Judgement

WANCHOO, J.: These two appeals by special leave arise from the same award of the Seventh Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal, and will be dealt with together. Two matters in dispute between the management and the workmen were referred to the tribunal relating to (i) the age of retirement of the workmen at the head office and the factory of the company and (ii) the introduction of a gratuity scheme for workmen employed at the head office and the factory. The tribunal fixed the age of retirement for clerical and subordinate staff at 58 years and for workmen in the factory at 55 years. The tribunal also introduced a gratuity scheme after considering the objections raised to the draft-scheme proposed by the company of the two appeals one is by the company relating to the gratuity scheme and the other by the workmen relating to the age of retirement as well as to the gratuity-scheme.

2. We shall first consider the question of age of retirement. It may be mentioned that there was no retirement age in force in this company and so the position when the reference was made was that the workmen could continue to work so long as they were physically or mentally fit. The workmen contended that the age of retirement both for the head office and factory workmen should be fixed at 60 years. The company, however, proposed that the age of retirement should be 55 years for all workmen. The tribunal as already indicated has fixed the age of retirement at 58 years for clerical and subordinate staff and 55 years for factory workmen and has apparently relied on the decision of this Court in Workmen of Jessop and Co. Ltd. v. Jessop and Co. Ltd., 1964-1 Lab LJ 451 (SC).

3. Now this is a case where there was no age of retirement before there was no age of retirement before the reference was made and the workmen whether at the head office or at the factory were all entitled to work so long as they were physically or mentally fit. So far as the existing workmen are concerned, we think that the tribunal should have fixed the age of retirement at 60 years both for the factory-workmen as well as head office workmen. It is enough in this connection to refer to the decision of this Court in Guest, Keen, Williams (Private) Ltd. v. P. J. Sterling (1960) 1 SCR 348: 1959-2 Lah LJ 405, where in a similar situation this Court fixed the age of retirement at 60 years in the case of existing workmen.

4. Then there is the question as to future workmen and whether their age of retirement should also be fixed at the same level as in the case of existing workmen. We are of opinion that generally speaking there should not be any difference in the age of retirement of existing workmen and others to be employed in future in a case like the present unless there are special circumstances justifying such difference. In this connection our attention is drawn to the case of Guest, Keen, Williams (P.) Ltd., (1960) 1 SCR 348 : 1959-2 Lab LJ 405, where the age of retirement of future workmen was 55 years. In that case, however, the age of retirement of future workmen was fixed at 55 years by the Standing Order and the question whether that age of retirement should be changed was not before this Court for consideration. All that this Court had to consider in that case was whether the age of retirement of existing employees, before the Standing Order fixing the age of retirement at 55 years was introduced, should be 60 years or not. In the present company so far there is no age of retirement and unless there are valid and cogent reasons for making a difference in the age of retirement of existing workmen and those employed in future, the future workmen should also have the benefit of the same age of superanuation.

5. Considering that there has been a general improvement in the standard of health in this country and also considering that longevity has increased, fixation of age of retirement at 60 years appears to us to be quite reasonable in the present circumstances. Age of retirem