The Chief Executive Officer/District Forest Officer, Sandalwood Industrial Complex, Tirupattur has filed a batch of 22 Writ Petitions challenging the Common Award dated 112. 2000 passed in I.D.Nos.15, 26, 33, 30, 22, 29, 21, 16, 27, 25, 31, 32, 20, 23, 34, 36, 35, 24, 28, 18, 19 and 17 of 1999 respectively on the file of the second respondent Labour Court, Vellore.

2. The first respondent in each one of the cases are women who have been employed as Grade-III Mazdoors in the Additional Sandalwood Depot on daily wage basis. The wages were fixed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/Conservator of Forests on the basis of the rate fixed by the Labour and Employment Department for the Sandalwood Depot workers and also complying with the requirements of Minimum Wages Act. It includes dearness allowance. The nature of employment of the first respondent workmen is to transport sandalwood kept in the Additional Depot to the Final Cleaning Depot. According to the petitioner Department, the women 1st respondent in each case were appointed as casual labourers and were paid on daily wage basis. It is stated in the affidavit that on 13. 1997, there was a big fire in the addit