Judgment

DAS GUPTA, J. : This appeal by special leave is against an award of the Central Government Industrial Tribunal at Calcutta in a dispute referred to that Tribunal by the Central Government under S. 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act between the workmen of the Bombay Port Trust, who are the appellants before us and the Trustees of the Port of Bombay, the respondents in the appeal. The workmen concerned in the dispute as referred are shore workers belonging to A" category, "B" category and casual category. These three categories came into existence under the scheme adopted by the Bombay port Trust in April 1948 for direct employment of shore workers in place of the system previously in force under which such labourers used to be supplied by contractors known as Toliwallas. The matters in dispute were specified thus in the letter of reference to the Tribunal:

"Arrears due to the shore workers belonging to the "A" category, "B" category and casual category in respect of

(i) weekly off with pay for the period l5th March, 1951 to 2nd March, 1956;

(ii) work on weekly off days during the period l5th March, 1951 to 2nd March, 1956, without a compensatory day off in lieu; and

(iii) avera