IMPORTANT POINT
The court emphasized that the petitioners were entitled to wage revision as per the CGIT award, subject to the availability of funds, and that the respondent no. 1 wrongfully discriminated against the retired unionised workers by not paying their arrears at par with the currently employed unionized workmen.

JUDGMENT

Chandra Dhari Singh, J. - The instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioners seeking following reliefs:

"i. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus, and or any other appropriate writ, order or direction under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for disbursement of wage revision arrears and consequential benefits thereof to the unionised (retired) workers of the respondent no. 1 in accordance with the MOU dated August 08, 2019 and the Award dated November 29, 2016 passed by CGIT respectively.

ii. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus, and/or any other appropriate writ, order or direction under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for disbursement of the said wage revision arrears to the retired unionised workers/employees in a time bound manner.

iii. Pass such other and further reliefs as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of this case "

FACTUAL MATRIX

2. The issue involved in the writ petitions is common, therefore, all the petitions are disposed of by this Common Order. The instant batch of writ petition pertains to unionised workers of the Hotel Corporation of India, i.e., respondent no.1.The prayer as sought by the petitioner is-Disbursement of the wage revision arrears and the consequential benefits thereof to the unionsed (retired) workers of the respondent no. 1 in accordance with the MOU dated 8th August 2019 and the Award dated 29th November 2016 passed by the Central Government Industrial Tribunal respectively in a time bound manner.

3. For the purpose of adjudication of the instant petition, it is imperative to state the facts. The petitioners herein had joined the respondent No.1 under the category of unionised workmen between the period of 1982 and 1991 and retired in the period of 2010-2020.

4. The respondent no. 1 is Hotel Corporation of India, a public limited company which was incorporated on 8th July 1971 is a subsidiary of respondent no.2 i.e., Air India Limited before till its disinvestment in January 2022 and is now owned by Air India Assets Holding Limited. The respondent no.3 is the Ministry of Civil Aviation; respondent no.3 is the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the nodal ministry for civil aviation as well as the regulates respondent no. 2; and the respondent no.4 is the Department of Public Enterprises, the nodal department for all Central Public Sector Enterprises (hereinafter called "CPSEs").

5. The first revision to the salary of the employees of respondent no. 1 was introduced in the year 1982 for a period of 5 years, i.e., till 1987. The Bureau of Public Enterprises had issued a direction dated 13th July 1984, to all the Central Public Sector Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as "CPSEs"), to follow the Industrial Dearness Allowance pattern instead of the Central Scales of pay and Dearness Allowance pattern.

6. The Department of Public Enterprises vide its notification dated 12th April 1993, withdrew the ban on the 5th round of wage negotiation and subsequently, allowed the management of CPSEs to commence their wage negotiations. Thereafter, the department issued a DPE OM No. 2(11)/96-DPE (WC) dated 14th January, 1999 and vide the said office memorandum it had passed directions to the management of CPSEs to commence the 6th round of wage negotiations with its workers.

7. On 11th February, 2004 the Government of Public Enterprises issued a notification bearing DPE OM No. 2(11)/96-DPE (WC)-GL-I (2004 Guidelines), whereby, it had directed to commence the next round of wage negotiations. Further, on 9th November, 2006, the department had issued another notification bearing DPE OM No. 2(7)/2006-DPE (WC)-GL-XIV (hereinafter referred to as 2006 Guidelines) directing the above said management to commence the 7th round of wage negotiation which provides that the management of the CPSEs would be free to negotiate the wage structure and that the Government shall not provide any budgetary support for