GHULAM MOHAMMED, J.

( 1 ) THESE writ petitions raise common questions of fact and law and hence they are heard together and are being disposed of by this common order.

( 2 ) WRIT Petition No. 26455 of 1998 is filed by 13 persons who claim to be the contract workers working as Drivers, Accountant, attender, Telephone operator, Clerk and helpers. Writ Petition N6. 35981 of 1998 is filed by ten persons who claim to be working as helpers and Writ Petition no. 35996 of 1998 is filed by seven persons working as helpers, in the Oil and Natural gas Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as "the Corporation"), through the contractors at O. N. G. C. , Krishna godavari Project.

( 3 ) THEY filed the above writ petitions seeking directions to the respondents to enforce forthwith the notification of the government of India bearing No. U/23013/ 4/92-LW, dated 8-9-1994 by which contract labour in various works was prohibited and consequently direct the respondents to absorb all the petitioners.

( 4 ) IT is their common case that they are qualified for the posts for which they have been engaged by the contractors and their nature of work is perennial in nature and permanent one and is very much essential for running of the respondent-Corporation. They allege that they are working in the prohibitory categories. The respondent- corporation is a Public Sector Undertaking and it has monopoly over the operation concerning prospecting, exploring and extracting the crude oil and natural gas in india. It is stated that at present under the control of respondents 2 and 3 there are more than 50 establishments operating in the districts of Vijayawada, Guntur, East godavari and West Godavari. The petitioners state that they are continuously working in O. N. G. C. , Krishna-Godavari project as contract workers in various departments of field installation along with the regular employees.

( 5 ) IT is further alleged that the government of India referred the matter to the Central Advisory Contract Labour board constituted under Section 3 of the contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) act, 1970, (hereinafter called "the Act"), and the said Board in its meeting held at new Delhi on 3-11-1993 recommended for abolition of contract labour in 13 different categories. The Government of India accordingly issued notification, in exercise of the powers under Section 10 (1) of the act, prohibiting the employment of the contract labour in various works in the establishments of the respondents, which are extracted hereunder:"schedule: (1) Fire Fighting (Fire Supervisor, fireman, Fire Technician ). (2) Typists. (3) Clerks (including Accounts Clerks ). (4) Steno Typists/stenographers. (5) Data Operators. (6) Computer Operators. (7) Store Keepers. (8) Boiler Operators. (9) Telephone Operators. (10) Attendants/helpers/peons. (11) Installation Technician and Helpers. (12) Radio Operators. (13) Drivers (wherever driving work is not done in hiring vehicles on contract but by vehicles owned by the Oil and Natural Gas commission ).

( 6 ) IT is their case that in view of the above notification issued by the Central government published in the Gazette of india Extraordinary on 8-9-1994 and in view of the law declared by the Supreme Court in the case of Air India Statutory Corpn. vs. United Labour Union, after abolition of contract labour system, relationship of master and servant exists and thus they are entitled to be absorbed and regularized in the respondent-Corporation. It is further stated that they pursued remedies by approaching the conciliation by seeking necessary reliefs. Ultimately, due to non-cooperative approach of the management, the conciliation failed and it submitted failure of conciliation proceedings on 15-11-1996. Thereafter, the matter was referred to by the government under Section 10 of the industrial Disputes Act to the Industrial tribunal, Visakhapatnam and finally a nil award was passed. It is further alleged that in spite of the notification dated

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