HINDUSTAN MACHINE TOOLS LTD Vs. LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE three petitions arise out of a common order dated January 5, 1987 passed by the Labour Court, Rajasthan, Jaipur in case No. LCC 35/85, Case No. LCC 124/85, Case No. LCC 125/85 filed by 71 employees claiming overtime wages in terms of the Factories Act, 1948. Since the Labour Court has decided all the three applications by the common order and facts of all these writ petitions are by and large common, I am deciding all these writ petitions by a common order.

(2.) THE facts which are necessary for deciding controversy involved in these writ petitions are that the petitioner Hindustan Machine Tools is a company owned and controlled by the Government of India. It has its factories at various places in India as well as abroad. One of its factories is at Ajmer which is engaged in manufacture of machine tools. This factory is governed by the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 (for short 1948 Act ). The respondent -workmen filed three separate applications under Section 33-C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short 1947 Act) claiming computation of their overtime wages in terms of Section 59 of 1948 Act. The workman claimed that they had worked overtime and the company was under an obligation to pay overtime wages in accordance with Section 59 of 1948 Act but the company had deliberately denied those wages to the workmen on the basis of tripartite settlement dated March 31, 1977. The petitioner contested these applications and claimed that payment of overtime to the workmen is regulated by the provisions contained in the Tripartite settlement dated 31st March, 1977. Settlement was arrived at between the management of the Company and representatives of the HMT Shramik Sangh, Ajmer and HMT Employees Union, Ajmer. The Regional Assistant Commissioner-cum-Conciliation Officer had witnessed the settlement. The company claimed that in the terms of Para-21 of the settlement, the workmen were entitled to Sunday allowance on H. M. T. pattern. The HMT pattern has been provided in Clause 2. 242 of the Personnel Manual of HMT Bangalore.

(3.) AFTER hearing the parties, learned Judge, Labour Court has accepted the applications filed by the workmen and directed payment of overtime wages to each of the workmen in accordance with Section 59 of 1948 Act. The Labour Court also computed the amount payable to each of the workmen towards overtime wages.