The court affirmed that continuous employment since 1995 entitled casual workers to regularization as employees under the Industrial Disputes Act, despite management's claims to the contrary.

JUDGMENT :

Satyen Vaidya, J.

1. By way of instant petition, petitioners have taken exception to the award dated 02.02.2021 passed by learned Presiding Officer, Central Government Industrial Tribunal–cum-Labour Court, II, Chandigarh (for short, “Tribunal”) in ID No. 24/2015.

2. The Doordarshan Casual and Contract Employees Association, Shimla submitted its demand notice dated 18.07.2014 to the Deputy Director, Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla. Their demands were as under:

(i) The services of casual and contract employees, who have been rendering services since 1995, in different departments of Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla should be regularized.

(ii) The casual and contract employees, who have been rendering their services to Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla since 1995 should be brought under some contractual policy as in the case of Prasar Bharti by taking into consideration their educational qualifications and experience.

(iii) Till the formulation of contractual policy and its implementation, the wages should be paid by declaring different sections.

(iv) An Attendance Register should be maintained in the Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla for marking the attendance of casual and contractual employees.

(v) Office order, tour order, I-Card should be issued for all types of external programmes.

(vi) T.A./D.A., Over Time, Gate Pass, I-Card, P.F., Medical Insurance should be provided.

(vii) Weekly holiday, National holiday, Festival holiday, Earned leave, Casual leave and Maternity leave should also be provided.

(viii) The facility of pick up and dropping should be provided before and after the regular working hours.

3. The conciliation proceedings were held and on its failure, the appropriate Government referred the dispute between the management of Doordarshan Kendra Shimla and the workmen in following terms:

“Whether the action of the management of Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla for not complying the basic labour laws and not framing any policy for casual workers who are giving services since 1995 to Doordarshan is legal and justified? If not what relief the workmen is entitled to and from which date?”

4. The workmen (19 in number) submitted their claim petition before learned Tribunal and prayed for the following reliefs:

i) Casual Workers of Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla may kindly be treated as eligible for regularization, in the present claim petition casual workers are working in the Doordarshan Kendra, regularly for last 10 to 20 years without break.

ii) For the purpose of regularization, the upper age limit has to be relaxed to the extent of service rendered by the casual workers.

iii) It is humbly prayed that till all the casual workers who have been engaged by the respondents, the respondents may not resort to fresh recruitment of such casual workers through employment exchange or otherwise.

iv) Till the casual workers are regularized, the wages to be paid to them should be in accordance with the scale of pay of the post held by a regular employee in an identical post, in the interest of justice.

v) That Supreme Court judgment be complied by the respondents and they be regularized in a short interval of time keeping their length of service and any harm to the service of casual workers may not be caused by the respondents, in the interest of justice, equity and fair play.”

5. The management contested the claim on the grounds that the Doordarshan Kendra, Shimla was not an industrial establishment. No relationship of employer and employee existed inter se the parties. It was submitted that the workmen were