Judgment

VENKATARAMIAH, J.:- It is unfortunate that nearly 15,000 bargemen, i.e., Majhis and Dandees, working at the Calcutta Port have been denied their right to receive reasonable wages and allowances for nearly 12 years on account of a very narrow view taken by the Calcutta High Court in the decision under appeal.

2. The Government of India set up a Wage Board for the port and dock workers at major ports on Nov. 13, 1964 and made a reference to the said Board of the following terms, namely,-

(a) to determine the categories of employees (manual, clerical, supervisor, etc.) who should be brought within the scope of proposed wage fixation (excluding, however, the Class I and Class II Officers); and

(b) to work out a wage structure based on the principle of fair wages as set forth in the report of the Committee of Fair Wages.

3. In making, the reference the Central Government laid down guidelines as to how the fair wages were to be determined and further directed the Board to submit its recommendations in respect of interim relief pending submission of the final report. The Wage Board submitted its recommendations regarding the interim relief on April 9, 1965 and in the course of the said recommendations it observed that they would be applicable to certain categories of employees and port and dock workers at major ports.

4. The Wage Board submitted its final report on Nov. 29, 1969. Since the Wage Board had been authorised under the terms of reference to determine the specific categories of dock workers and employees who in the opinion of the Board should be brought under the scope of the principles of wage fixation, the Wage Board had specified the categories of workers who were entitled to relief at its hands even at the stage of making of the interim recommendations, referred to above. At this stage it is necessary to refer to the definition of the expression dock worker in the Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). Clause (b) of S. 2 of the Act defines the expression dock worker thus :

"2(b). Dock worker means a person employed or to be employed in, or in the vicinity of, any port on work in connection with the loading, unloading, movement or storage of cargoes, or work in connection with the preparation of ships or other vessels for the receipt for discharge of cargoes or leaving port."

5. The above definition of dock worker is of wide import and it includes all categories of workers working in a port or in the vicinity, if they are handling cargoes. But the Wage Board, however, did not choose to make any recommendation in respect of bargemen, i.e., Dandees and Majhis at the Port of Calcutta, who were more than 15,000 in number. As a matter of fact there was an ealier reference by the State Government of a dispute regarding the wages payable to bargemen, i.e., Dandees and Majhis at the Port of Calcutta and the Industrial Tribunal had by an award dated March 9, 1966 fixed their basic wages at Rs. 110/- and Rs. 130/- per month respectively. There were also certain ad hoc increments of such wages by different interim agreements. When these categories of workmen found that the Wage Board had not made any recommendation regarding the wages payable to them, they raised an industrial dispute claiming the benefit of the Wage Board recommendations. Accordingly, the Central Government on August 22, 1970 constituted a National Tribunal at Calcutta and referred to it under S. 7-B and S. 10(1A) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 the following issue for adjudication, namely,-

"Whether recommendations of the Central Wage Board for the Port and Dock Workers as accepted by the Central Government in their resolution No. WB-21(7)/69 dated the 28th March, 1970 are applicable to the bargemen in the matter of wages and allowances? If not to what other relief with regard to wages and allowances are they entitled?"

6. In the statement of claims filed by the trade union representing bargemen it was contende