Temporary employees' termination post-ULP complaint illegal sans compliance; reinstatement upheld sans permanency; backwages limited to 50% pendency, arrears 90 days pre-filing; entitled to minimum pay scale of respective posts, not lowest grade from joining.

JUDGMENT :

SANDEEP V. MARNE, J.

1) Petitioner-University has filed the present Petition challenging judgment and order dated 28 November 2023 passed by the Industrial Court, Mumbai allowing Complaint (ULP) No. 208 OF 2017 filed by Respondents alleging unfair labour practices under Item Nos. 5, 6 and 9 of Schedule IV of the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 (MRTU and PULP Act). The Industrial Court has directed Petitioner to pay salary to Respondents equal to the lowest grade of salary and allowance being paid to its regular employees from the dates of their respective joining. Respondents are held entitled to resume their duties on their respective posts and places with all consequential benefits and equal pay at par with permanent employees from 5 July 2017. Petitioner has been further directed to provide all consequential benefits and equal pay to the Respondents on par with permanent employees from 5 July 2017 until they are provided with their normal work.

2) Brief facts leading to filing of the Petition are stated thus: Petitioner No.1 is University of Mumbai and Petitioner Nos. 2 and 3 are its Vice Chancellor and Registrar respectively. Respondents were engaged by the Petitioner-University to discharge duties on various posts such as Peon, Junior Typist-Clerk, Sweepers, Scientific Assistant, Data Entry Operator, Driver, Hamal, Mali, etc. The services of Respondents were temporary in nature and were extended from time to time. It appears that the Respondents were in the process of filing a complaint of unfair labour practices against the University for raising a claim for regularisation. However a Circular was issued by the Registrar of the University on 30 June 2017 for discontinuation of all temporary employees named in the attached list w.e.f. 30 June 2017. Respondents were accordingly discontinued vide circular dated 30 June 2017.

3) Respondents filed Complaint (ULP) No. 208 of 2017 in Industrial Court, Mumbai alleging unfair labour practices on the part of Petitioner-University under Items Nos.5, 6 and 9 of Schedule-IV of the MRTU and PULP Act. They claimed status of permanent workmen from the date of completion of 240 days of work. They also claimed allowances and other monetary and consequential benefits at par with other permanent employees of the University from the date of completion of continuous services of 240 days by each of them. Along with the complaint, a chart providing dates of initial engagement and dates of completion of 240 days was appended at Annexure A. The complaint was signed on 30 June 2017 and the same was apparently lodged on 1 July 2017.

4) This is how the acts of filing of complaint for regularization by Respondents and discontinuation of their services vide Circular dated 30 June 2017 happened almost simultaneously. The Complaint (ULP) No. 208 of 2017 was accordingly amended by the Respondents, and the relief of reinstatement was added complaining that from 5 July 2017, the Petitioner-University refused to provide work to the Respondents. The Responden