Point of Law: Section 10 of CLRA reads as prohibition of employment of contract labour.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner-employer is before this Court seeking for the following reliefs:

(a) Call for the records on the file of the Industrial Tribunal, Bangalore, in I.D. No. 5/2000, peruse the same, allow the writ petition, quash the impugned Award dated 3rd December 2011 passed in I.D. No. 5/2000 vide Annexure ‘A’ by issue of a writ in the nature of certiorari, consequently, dismiss the dispute.

(b) Or in the alternative pass such other orders as this Hon’ble Court deem fit to pass on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice and equity.

2. The employer is an undertaking of State of Karnataka engaged in manufacture and sale of power breakers of various capacities. It has its own service rules, Cadre and Recruitment Rules for appointment of regular employees which is what is alleged to have been followed by the employer.

3. The services which are concerned with in the present matter are those related to house-keeping, gardening, loading and unloading which is alleged to require only a few hours a day. It is on that basis that the employer had entrusted those works to labour contractors for lumpsum amount by entering into contract.

4. The contractors are alleged to have engaged their own men to carry out the said work. The housekeeping and gardening work was entrusted to “Sri. Shankar Nursery (associated)” work of loading and unloading was entrusted to “M/s Associated Detective and Security Services.”

5. On 7.03.2000, Sri Shankar Nursery terminated the contract relating to house keeping and gardening. Similarly on 24.03.2000, M/s Associated Detective and Security Services terminated the contract and thereafter withdrew their men.

6. In pursuance thereof, the employer entrusted the work to “M/s Essential Services” vide contract dated 29.03.2000 which also came to be withdrawn by the said contractor vide letter dated 29.11.2000. It is alleged that thereafter the employer has not engaged any contract workers.

7. The persons engaged by Sri Shankar and M/s Associated Detective and Security Services had filed a petition on 31.03.1999 through the respondent Union before the Deputy Labour Commissioner for a declaration that the workers whose names are mentioned in Annexure-A thereto were always employees of the employer and therefore they are entitled to get all the benefits as applicable to the permanent workmen from the date of their joining service. It was contended that the said workers were discharging their work which were perennial in nature along with other permanent workmen and therefore they are entitled to be declared as permanent workmen.

8. The employer opposed the said petition by contending that the persons named in annexure to the petition were not discharging their jobs as mentioned against their name, the employer does not even know them. The work entrusted to the contractors was house-keeping, gardening, loading and unloading which required only few hours of work in a day and therefore, the same cannot be said to be perennial in nature and therefore, they were not entitled to be treated as permanent workmen.

9. The matter having been referred to conciliation, the conciliation efforts failed and as such, the State Government in exercise of powers conferred under Section 10(1)(d) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 [for short ‘ID Act’] referred the points of dispute for adjudication to Industrial Tribunal, Bengaluru on 14.12.1999.

10. The points which were referred for adjudication are as under:

(i) Whether the management of Mysore Electrical Industries Ltd. Tumkur Road, Bangalore, are justified in engaging contract workers as packers, Electricians, Welders, Cook, Stores, Painters, House-Keeping, Driver, Typist, Draftsman, Librarian etc. and getting done permanent and perennial nature of work through them and whether the said contract system in sham?

(ii) If not, to what relief the workers shown in Annexure ‘A’ who are represented by Engineering and General Workers Union, No. 2, Mill Corner, Ma