Apprentices who perform the type of work mentioned in Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 are covered by the Act and are not governed by the Apprenticeship Act, 1961.

R.A.Sharma, J.

1. The petitioners in these writ applications filed complaints under Section 33-A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the I.D.Act) before the Labour Court. Bokaro Steel City, with the allegation that they have been removed from service by their employer, namely, M/s. Hindustan Malleables and Forcings Ltd., Dhanbad (Respondent No. 2) during the pendency of an industrial dispute, being Reference Case No. 7/85, illegally without complying with the provisions of law. The Labour Court has rejected the said complaints on the ground that the petitioners are not the workmen, but are merely apprentices to whom the I.D.Act is not applicable. Being aggrieved by the said order of the Labour Court, the petitioners have filed these writ applications.

2. We have heard Mr.T.K.Das, learned Counsel for the petitioners, and Mr.M.M. Banerjee, learned Counsel for the respondents.

3. Sec. 2(s) of the I.D.Act defines "workman" as follows:-

"2(s) "workman" means any persion (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Act in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched in connection with or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does not include any such person- (i) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950, or the Army Act, 1950, or the Navy Act, 1957,

(ii) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee of a prison,

(iii) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity,

(iv) who, being employed in a supervisory capacity draws wages exceeding one thousand six hundred rupees per annum or exercise, either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature."

4. The apprentice is expressly included in the definition or workman. According to the said definition every person, including an apprentice employed in an industry to do the kind of works mentioned therein is a workman. In H.R. Adyanthaya etc. etc. V/s. Sandoz (India) Ltd., etc. etc., (1995-I-LLJ-303), the Supreme Court while considering the definition of workman as contained in Sec. 2(s) of the I.D.Act has laid down as under:

".......... Hence, the position in law as it obtains today is that a person to be a workman under the I.D.Act must be employed to do the work of any of the categories, viz., manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory."

5. Every person or every apprentice working in an industry cannot be a workman. It is the type of work a person performs and the nature of duties, which he discharges, which is the determining factor in order to find out as to whether he is or is not a workman. The same test will apply to an apprentice also. If he is performing the type of work mentioned in Sec. 2(s) of the I.D.Act, he is a workman to whom the said Act will apply.

6. Sec. 2(aa) of the Apprentice Act, 1961, defines the "apprentice" as under:-

"2(aa) "apprentice" means a person who is undergoing apprenticeship training in pursuance of a contract of apprenticeship."

Sec. 3 of the said Act has laid down the eligibility qualifications for being engaged as an apprentice. Sec. 4 states that no person shall be engaged as an apprentice to undergo apprenticeship training in a designated trade unless he has entered into a contract of apprenticeship. Sub-sections (4) and (5) of the said Section require the apprenticeship contract to be registered. Sec. 6 deals with the period of apprenticeship training and Sec. 7 provides for termination of apprenticeship contract. Sec. 18 of the said Act, which has laid down that apprentices are trainees and not wo