R. Suresh Kumar, J.

All these five writ petitions are arising out of the common award dated 16.2.2005, given by the first respondent/Labour Court. Since the petitioners in these writ petitions have challenged the said award of the first respondent and the prayer herein are also one and the same, these writ petitions were grouped together and heard as a batch of petitions and being disposed of by this common order.

2. The common factors of all these cases, as culled out from the respective affidavits filed in support of the writ petitions, are as follows:

(i) That the second respondent had been running canteens for its employees at the Head Office at Salem and in Attur, Johnsonpet, Rasipuram, Erumapalayam, Namakkal, Tiruchengode, Edappadi and Mettur.

(ii) There were about 125 employees engaged by the second respondent to work in these canteens which include the petitioners herein. These petitioners had joined in service as canteen employees between the year 1983 and 1987. Initially, a monthly consolidated wage at the rate of Rs. 5 per day was fixed and paid to these petitioners.

(iii) Though these petitioners had been working for some years ranging from 3 to 6 years, the second res