9911796707
TMI Blog1964 (11) TMI 79X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y. The Company did not accept the demand and the Sangh forwarded under the Act to the Conciliator a statement of its case. The conciliation proceedings failed and the Sangh made a reference under Section 52 of the Act to the Industrial Court submitting its demand as follows: "(1) Whether there is a case for awarding the introduction of the Scheme of gratuity to the employees of the Burhanpur Tapti Mills Ltd., Burhanpur. (2) If so, whether the Scheme of gratuity as demanded by the representative union or some other adequate scheme of gratuity be granted." The case of the Sangh was that the financial condition of the Company was quite sound, that the textile industry in general and this Company in particular, had good ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ling and it had no capacity to bear the additional burden of the gratuity scheme. He pointed out that the Company was already contributing to the provident fund and was paying 4 per cent of the wages as annual bonus. He submitted that the Industrial Court had made glaring mistakes in appraising the financial condition of the Company and contended that if industry-cum-region basis were applied the Company should be compared with mills in the old Madhya Pradesh region and not with those in the Madhya Bharat region. The latter, according to him, flourished in the former Indore State because there was no Income-tax and the general level of taxation was also low. He contended that the contribution to the provident fund was all that could be prov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ation" from industry of superannuated or disabled employees who but for such retiring benefits would continue in employment even though they function inefficiently. The voluntary retirement of an inefficient or old or worn out employee on the assurance that he is to get a retiral benefit' leads to the avoidance of industrial disputes, promotes contentment among those who look for promotions, draws better kind of employees and improves the tone and morale of the industry. It is beneficial all round. It compensates the employee who as he grows old knows that some compensation for the gradual destruction of his wage earning capacity is being built up. By inducing voluntary retirement of old and worn out workmen it confers on the employer a ben ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... selected. In the present case there is a general scheme of gratuity in the textile mills of the region and no evidence has been furnished that there is any other textile mill in this region where the scheme does not exist. The mills situated at distant places like Rajnandgaon and Raigarh cannot furnish a true guide because conditions of labour and the prospects of industry vary in units far removed to a far greater extent than in units which lie close together. This Company is not being singled out for in novation Rut is. being made to follow the others in providing the scheme. In awarding the gratuity scheme the Industrial Court was not going against the principle which requires that the matter should also be considered, where possible, o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The amount so transferred is over Rs. 37,00,000. The Industrial Court, however, made a mistake for the year 1947-48 and took Rs. 20,000 as transferred to the depreciation fund in that year whereas the correct amount was Rs. 2,90,000. The entry next below appears to have been read by mistake. This, however, makes only a slight difference because it does not depress the profits unduly. Even after deducting this extra amount, the net profits during this period stand at Rs. 67,00,000. It was contended before us that the Industrial Court had not taken into account a further sum of Rs. 11,84,629 in the year 1956-57 which was set apart as depreciation for the years 1953-54 to 1955-56 to make up for inadequate provision for depreciation in those ye ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and has paid handsome dividends. It has even paid a sum of Rs. 1,37,000 as donations. The burden of the gratuity is not likely to be too much. The payment each year is not likely to be as high as Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 60,000 a year which is the amount determined by the Industrial Court. This Company has no age of superannuation, and taking the age of 60 years as the age at which gratuity would ordinarily be claimable the burden cannot be in the neighbourhood of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 60,000. The average wage is Rs. 54 per month and the number of workmen employed in the Mill is 3189. Of these, those above the age of 50 are only 385, i.e. about 8 per cent. It is unlikely that all these workmen would retire together. Workmen who normally retire per ye ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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