The court ruled that quasi-contractual arrangements do not preclude establishing employment status; the absence of a true contractor allows claims under MRTU & PULP Act.

JUDGMENT :

1. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation-Petitioner is aggrieved by orders passed by Industrial Court, Pune, in entertaining Complaint (ULP) No.139 of 1999 filed on behalf of persons, whom it brands as ‘contractors’, by rejecting the preliminary objection of maintainability vide order dated 22 November 2002. It is also aggrieved by the final judgment and order dated 30 January 2023 allowing the Complaint and declaring that the Complainants are employees of the Petitioner-Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). The Industrial Court has further directed the Petitioner-PCMC to absorb Complainants in service from the dates of their initial joining alongwith arrears of wages on par with its permanent employees doing similar work. Accordingly, Writ Petition No.4931 of 2003 is filed challenging the order on preliminary issue dated 22 November 2002 whereas Writ Petition No.1860 of 2024 is filed challenging the final judgment and order dated 30 January 2023.

2. Narration of few basic facts leading to filing the Petitions would be necessary. Petitioner is a Municipal Corporation established under the provisions of Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 (MMC Act). Petitioner-PCMC initiated Swachata Sankalp Mohim (cleanliness drive), which included inter alia public awareness programme to educate citizens about importance of cleanliness, door to door collection of solid waste etc. It appears that a Resolution was adopted by the Standing Committee of Petitioner-PCMC on 2 September 1997 on the basis of proposal of Municipal Commissioner dated 26 August 1997 to engage either one or two contractors in each Ward without inviting tenders for collection of garbage by use of push- cart and accumulating the same in Municipal Waste Box. It was decided to pay consolidated amount of Rs.1,800/- per month per contractor for performing such work. The Resolution contemplated either continuation of earlier contractors or to engage willing persons in the Ward to be engaged as a new contractor. It appears that on the basis of Resolution adopted by the Standing Committee on 2 September 1997,, contracts were issued to various persons. One such contract is placed on record which was issued on 3 August 1998, by which Shri. Laxman Vidurath Gaikwad was granted contract of collection of garbage by use of push-cart for the period from 4 September 1998 to 31 August 1998 on terms and conditions specified therein.

3. Mahapalika and Parivahan Kamgar Aghadi, Pimpri-Chinchwad filed Complaint (ULP) No.139 of 1999 before Industrial Court, Pune, on behalf of about 301 such persons, who were allotted work of collection of garbage through push-carts by the Petitioner-PCMC. The Union claimed that the said persons were actually employees of the Petitioner-PCMC. and the entire arrangement was nothing but a camouflage designed to avoid the responsibility arising under labour legislations. The arrangement of issuing contracts was thus branded as sham and a declaration was sought in the Complaint that 301 workers included in Annexure-P2 the Complaint be declared as direct workers of Petitioner-PCMC. Further relief for making all the workers permanent from the dates of joining duties alongwith wages on par with permanent workers was also sought.

4. Petitioner-PCMC appeared in the Complaint and filed its Written Statement. Additionally, Petitioner-PCMC also filed application for decision of issue of jurisdiction as preliminary issue and sought dismissal of the Complaint on the ground that the Industrial Court did not have jurisdiction to entertain Complaint filed under MAH