In determining whether two or more units of business under the same ownership form one industrial unit, various factors need to be considered, including functional integrality, inter-dependence, financial control and management, community of man-power, and recruitment and discipline. However, these tests are not exhaustive and should be applied in a fair and reasonable manner, considering the nature of the industrial activities and the dispute in question.

Judgment

DAS GUPTA, J.: The Western India Match Company, the Bareilly Branch of which is the appellant in the first of the two appeals before us is engaged in the manufacture and sale of matches in India. The manufacture of matches is carried on by the company at its four factories at Ambernath, Madras, Calcutta and Clutterbuckgunj in Bareilly. At these four places the company has also four sales offices catering to the needs of the regions assigned to them. The sales office at Clutterbuckganj with which we are concerned in this appeal carries on its sales activities in the States of U. P., Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, a part of Rajasthan and a part of Madhya Pradesh. According to the appellant each of these sales offices is independent of the factories of their respective regions and so the Bareilly Sales Office is quite independent of the factory at Bareilly. As an incentive to larger production of matches the Company introduced in 1946 a Production Bonus Scheme the details of which will be mentioned later. The scheme was applied at the beginning not only to the 1500 workmen engaged in the factory in making matches but also to the workmen working in the factory office, who numbered about 100. In 1947, the production bonus was withdrawn from the office staff of the factory, though it continued to operate as regards the other workmen. The factory office staff raised a dispute on this question in 1957 and ultimately as a result of a decision of the Adjudicator given on March 13, 1958, the factory office staff also became entitled to the benefits of the production bonus scheme on the same terms as the other workmen in the factory. The workmen of the sales office consisting of the clerical staff as also salesmen and inspectors of salesmen were however denied the benefits of the scheme, though it does appear that for a very short period of 1946 the sales office staff also received payments purporting to be production bonus. The Adjudicator s decision extending the production bonus scheme to the factory staff was confirmed by this Court on March 17, 1961. It appears that during the pendency in this Court of the appeal against the Adjudicator s order there was some discussion between the Union of which the sales office staff became member in 1957 or thereabout-and the sales manager at Bareilly, in regard to extending the Production Bonus Scheme to the members of the sales staff, if the appeal in this Court was decided in favour of the factory staff. On March 13, 1961, the Union wrote to the sales manager reiterating the claim to Production bonus and pointing out that "discrimination between the employees of the same company in the matter of admissibility of item of wage was bound to lead to heart burning . The manager replied on May 22, 1961 characterizing this demand of the sale office staff as unreasonable to which the management could not agree. Ultimately, on August 18, 1961 the dispute which thus arose between the employers and the workmen was referred by the Government of U. P. to the Third Industrial Tribunal at Allahabad for adjudication. The dispute referred was described in these words:-

"Should the employers be required to pay production bonus to the workmen employed in their sales office? If so, with effect from what date and with what other details? .

2. By a later amendment on December 4, 1961, the word "in was substituted by the word " by .

3. Though a number of matter were raised in issue, both the parties rightly concentrated at the hearing on the question whether the sales office and the factory were independent units of production or formed integral parts of one and the same unit of industrial production. Whether or not an incentive scheme for better production should be introduced in any industry is essentially a matter for the management to decide. This position has been recognised by this Court in Titaghur Paper Mills Co., Ltd. v. Their Workmen, 1959 Supp (2) SCR 1012 and again in Burn and Co. v. Their Emp