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TMI Blog2019 (7) TMI 1922X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... labour and the agreement in existence was extended from time to time by the competent authority and the contract labour was allowed to continue on the same terms & conditions till their services were terminated by the contractor after they had proceeded on strike in the month of April, 1996. 3. The contract labours (2040 employees) of Kuteshwar limestone mines who had worked in the establishment of SAIL after issuance of the prohibition notification dated 17th March, 1993 filed their claim applications in the year 1998 on different dates under Section 20(1) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. 4. Before we advert to the question raised in the instant appeals, it may be relevant to take the brief history of the matter for proper appreciation. The erstwhile contract labourers(respondents herein) worked at the captive Limestone and Dolomite mines in the establishment of the appellant SAIL initially filed writ petitions claiming regularisation with back wages in view of the law laid down by three Judge Bench of this Court in the case of Air India Statutory Corporation and Others Vs. United Labour Union and Others 1997(9) SCC 377 wherein it was held that on issuance of prohibition notifica ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... kman and is working as Sikor/Loader/Suitor/Rake Loader. 6. The rates of wages of workers of Steel Authority of India are governed by various settlements/Agreements entered into between the management and the Union which are legally binding and is the wages to which employees of Steel Authority are entitled on the basis of contract of services, agreement and or otherwise. The Applicant is entitled to wages and all other benefits as per settlement. The agreement also prohibit employment of contract labour on job of permanent and perennial nature. 7. The management/opponent has been reusing to make payment to the employees as per wage agreement which is their minimum wages Sri Bachchan Nayak and other office bearers of the Applicant's Union repeatedly represented the matter of the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Chief Labour Commissioner Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Hon'ble Minister for Steel, Chairman, Steel Authority of India and even the Prime Minister, for payment of wages as regular employees. Because of the strong and persistent opposition of one of the opponent, Minimum Wages is denied to the Applicant. 12. The applicant has been reporting for work on all the working days f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Single Judge of High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur which was partly allowed vide Order dated 24th January, 2006 holding that the justice would be met if the respondents(employees) are allowed 6% interest on the amount payable to each of them as compensation from the date of passing of the impugned order of the authority till its payment. It was further challenged before the Division Bench of the High Court that came to be dismissed vide impugned judgment dated 11th December, 2006 with a modification that instead of grant of 6% interest as compensation, a consolidated sum of Rs. 5 crore be paid towards compensation to the aggrieved employees, which is a subject matter of challenge in these appeals before us. 11. Learned senior counsel for the appellants Mr. Ranjit Kumar and Mr. Parag P. Tripathi submit that the parity of wages was one of the issue nos. 5 & 6 based on the pleadings of the parties framed by CGIT pursuant to the reference made by the appropriate Government and both the issues have been negatively answered under its award dated 16 th September, 2009 holding that respondents are not entitled to wages as per National Joint Committee for the Steel Industries(NJ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... unsel submits that it was never the case of the respondents that the tripartite agreement dated 12th November, 1991 has not been complied with. In fact, the arrears were paid over the minimum wages notified by the appropriate Government in terms of Rule 25(2)(v)(a) of the CLRA Rules, 1971 and appellant became liable to pay the minimum wages agreed in terms of the agreement after issuance of the prohibition notification under Section 10(1) of the CLRA Act, since the contract stood automatically extinct, it became the liability of the employer to see that every workmen who is working thereafter must have been paid his due wages in terms of the agreement which has been signed in presence of the concerned labour authorities dated 12th November, 1991 and binding upon the parties. 16. Learned counsel for the appellants further submits that in sequel to the notification dated 12th November, 1991, the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, vide its notification dated 12th July, 1994 revised the minimum rate of wages payable to the workers employed in the mines appended Clause 5 to the explanation that in case the existing rates of wages of any employee as per agreement are more than the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion of regular employees and the management of the establishment, at least the lowest rate of wages in the establishment of the appellant payable to a regular and permanent employee became the benchmark of minimum wages payable to the contract labour who had worked in the establishment of the appellant SAIL as an employee after issuance of notification dated 17th March, 1993 until termination of service and this what the prescribed authority under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 has computed towards arrears of each of the 2040 employee who have, inter alia, filed applications for legitimate wages under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. 19. Learned counsel further submits that as regards their absorption and regularisation of service, it was indeed a subject matter of adjudication in a reference made by the appropriate Government under its notification dated 27th January, 2003 followed with 22nd February, 2005 but so far as their minimum wages payable to the employees are concerned, it was an independent issue having no relationship to the terms of reference pending before the CGIT at the relevant point of time and after issuance of prohibition notification dated 17 th March, 1993 under CLR ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tral), Jabalpur. Under the said settlement, it was agreed that the contract labour would be paid Rs. 11.65/¬ per day over and above the minimum wages notified by the appropriate Government under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Indisputedly, each of the member of the union was paid his wages in terms of the memorandum of settlement dated 12th November, 1991. At the later stage, the appropriate Government issued a prohibition notification of employment of contract labour dated 17 th March, 1993 and the fact remains that the contract labour which was engaged prior to the prohibition notification was allowed to continue in the establishment of the appellant(SAIL) on the same terms and conditions with no change in their service conditions under the agreement which was executed prior to the prohibition notification dated 17th March, 1993, was extended from time to time by the competent authority and the services of the contract labour came to be terminated by the respective contractor in the month of April, 1996 after they went on strike. 23. After discontinuance of the service of the contract labour by the respective contractor in April, 1996, 2040 employees/contract labour through th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ith and each of the employee (contract labour) who had served/worked in the establishment had been paid his due wages until their services came to be terminated by the respective contractors in April, 1996. 27. The claim of the respondents in their application filed under Section 20(1) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 was that as they had discharged the same or similar nature of work as that of direct employee of the establishment, it makes them entitled for the wages which are payable to an employee who is directly/regularly appointed in the establishment to whom wages are paid in terms of NJCS memorandum of Agreement dated 30th July, 1975. 28. It is to be noted that National Joint Committee for the Steel Industry (NJCS) started its functioning initially in the name of JWNC(Joint Wage Negotiating Committee) in October 1969 and was primarily established in pursuance of the decision taken by the industrial committee on iron & steel in October, 1969. The Committee has now changed its name as National Joint Committee for the Steel Industry (NJCS). The scope of the NJCS presently covers :¬ i) Negotiations for wage agreement and its implementation. ii) Matters pertaining to and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Act is to provide minimum rates of wages for certain scheduled employment and also provides for fixation and revision of minimum wages of the workers, overtime rates, remuneration for the work done on a day of rest, just to ensure that the employee has enough to provide to his family and to ensure a decent living standard that pertains to a social comfort of the employee and the cost of living index. The procedure for fixing and revising minimum rate of wages, which has to be prescribed, is supported by the recommendation of Advisory Committees/Advisory Board/ Central Advisory Board being constituted under Sections 7 and 8 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and the appropriate Government on its acceptance notified the minimum wages which are payable to the category of employees referred to under Section 2(i) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. 32. Indisputedly, in the first place, the minimum wages which were notified by the appropriate Government from time to time under tripartite memorandum of agreement dated 12th November, 1991, signed by the appellant SAIL and the respondents before the Assistant Labour Commissioner(Central), Jabalpur effective from 1st April, 1991, it was agreed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in Section 20 which is as follows: 20. (1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette appoint any Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation or any officer of the Central Government exercising functions as a Labour Commissioner for any region, or any officer of the State Government not below the rank of Labour Commissioner or any other officer with experience as a Judge of a civil court or as a stipendiary Magistrate to be the Authority to hear and decide for any specified area all claims arising out of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages or in respect of the payment of remuneration for days of rest or for work done on such days under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (1) of Section 13 or of wages at the overtime rate under Section 14, to employees employed or paid in that area. (2) Where an employee has any claim of the nature referred to in sub¬section (1), the employee himself, or any legal practitioner or any official of a registered trade union authorised in writing to act on his behalf, or any Inspector, or any person acting with the permission of the Authority appointed under sub-section (1), may apply to such Authority f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the workman is not due, or if the amount claimed by the workman is not paid on the ground that deductions are to be made by the employer, the employee can seek his remedy by an application under Section 15(1) of the Payment of Wages Act. In cases where Section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act may not provide adequate remedy, the remedy can be sought either under Section 33-C of the Act or by raising an industrial dispute under the Act and having it decided under the various provisions of that Act. In these circumstances, we are unable to accept the submission made by Mr Sen on behalf of the appellant that Section 20(1) of the Minimum Wages Act should be interpreted as intended to cover all claims in respect of minimum wages or overtime payment or payment for days of rest even though there may be no dispute as to the rates at which those payments are to be claimed. It is true that, under Section 20(3), power is given to the Authority dealing with an application under Section 20(1) to direct payment of the actual amount found due; but this, it appears to us, is only an incidental power granted to that Authority, so that the directions made by the Authority under Section 20(1) may be e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to examine the principles of equal pay for equal work which is a dispute to be determined by a adjudicatory mechanism provided under the law. 35. It was not the case of the respondent employees(2040 in number) that the minimum rates of wages which were notified by the appropriate Government from time to time or as agreed between the parties under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 have not been paid. But their claim in the application under Section 20(1) of the Act, was that, once they have been allowed to work after the prohibition notification dated 17 th March, 1993 has come into force, pursuant to which their status as contract labour in the establishment ceased to operate as a result of contract of principal employer with the contractor in regard to the contract labour having been statutorily extinguished, their relationship stood automatically converted into the employer (i.e., SAIL in the instant case) and the employee (i.e. contract labour) making them entitled for wages which are notified by the NJCS as per the memorandum of agreement which is payable to direct/regular employees of SAIL. 36. The Division Bench of the High Court has also relied on the scheme of CLRA Rules, 1971 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to regulate the employment of contract labour in the establishments which are registered under Section 7 and working through the contractors who are holding licence under Section 12 of the Act. Section 8 provides for the revocation of registration in certain cases and Section 9 provides the effect of non-registration. Section 10 is one of the back bone of the Act which provides for prohibition of employment of contract labour in any establishment and we are fortified in our view supported by the Judgment of this Court in Hindustan Steel Works Construction Ltd.(supra). 38. In the instant case, the establishment was duly registered under Section 7 of the Act and the contractor through whom the contract labour was engaged was holding its licence under Section 12 of the Act but in the changed circumstances, the appropriate Government took a decision to put a prohibition in making employment of contract labour in scheduled employment for various reasons which is not a subject matter of enquiry in the instant case and in consequence of the prohibition notification dated 17th March, 1993 published under Section 10(1) of the CLRA Act, the contract labour working in the establishment ceas ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s and that was indeed complied with by the appellants in its true spirit. 42. The submission made by the learned counsel for the respondents that the respondent workmen were doing the jobs of perennial in nature and the contract labour was banned under agreements entered between SAIL and the workers union from 1970 onwards and their performance of same or similar kind of work as the workmen directly employed by the principal employer make them entitled for wages in terms of NJCS Memorandum of agreement is without substance for the reason that for fixation of Minimum Wages under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, there are number of considerations which are to be kept in mind by the committees while prescribing the minimum rate of wages payable to the workmen of a different category. Under Section 3 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 the appropriate Government may fix minimum wages for time work, minimum rate of wages for piece work, minimum wages in respect of overtime work defined under sub-Section 2 of Section 3 of the Act and the amendment made in Section 3 of the Act also take note of different classes/categories of employees in such employment while the notification under the Minimum W ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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