PUNE LABOUR UNION Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are the registered Union seeking to represent the workmen earlier employed with respondent No. 3. It is the case of the petitioners that there were more than 100 workmen in the year, 1998 and between March and April, 1998, 16 employees were retrenched from service. Earlier the Mazdoor union sought to raise a dispute, but, the concerned authority did not refer the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal or Labour court. By its order dated 10. 6. 2002, the Appropriate government was pleased to reject the request for reference for adjudication. Considering Section 12 (5), the reasons are set out in the said order.

(2.) IT is the case of the petitioners that thereafter 16 workmen in the Establishment organized themselves under the Pune labour Union and sought to redress their grievances. It is their case that their services were terminated on 31. 3. 1998 and 1. 4. 1998 as retrenched, without following due process of law and even without seeking permission of the Appropriate government and that too by paying inadequate compensation.

(3.) THE submission of the petitioners is that on 18. 10. 1998 which was a Sunday, a meeting was held at the midnight by the assistant Commissioner for Labour. , not in his office, but, in one of the hotels at Pune and purported that the workmen had signed a settlement by accepting compensation and that the matter had come to an end. It is the further case of the petitioners that the Appropriate Government acted without jurisdiction in refusing to refer the matter for industrial adjudication. It is submitted that the issues pertaining to legality of retrenchment was required to be considered as there were more than 100 workmen. These issues should have been left for consideration by reference to the Industrial Tribunal and the appropriate Government could not have decided the same. Hence, the present Petition.