JUDGMENT

SAWANT, J.:—Leave granted in all the petitions.

These four groups of appeals raise common questions of law relating to the abolition of contract system of labour. Civil appeals C.A.No. 5497 & 5504/95 arising out of S.L.P. (c) Nos. 2613 of 1991 and 13520 of 1991 are filed by the managements, viz., Gujarat Electricity Board and M/s. Bihar State Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Ltd. respectively, while Civil Appeals 5498-02/95, 5503/95 arising out of S.L.P.(C) Nos. 9310-14 of 1991 and 9315 of 1991 are filed by the employees unions, viz., Delhi officers and Establishment Employees Union and New Delhi General Mazdoor Union respectively, both against the same management, viz., Standing Conference Of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) & Anr.

2. For the sake of convenience, we will first deal with the facts in Civil Appeal 5497/95 arising out of S.L.P. (C) No. 2613 of 1991 and the questions of law as they arise therefrom.

C.A. No. 5497/95, S.L.P. (C) No. 2613 of 1991

3. The appellant-board runs a Thermal Power Station at Ukai in Gujarat where it generates and distributes electricity to the consumers. At the relevant time besides the direct workmen, the Board deployed through various contractors 1500 skilled and unskilled manual laboureres to carry on the work of loading and unloading of coal and for feeding the same in the hoppers and for doing the cleaning and other allied activities in its power station. It appears that these workmen hailed from the adivasi area and many of them had lost their land on account of the construction of the Thermal Power Project of the Board with the result that the employment in the power station was the only means of livelihood left for them. The contractors, according to the respondent-Union, exploited these workmen by flouting labour laws. Ultimately, the workmen organised themselves into a trade union. But on that count they were victimised and on 16th November, 1981, the services of a thousand of these workmen were abruptly terminated. The Union, therefore, filed a writ petition in the High Court praying for direction to reinstate the workmen and for implementing and enforcing the Factories Act, the Employees Provident Fund Act, the Payment of Wages Act and other labour enactments. The High Court by its order of 16th December, 1981 appointed one Shri Israni as a Court Commissioner to make detailed enquiries regarding the allegations made in the writ partition and also to try to remove the dispute between the parties. The Commissioner held talks with the concerned parties and also associated the officers of the Labour Department of the Government with the said talks. It was agreed by and between the parties, viz., the Board and the contractors on the one hand and the workmen on the other, that all the workmen whose names and numbers were mutually agreed to, be allowed to enter the power station for work from 4th January, 1982 and that a settlement under Section 2(p) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short the ID Act) be duly executed in that behalf. It was further agreed that the remaining disputes between the parties, viz., those relating to the revision of wages of the workmen, their rights and privileges arising out of the Factories Act, Employees Provident Fund Act, Maternity Benefits Act and the Workmens Compensation Act as well as the disputes with regard to the workmens contention that they were the employees of the Board, be referred for adjudication by a joint reference under Section 10 (2) of the ID Act. Accordingly, a joint application was made to the Assistant Commissioner of Labour under Section 10 (2) of the ID Act requesting him that the disputes mentioned therein be referred for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal and consequently the reference from which the present proceedings arise was made. The terms of the reference were as follows :

"(1) Whether the workers whose services are engaged by the contractors, but who are working in the Thermal Power Station of Gujar