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PETITIONER: DELHI MUNICIPAL KARAMCHARI EKTA UNION (REGD.)

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: P.L. SNGH & ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT07/12/1987

BENCH: VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J) BENCH: VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J) SINGH, K.N. (J)

CITATION:  1988 AIR  519            1988 SCR  (2) 174  1988 SCC  Supl.   95     JT 1987 (4)   617  1987 SCALE  (2)1370

ACT:      Constitution of  India, Articles 14 & 16: Equal pay for equal work-Daily rated workmen working for a number of years at wages  lower than  minimum salary  of regular incumbents- Held entitled to wages at minimum of pay scale.      Labour Law:  Daily rated  workers working  as such  for eight       years-Regularisation/absorption       of-Whether permissible.

HEADNOTE: %      The daily  rated Vaccinators/lmmunisors  working  under the Delhi  Municipal Corporation  for more  than eight years sought regularisation of their services and payment of wages at par  with regularly  appointed incumbents  doing the same kind of  work. On  a reference  the Industrial Tribunal took the view  that the workmen concerned were not entitled to be regularised.      Allowing the appeal by special leave, ^      HELD: The Vaccinators/lmmunisors involved in the appeal are entitled to be regularised. [176G]      There  was   no  justification   for   the   respondent Corporation extracting  the same  amount of  work  from  the workmen concerned  on payment  of daily wages at rates lower than the  minimum salary  which  was  being  paid  to  other workmen who  have been  recruited regularly  even though the workmen involved  in the case have been working for a number of years. [176C-D]      The respondent  Corporation to  pay them  wages at  the rate equivalent  to the  minimum pay  in the  pay  scale  of regularly  employed   Vaccinators/lmmunisors   without   any increments with  effect from the date of reference. They are also  entitled  to  the  corresponding  dearness  allowance. [176F]      The respondent  Corporation to  prepare a  scheme on  a rational basis  for absorbing as far as possible the workmen involved in the case 175 as regular Vaccinators/lmmunisors within six months. Process of absorption  to be  completed within eight months. Arrears

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of salary  and allowance  to be paid within four months. 1 5 [176G-H]      Daily  Rated   Casual  Labour  employed  under  P  &  T Department through  Bhartiya Dak  Tar Mazdoor Manch v. Union of India  & Ors.,  [1987] 2  SCALE, X44  and U.P. Income-tax Department Contingent  Paid  Staff  Welfare  Association  v. Union of India & Ors.,(W.P. No. 1870 of 1986), followed.

JUDGMENT:      CIVIL APPELLATE  JURISDICTION: Civil  Appeal  No.  3921 (NL) of 1987.      From  the  Award  dated  15.5.1987  of  the  Industrial Tribunal No.  III. Delhi  in Industrial  Dispute No.  157 of 1981/312 of 1987.      P.N. Gupta for the Appellants.      R.B. Datar and Ranjit Kumar for the Respondents.      The following order of the Court was delivered:                             O R D E R      Special  leave   granted.  The  appeal  is  heard.  The appellant is  the union  of employees in the Delhi Municipal Corporation. Some of the members of the appellant union have been working  as Vaccinators/Immunisors on daily wages under the Delhi  Municipal Corporation  for more  than eight years whereas many  others who  have been  regularly appointed and are doing same kind of work are being paid higher salary and allowances  every   month.  Even   though  the   Vaccinators /Immunisors who  have been  working on daily wages have been working for  a long number of years no action has been taken by the  Delhi Municipal  Corporation for  regularising their services. In  view of  the disparity in the payment of wages and the neglect on the part of the Corporation regarding the regularisation of  the services  of the  daily rated workmen there arose  an  industrial  dispute  and  the  dispute  was referred by  the competent authority for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal  No. 3, Delhi under a notification dated 23.11. 1981. The question which was referred to the Tribunal was:                "Whether the  workmen mentioned  in  Annexure           ’A’     need      to     be     regularised     as           Vaccinators/lmmunisors in  the scale of Rs.260-430           and if  so, from what date and what directions are           necessary in this matter?" 176      After hearing  the matter  the Tribunal agreed with all the contentions of the appellants but it held that no relief could be  granted to  them and  that  they  should  approach either the High Court or the Supreme Court for that purpose. Accordingly the  Tribunal passed  an award  nearly six years after the  date of  the reference that the workmen concerned were    not     entitled    to     be     regularised     as Vaccinators/Immunisors in the scale of Rs.260-430. Aggrieved by the  award of  the Tribunal  the appellant has filed this appeal by special leave.      After hearing  the learned  counsel for  the parties we find that the Delhi Municipal Corporation has practically no tenable defence  to the  claim made by the workmen. There is no justification  for the  Corporation extracting  the  same amount of  work from  the workmen  concerned on  payment  of daily wages  at rates lower than the minimum salary which is being  paid   to  other  workmen  who  have  been  recruited regularly even though the workmen involved in this case have been working  for a  number of  years. Nearly six years have elapsed from  the date  of the  reference  but  without  any

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change in the attitude of the Corporation.      Following the  decision of  this Court  in Daily  Rated Casual Labour  employed  under  P  &  T  Department  through Bhartiya  Dak   Tar  Mazdoor   Manch  v.   Union  of   India Ors.,[1987] 2  SCALE, page  844 and  our  decision  in  U.P. Income-tax  Department   Contingent   Paid   Staff   Welfare Association v.  Union of  India &  Ors., (Writ  Petition No. 1870 of  1986 decided  on December  4, 1987  we  direct  the respondent  Delhi   Municipal   Corporation   to   pay   the Vaccinators/ Immunisors involved in this appeal wages at the rate equivalent  to the  minimum pay  in  the  pay-scale  of regularly  employed   Vaccinators/  Immunisors  without  any increments with  effect from  the date of the reference i.e. 23.11.1981. The  workmen concerned  are also entitled to the corresponding dearness  allowance. We  also direct the Delhi Municipal Corporation  to prepare  a scheme  on  a  rational basis for  absorbing as far as possible the workman involved in this  case as  regular Vaccinators/Immunisors. This order is made in substitution of the award passed by the Tribunal. The arrears of salary and allowance payable under this order shall be  paid within four months. The scheme for absorption shall be  prepared within  six months  and  the  process  of absorption shall  be  completed  within  eight  months  from today. The appeal is accordingly allowed with no order as to costs. P.S.S.                                       Appeal allowed. 177