THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT DIRECTOR, ANIMAL DISEASE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, PHULNAKHARA, CUTTACK Vs. BABAJI CHARAN BEHERA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The award dated 11.1.2011 passed by the Industrial Tribunal, Bhubaneswar in Industrial Dispute Case No.258 of 2008 is under challenge whereby and where under the Tribunal has directed the Management to reinstate the workman as N.M.R. within a period of two months of the date of publication of the award in the official Gazette subject to the observation that if the Institute is running without the services of any N.M.R./D.L.R./Contractual employees, then instead of reinstatement the workman be paid a compensation of Rs.1,00,000.00 in lieu of reinstatement.

(2.) Case of the workman as per the claim statement is that from July,1994 till 30.6.1999 he had been working under the management Institute as an N.M.R., the management did not pay him wages for the period from March, 1998 to June, 1999, when he demanded payment of wages, the management terminated his service which is in contravention of Sections 25-F, 25-G and 25-H of the Industrial Disputes Act,1947.

(3.) Case of the management, on the other hand, is that the workman had worked from Aug., 1994 to 31.3.1998, thereafter stopped coming to work w.e.f. 1.4.1998, letters were issued to him asking to report for duty but he did not respond, as such the management has never denied him employment and it is for the reason provision of Sec. 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act,1947 will not be applicable for the reason that he had abandoned the job voluntarily. It is the further case of the management that being Research Institute, it is not coming within the definition of 'industry' under section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act,1947. It is the further case of the management that the Institute receives Government of India grant for Adhoc Research Project, all engagements made for such projects are co-terminus with the termination of the projects. The workman had been engaged in one of such projects but the Government of India did not sanction the project for the years 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, knowing it the workman did not come to duty and raised a dispute which has culminated into the award.