JITENDRANATH NATH BRAHMACHARI Vs. TELECOM FACTORY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these two applications under Article 227 of the Constitution of India respectively by a large number of employees of the Government of India, Telecom Factory, Calcutta and by the Manager of the said factory, have been filed against the judgment dated 22nd January, 1986 passed by the learned Chief Judge, Court of Small Causes in an appeal preferred by the Manager of the said Factory under Section 17 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1935 against the order dated 29th August, 1984 under Section 15 of the said Act upon three applications of the employees passed by the authority under the said Act.

(2.) Three sets of the employees of the said Telecom Factory, Calcutta had filed three applications before the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act claiming, interalia, that the Manager of the said Factory as the employer in calculating their over-tipe wages had deducted house rent allowances contrary to the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act. They had also prayed for, awarding compensation in terms of Sub-section (3) of Section 15 of the said Act. They were registered as P.W.A. Cases 125 of 1981, 134 of 1981 and 163 of 1981. The manager of the said Factory had contested the cases. The Payment of Wages Authority by his order dated 29th August, 1984 had disposed of all the said three cases by directing that the Manager Telecom Factory, Calcutta to deposit the unpaid deducted over-time wages for the period from 9th July, 1963 to 20th October, 1979 together with compensation four times the claim in P.W.A. Case Nos. 125 of 1981 and 134 of 1981 and three times the claim in P.W.A. Case No. 163 of 1981.

(3.) The learned Chief Judge of the Court of Small Causes by his judgment under challenge uphold the award of compensation of arrear overtime wages for the aforesaid period but reduced the amounts of compensation payable by the employer to 10% of the amount of claim in each case. Before us neither the employees of the Factory nor the Manager disputed the amounts awarded as overtime wages by both the authorities under the said Act. While on behalf of the employees it was urged that the appellate authority had acted illegally reducing to 10% from four times the amounts of wages deducted in each case by the employer, on behalf of the Manager of the said Factory who was the employer, it was submitted that no compensation at all ought to have been awarded for the reasons mentioned hereinafter. In the present case for their works done beyond normal working hours, overtime wages were originally paid to the employees by taking into account their pay alone excluding all allowances including house rent allowances. Presumably in view of the directions contained in letter No. 5-14/60/WK dated 1st September, 1963 issued by the Assistant Director-General, Deptt of Communications and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Government of India, the employees of the Factory were paid their overtime wages on the basis of their pay alone excluding their house rent allowances. The Assistant Director-General (G.F. & S) Posts and Telegraphs by his subsequent letter No. 6-9/79-TF dated 29th October, 1979 had directed that both pay and allowances including the house rent allowance may be taken into account for determining the rate of overtime allowance for industrial workers of Telecom Factories. The said order was to take effect from the date of its issue and past cases were not to be reopened. The Assistant Director-General (T.F. & S), Government of India, Ministry of Communications , Post and Telegraphs Board by letter bearing No. 6-32/81-TF & S dated 13th October, 1981 conveyed the decision of the President of India that in supersession of the aforesaid letter dated 29th October 1979 orders contained therein would take effect from 9th July, 1963. Thus, under orders of the President of India with effect from 9th July, 1963 rate of overtime allowances to industrial workers of the Telecom Factories were to be calculated by taking into account both pay and allowances including House rent allowances of the workers.