UNION OF INDIA Vs. BRINDABAN MALLICK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Five Switch Board Operators of the Ordinance Clothing Factory, Avadi,(C.Kannan & Ors.) filed an application before the Madras Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal, being O.A. No. 357 of 1988, claiming the same benefit of the scale of Rs. 260-400 which had been given to Switch Board Operators in the Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, on the ground that they were similarly circumstanced and performing the same nature of duties as were being performed by switch Board Operators in the Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi.

(2.) It appears that pursuant to the recommendation of the Third Pay Commission, an Expert Classification Committee was set up by the Ministry of Defence in 1974 to evaluate the various trades and grades prevailing in the various units under the Ministry of Defence and to suggest appropriate scales on the basis of such evaluation. The said Committee submitted its report in 1979 and on the basis thereof orders were passed on 16th October, 1981, implementing the pay scales as revised in respect of industrial employees. Thereafter, an Anomalies Committee was constituted to examine the anomalies in the scales of pay arising out of the recommendations of the Expert Classification Committee. The Anomalies Committee, inter alia, recommended that semi-skilled jobs in the pay scale of Rs. 210-290 in the other Defence establishments, whose nomenclature was the same and the job content and skill were comparable with those jobs which had already been considered, should also be elevated to the skilled category and be given the pay scale of Rs, 200-400 with effect from 16th October, 1981.

(3.) Considering the submissions made on behalf of the respective parties the Madras Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal by its judgment dated 23rd June, 1989, directed the respondents to extend the benefit of the pay scale of Rs. 260-400 to the applicants with full monetary benefit from the date the same benefits were extended to the same category of staff in the Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi. It was, however, made clear that the said directions would not apply to those who were recruited after the Ministry of Defence letter dated 17th October, 1983, and communicated in the letter of the Ordnance Factory Board dated 10th February, 1984.