TMI Blog1996 (9) TMI 658X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... abour for various companies and individuals. It maintains officers and workmen to render, inter alia, security services to various establishments and individuals. Respondent No. 4, at all material times, possessed a licence as a contractor under Section 12 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, read with Andhra Pradesh Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Rules, 1971. 4. On or about 11th December, 1980, the appellant entered into an agreement with respondent No. 4 by which respondent No. 4 agreed to supply to the appellant (i) Security Guards (ii) Shift Incharge and, (iii) Security Sergeants on the terms and conditions specified in that agreement. The agreement specifies that the appellant would pay to respondent No. 4 monthly amounts at the rate of ₹ 400, ₹ 500 and ₹ 600 as remuneration for the supply of Security Guards, Shift Incharge and Security Sergeants respectively. The appellant has accordingly paid to respondent No. 4 the said amounts by way of monthly remuneration for each of the categories of workmen supplied by the 4th respondent. Respondent No. 4, however, in turn, paid to the Security Guards ₹ 317.77 instead of &# ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... plied by the 4th respondent. It further gave a direction to the appellant to pay to the contract labour the difference between the wages paid by the contractor and the wages which were paid by the appellant to its own security staff. The Division Bench further gave a direction that in case the contractor failed to pay the amounts to the contract labour concerned, the appellant shall pay the same to the contract labour employed by it and may thereafter recover the amount so paid from the 4th respondent either by deduction from any amount payable by the appellant to the 4th respondent under any contract or may recover the same as a debt payable by the 4th respondent to the appellant. Being aggrieved by these directions, the appellant has come by way of the present appeal. 7. Under Chapter V of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, dealing with Welfare and Health of Contract Labour , Section 16 provides that the appropriate Government may make rules requiring that in every establishment canteens should be provided and maintained by the contractor as specified therein for the use of contract labour. Similarly, Section 17 cast's an obligation on the contracto ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... either by deduction from any amount payable to the contractor under any contract or as a debt payable by the contractor. 8. Under this section also, the liability for payment of wages to each employee engaged by a contractor as contract labour is of the contractor. But in case the contractor fails to make payment of wages, then the principal employer shall be liable to make payment of wages in full or the unpaid balance due, as the case may be, to the workers. The principal employer, in turn, is entitled to recover the amount so paid from the contractor. Thus, it is clear that under Section 21 also the responsibility for payment of wages of contract labourers is on the contractor who employs them. In case of any default by the contractor, the principal employer is required to make good the default, but at the cost of the contractor from whom the principal employer can recover the amount. 9. Wages are defined in Section 2(1)(h) of the said Act to have the same meaning assigned to the term wages in Clause (vi) of Section 2 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. Sections 2(vi) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, defines wages to mean: all remuneration (whether by way of sa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Rules, 1971. Rule 21 of these rules requires that every application by a contractor for the grant of a licence shall be made in the manner prescribed in that rule. Rule 25 provides that every licence granted under Sub-section (1) of Section 12 shall be in Form VI and shall be subject to the conditions specified in Rule 25. Condition (v)(a) is as follows: Rule 25(v)(a): in cases where the workmen employed by the contractor perform the same or similar kind of work as the workmen directly employed by the principal employer of the establishment, the wage rates, holidays, hours of work and other conditions of service of the workmen of the contractor shall be the same as applicable to the workmen directly employed by the principal employer of the establishment on the same or similar kind of work: Provided that in the case of any disagreement with regard to the type of work, the same shall be decided by the Commissioner of Labour, Andhra Pradesh, whose decision shall be final. 12. The 4th respondent has, in the present case, obtained a licence under Section 12(1) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 in accordance wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dhra Pradesh Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Rules, 1971. Hence Section 21(4) will not apply to such obligations of the contractor which may be the subject-matter of dispute between the contractor and his workers at time of disbursement of wages and which do not fall within the definition of wages under the Act. 14. Rule 25 of the Andhra Pradesh Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Rules, 1971 imposes on the contractor certain conditions subject to which a licence is granted to him. One such condition is to the effect that the contractor shall not pay to the contract labour in his employment wages which are lower than the wages paid by the principal employer to his own workers which do the same or similar kind of work. This is a condition of the contractor's licence. There is no provision under these rules by which the principal employer is made liable for payment in the event of non-compliance by the contractor with this condition. If the contractor commits a breach of the conditions of his licence he alone will take the consequences. The right of the workers to recover any additional wages which may be so determined would be against the contractor. Secti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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