Permanent Status Act overrides 12(3) settlements; workmen gain permanent status after 480 days continuous service.

JUDGMENT :

M. JOTHIRAMAN, J.

1. The present intra Court appeals have been instituted challenging the writ orders passed in the writ petitions on different dates. Since the issues to be considered are common, these writ appeals have been tagged together, heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

2. The case of the respondents/workmen is that they were initially engaged as daily wages basis on various dates as Driver and Conductor in Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation between 2000-2001. As per 12(3) settlement entered between the Trade Union and Transport Corporation, permanent status has to be given to the workmen on completion of 240 days in one year as daily paid workmen. Thereafter, the employees were filed an application under Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishment (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981 [hereinafter referred as the “Permanent Status Act”] before the Inspector-cum-Assistant Commissioner of Labour (Enforcement), Thanjavur for regularisation of their service. On completion of 480 days from the date of their initial appointment. The Assistant Commissioner has granted relief in their favour. The benefits of regularization were granted in the year 2006 and all the employees were getting their regular time scale of pay and also the service benefits as applicable to the permanent employees in the State Transport Corporations. Thereafter, the Assistant Commissioner of Labour granted relief of permanent status to employees from the date of initial appointment as daily wage employees i.e., from the years 2000 and 2001 respectively. The said orders came to be challenged by the Management of the Transport Corporations by way of a writ proceedings. The learned Single Judge by the impugned orders dismissed the said writ petitions, which has resulted in filing of the present writ appeals. 

3. The learned Additional Advocate General appearing on behalf of the appellant/Transport Corporation would submit that the initial appointment of the respondent/workmen are on daily wage basis. They were regularized in the sanctioned post in the regular time scale of pay pursuant to the 12(3) settlement entered into between the Management of the Transport Corporations and the workmen on in the year 2005. All the workmen agreed to the 12(3) settlement, joined in the permanent sanctioned post and were receiving all the service benefits till the year 2014. Suddenly, they preferred a petition under the Permanent Status Act claiming permanent status retrospectively with effect from the date on which they had completed 480 days of continuous service as daily wage employees. It is also submitted that once workmen having agreed to the 12(3) settlement and were receiving time scale of pay for more than 8 years, thereafter filed petition seeking permanent status is un-sustainable in law. 12(3) settlement is binding on the parties by virtue of Section 18(3) of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. They cannot claim retrospective regularization of service under the Permanent Status Act on completion of 480 days of continuous service.

4. Per contra, the learned counsel appearing for the respondents/workmen would submit that Section 3 of the Permanent Status Act contemplates that notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force every workman who is in continuous service for a period of four hundred and eighty days in a period of twenty four calendar months in an industrial establishment shall be made permanent. The benefits conferred under the