners filed separate Complaint cases under the provisions of Section 26 and 28 read with Items 5, 6 and 9 of Schedule IV of THE Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 before the Industrial Court, Aurangabad. THE Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971, to which a reference is made above, is hereinafter termed as "the Act" for the purposes of brevity.

(3.) IT would be necessary at this stage to mention that in Writ Petition No.3935/98 in all there are 469 employees as petitioners, whereas in other Writ Petitions, the number of petitioners is as under :- (1) W.P. No.3936/98 7 (2) W.P. No.3937/98 110 (3) W.P. No.3938/98 23 (4) W.P. No.4123/98 70 (5) W.P. No.4159/98 40 (6) W.P. No.4204/98 25 (7) W.P. No.4124/98 4 (8) W.P. No.4444/98 1