NIHAR RANJAN KANJILAL Vs. NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL, KOLKATA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This intra-court appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated May 20, 2025, passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court, whereby the award of the National Industrial Tribunal, Kolkata, dated July 30, 2020, in Reference Case No NT-03 of 205 was upheld. By the impugned award, the learned Tribunal rejected the appellants' claim for a 19% salary hike, a demand asserted by the mint workers as a purportedly agreed condition precedent, for increasing their weekly working hours from 37.5 hours to 44 hours.

(2.) The mint workers claim that the general manager of the three mint offices at Calcutta, Bombay, and Andhra Pradesh has promised them that their claim for a salary hike of 19% will be 'favourably considered ' by the Department of Expenditure, Finance Ministry, Government of India. The latter, therefore, is bound to grant the said salary hike.

(3.) The question that falls for our consideration is whether the General Managers of the respective mints possessed the requisite authority or jurisdiction to bind the Department of Expenditure, Finance Ministry, Govt. of India to a definite 19% salary hike for the workmen of the aforesaid three mints.