The employees had voluntarily agreed to the changes in working hours and holidays through settlements, and the Corporation had the right to prescribe different working hours for different employees based on the nature of their work.

Tirath S. Thakur, J.—"Long holidays and Short working hours" is the burden of the claim made in these Writ Petitions, which call in question Circular Nos. 6, 10 & 31 dated 22.4.1991, 5.8.1991, and 7.2.1995 respectively issued by the Respondent-Corporation. By these Circulars Ministerial staff posted in Depots, Control points, Stores and workshops have been asked to work for 8 hours a day be entitled to a total of 10 valid holidays during the span of One year. The petitioners contend that the increase in the working hours from 6 1/2 hours to 8 hours a day and the decrease in the number of holidays from twenty two per year to a bare ten is illegal and amounts to changing their service conditions to their prejudice without the authority of law and contrary to the provisions of the Statutes applicable to them. The facts are few and may be stated first:

2. The petitioners are working as Clerks, Cashiers, Typists, Junior Assistants, Supervisors etc., and are presently posted in different Depots, Regional workshops, Divisional workshops and Divisional Stores of the respondent-Corporation in the State of Karnataka. They are known to be the ministerial staff of the Corporation as distinguished from the staff which is engaged in carrying out the actual operational work undertaken by the Respondent. Before the establishment of the Karnataka State Road Transport, Corporation, the transport business was being carried on by the State Government in the name and style of Mysore Government Road Transport Department (MGRTD for short) and the Bangalore Transport Service (BTS for short) the later being limited in its operation only to the Bangalore Transport Division. In respect of both these establishments standing orders had been framed which inter alia provided for the working hours of the staff employed in them. With the setting of the Statutory Corporation under the Road Transport Corporations Act 1950, the Board of Directors of the respondent passed a resolution on 1.8.1961 to the effect that the standing orders framed by the erstwhile MGRTD shall continue to be applicable to the employees who stood transferred to the Corporation from the two establishments mentioned above. The result, is that the MGRTD - standing orders are what, hold the field today, for admittedly no other standing orders have been frame by the Corporation ever since it came into existence.

3. In terms of standing orders No. 5 of the MGRTD standing orders the ministerial staff working in the Officer of workshops, stores and Depots was required to work from 8 am to 12 noon and 1Pm to 5 Pm - i.e., for nine hours per day with interval of one hour's break in between. Apart from the standing orders the service conditions of the employees of the Corporation were regulated by the settlements arrived at between the Management and the workmen. It is unnecessary for me to refer to all such settlements, except the one which is said to be a supplementary memorandum of settlement extended between the workers Union and the Management on 16.2.1978. This supplementary agreement inter alia provides for Holidays, overtime and Special allowance to Clerical staff working at the Depots. Clause 5 of the settlement states that the employees would be entitled to a total of eight paid holidays, comprising these national holidays on 15th August and 26th January and 2nd October, and another 5 out of 23 holidays set out in Clause-5 of the settlement.

4. Para-12 of the Settlement regulates working hours and the payment of over-time wages. It provides that the payment of overtime to various categories of employees shall be regulated as per the details indicated in ANNEXURE-A, to the Settlement. ANNEXURE-A, on the other hand comprises three statements out of which Statement-I pertains to Central Officers, Administrative Offices of Regional workshops and Central Stores. Settlement No. II pertains to staff working at Bus Stations and control points, whereas Statement No. III pertains to the Regional w