RAJAGOPALAN, J.

Respondents 2 to 12 were employees of the Madras Port Trust, represented by the petitioner. Of these respondents, respondent 9 Lakshmanan, was a maistry, and the rest were shore labour mazdoors. It was a combination of time basis and piecework basis that was adopted by the employer for the payment of their monthly wages. The details of the emoluments payable to them were as follows : A mazdoor was paid every month Rs. 22 at attendance wage (retainer); a maistry was paid Rs. 27 a month. In addition, each of the employees, mazdoors as well as maistries, was paid a special dearness allowance of Rs. 15 a month, a house-rent allowance of Rs. 7 and a compensatory allowance of Rs. 3. In addition to these four items, there was a fifth, daily earnings for work done calculated on a piece rate or daily rate. Those rates were five annas a ton for handling ship cargoes; three annas a ton for loading and unloading of wagons; four annas a ton in respect of such loading or unloading from sheds, and Rs. 1-2-0 a day for stacking, etc. While the first four items enumerated above were fixed payments, the last was a variable factor, depending on the quantum of work done by ea