SARAF TEXTILE WORKERS UNION Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner which is a registered trade union, espousing the cause of the aggrieved workman, has moved to this Court by the instant writ petition through its General Secretary Shri Madan Singh, contending inter-alia that the petitioner is a union of the workmen employed in the industrial establishment of M/s Saraf Textile Industries Ltd. , Sanganer, Jaipur -respondent No. 2, which is affiliated to the Rajasthan Trade Union Kendra, Jaipur. A charter of demands dated July 28, 1988 on behalf of its workmen was submitted to the Management of respondent No. 2 vide Annex-1. The demands were to the following effect:

(2.) THROUGH the demand-charter the petitioner-union further requested the management of respondent No. 2 that in the event of failure of the respondent to concede or communicate in respect of the said demands within 15 days from the receipt of the said demand-charter the petitioner-union will be constrained to resort to strike. No reply was conveyed or communicated to the petitioner-union nor did they hear anything in this regard either from the State or from the Management of respondent No. 2. It has been further contended in the petition that the matter relating to the above demands of the workers was referred to the Conciliation Officer on July 30, 1988 by the Management and since no settlement could be arrived at between the petitioner-union and the Management of respondent No. 2, the Joint Labour Commissioner submitted a failure report to the Labour Commissioner and Special Secretary, Labour Department of the State vide Annex-2 dated September 16, 1988. From the perusal of the report of the Conciliation Officer it is revealed that no officer on behalf of the Management took part in the proceedings on three effective dates i. e. on August 12, 1988, August 17, 1988 and on August 26, 1988 and neither any reply nor any summoned record was made available for perusal of the Conciliation Officer. It has been further contended in this regard that the attitude of respondent No. 2 was totally uncooperative inasmuch as the Management had failed to supply and submit the requisite documents and details during the conciliation proceedings to the Joint Labour Commissioner. Thus no settlement could be arrived at on the demands as represented by the petitioner-union. Since the Management did not concede to the above demands raised by the petitioner-union, the petitioner-union resorted to strike with effect from January 29, 1989.

(3.) ON account of the failure of the conciliation proceedings, the report was sent to the State by the Conciliation Officer and the State Government accordingly referred the matter for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal, Jaipur. It is under these circumstances and during the pendency of proceedings before the Industrial Tribunal that the Labour Department, the State of Rajasthan (respondent No. 1) passed the impugned order dated November 8,1988 vide Annex-3, against which this writ petition has been preferred to this Court.