Malis employed by a cotton mill to maintain gardens attached to officers' bungalows are workmen under the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and are entitled to dear food allowance and leave with wages.

Headnote:
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES - Malis employed by a cotton mill to maintain gardens attached to officers' bungalows - Whether workmen under U. P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 - Whether entitled to dear food allowance, weekly holidays, and leave with wages - Interpretation of relevant provisions.
Fact of the Case:

A dispute arose between a cotton mill and its employees, including 10 Malis who maintained gardens attached to officers' bungalows. The dispute covered two items: the dismissal of a gardener named Badri and the claim of the Malis for dear food allowance, weekly holidays, and leave with wages.
Finding of the Court:

The Adjudicator held that the Malis were workmen under the Act and that Badri's dismissal was unjustified. The Labour Appellate Tribunal upheld the Adjudicator's decision regarding Badri's dismissal and also held that the Malis were entitled to dear food allowance and leave with wages. However, the Tribunal rejected the Malis' claim for weekly holidays.
Issues: 1. Whether the Malis were workmen under the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. 2. Whether the Malis were entitled to dear food allowance under the relevant Government order. 3. Whether the Malis were entitled to weekly holidays and leave with wages.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The definition of "workman" under Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, includes any person employed in any industry to do any skilled or unskilled manual, supervisory, technical, or clerical work for hire or reward. The Malis were employed by the cotton mill to maintain gardens attached to officers' bungalows, which were part of the mill's compound. The Malis were paid wages by the mill and their work was supervised and controlled by the mill. Therefore, the Malis were workmen under the Act. 2. The relevant Government order applied to all industries and the workmen employed therein. Since the Malis were workmen under the Act, they were covered by the Government order and were entitled to dear food allowance. 3. The Labour Appellate Tribunal was justified in granting the Malis leave with wages on grounds of fair play and social justice, even though the Factories Act and the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act did not apply to them.
Final Decision: The Supreme Court dismissed the cotton mill's appeal and upheld the Labour Appellate Tribunal's decision. The Malis were held to be workmen under the Act and were entitled to dear food allowance and leave with wages.

Judgment

GAJENDRAGADKAR, J. An industrial dispute which arose between the appellant J. K. Cotton Spinning and Weaving Mills Co. Ltd., and the respondents its employees, was referred by the Government of Uttar Pradesh for adjudication to the Adjudicator, Kanpur, on November 30, 1953. This dispute covered two items of claim made by the respondents. The first item was in regard to the dismissal of a gardener (Mali) Badri by name. The respondents urged that the said dismissal was unlawful and Badri was entitled to reinstatement with all the wages during the period of his enforced unemployment. The second item of dispute was in regard to the claim made by the 10 Malis employed by the appellant to receive dear food allowance, weekly holidays and leave with wages.

2. Before the Adjudicator, the appellant contended that the Malis were not workmen within the meaning of the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947), and so, the reference was invalid. It was also urged by the appellant that the claim made by the respondents for dear food allowance could not be sustained, because G. O. No. 3754(LL)/XVIII-894(L)-1948 issued by the U. P. Government on December 6, 1948 was inapplicable to the Malis inasmuch as the said Government order applied only to industrial employees and the Malis are not industrial employees within the meaning of the said order. The other claims made by the respondents for weekly holidays and leave with wages were also resisted on the ground that the Malis were not workmen under the Act, and so, they were entitled to no relief in the present proceedings.

3. The Adjudicator held that the Malis were workmen under the Act, and so, he rejected the appellant s contention that the reference was bad. On the merits, he found that the dismissal of Badri was without justification, and so, he was entitled to reinstatement. He also ordered that the appellant should pay Badri half his wages at Rs 45/- p.m. as compensation from the date of his dismissal to the date of his reinstatement. That is how the first item of dispute was decided by the Adjudicator. On the second item of dispute, the Adjudicator found that the Malis were not industrial employees, and so, they were not entitled to claim dear food allowance under the relevant Government order. The other claims made by the Malis with regard to weekly holidays and leave with wages were likewise rejected by the Adjudicator. In other words, the second item of dispute was decided against the respondents. This award was pronounced on May 31, 1954.

4. The decision of the Adjudicator gave rise to two appeals before the Labour Appellate Tribunal. The appellant by its appeal No. 300 of 1954 disputed the correctness of the Adjudicator s conclusion that Badri was a workman and that his dismissal was unjustified. The Labour Appellate Tribunal has rejected this contention and the appellant s appeal was dismissed. The respondents by their appeal No. 274/1954 contended that the Adjudicator was in error in holding that the Malis were not industrial employees and as such, were not entitled to dear food allowance. The Labour Appellate Tribunal has upheld this plea and has given the Malis the benefit of the provision contained in the relevant Government order is respect of dear food allowance. The claim of the respondents for a weekly holiday was, however, rejected by the Labour Appellate Tribunal, while their claim for leave with wages was allowed, and a direction was issued that the Malis in question should be given leave in the manner prescribed by S. 79 of the Factories Act (No. 63 of 1948). The Labour Appellate Tribunal held that though the said Act was, in terms, not applicable to the Malis, the principle on which the statutory provision for leave prescribed by S. 79 was based was a principle of social justice, and so, the Malis were entitled to have a similar benefit. The respondents had also claimed that Badri should be given the full wages for the period of his enforced unemployment

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1963 Supreme(SC) 172

Malis employed by a cotton mill to maintain gardens attached to officers' bungalows are workmen under the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and are entitled to dear food allowance and leave with wages.

Cases Referred (2)