The main legal point established in the judgment is the determination of the employment status of domestic weavers and the applicability of the Industrial Disputes Act and G.O.Ms.No. 723 to the petitioner society.

T. Raja, J.

1. The following five questions framed by the Division Bench of this Court are the subject matters of the present writ petition, which are given as under:

(a) Whether the Domestic Weavers were not employees of the petitioner/society;

(b) Whether there was no employer/employee relationship between them;

(c) Whether the domestic weavers cannot be termed as workmen within the meaning of Section 2(s) of the I.D. Act;

(d) Whether in terms of G.O.Ms.No. 723, Labour and Employment, dated 07.04.1982, registered Handloom Weavers Co-operative Societies were exempted from all provisions of the said Act including Industrial Disputes Act.

(e) Whether G.O.(D) No. 39 dated 18.01.1994 fixing minimum wages of employment in handloom silk weaving industry was not applicable to the petitioner society as it is a co-operative society and therefore, the demand raised by the union should be rejected

2. Earlier, the Industrial Tribunal in I.D.No. 25 of 1997 dated 21.03.2002 by allowing the claim made by the Kancheepuram Murugan Silk Co-operative Society Weavers Union, directed the petitioner's Management to implement the G.O.(D) No. 39 dated 18.01.1994 for the purpose of revision of wages and corresponding Dearness Allowance. Further, it was held that the Dearness Allowance is revisable according to the cost of index and rise in pay. Aggrieved by the said award, when the petitioner Management preferred a writ petition, learned Single Judge of this Court, by order dated 13.08.2004, by holding that the award passed by the Industrial Disputes has to be set aside on the ground that the Tribunal has not properly determined as to whether the union has got locus standi to bring forth such an Industrial dispute, by setting aside the award, remitted the matter back to the Tribunal. Aggrieved by the said remand order, the petitioner Management went on appeal before the learned Division Bench by filling W.A.No. 3334 of 2004 inter alia raising other grounds that by virtue of notification issued in G.O.Ms.No. 723, Labour and Employment dated 07.04.1982, the entire provisions of Industrial Disputes including Section 52 has no application to the Society and its members. As such the weavers of the petitioner Society cannot maintain the dispute under Industrial Dispute against the Management. The Division Bench, by setting aside the order of the learned single Judge, remanded the matter back to the Industrial Tribunal, by its order dated 12.04.2007, by framing the above mentioned five questions, with direction to place the writ petition for hearing on all aspects as mentioned above. This is how, this writ petition has come before this Court.

3. A brief facts leading to the filling of writ petition is given as under:

(i) The petitioner Society called as Kancheepuram Murugan Silk Weavers Co-operative Production and Sales Society Limited is consisting of Handloom weavers having their own looms in their houses for weaving purpose and the society supplies them yarn on credit. The weavers, thereafter, convert it in the form of finished products and thereafter, giving credit to the value of the materials, they are paid with the conversion charges since all these weavers do not work in the premises belonging to the petitioner's Society. They do not have any fixed working hours and also, they do not work under the direct supervision and the control of the petitioner's Society and they are also free to do weaving for any master weaver or private parties engaged in the handlooms. In this way, there are 2665 members out of which only 855 members avail the facilities of supply of materials on credit for conversion. The Government have issued G.O.Ms.No. 39 dated 18.01.1994 fixing the Dearness Allowance at Rs. 19.55 p.a. for the members of the petitioner Society. As the petitioner society has not implemented the said G.O. and paid only 10% of the basic wages which is less than the Dearness Allowance fixed by the Government, the second respondent, Secretary of the Kancheepu