HINDUSTAN ANTIBIOTICS LTD. versus THE WORKMEN & ORS.

Citation: [1967] 1 S.C.R. 652 · Decided: 03-10-1966 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K. SUBBA RAO · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 8 judgment(s) · cites 1 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

HINDUSTAN ANTIBIOTICS LID. 
v. 
THE WORKMEN & ORS. 
October 3, 1966 
[K. SUBBA RAO, C. J., M. HIDAYATIJLLAH, S. M. SiKRI, 
R. S. BACHAWAT AND RAGHUBAR DAYAL, JJ.j 
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), s. 10--Award by Tribu-
nal-Fixation of Wage Scales--Public Sector underf(Jkings whether """ 
claim special ·treatment-:Dearness allowance, considerations in fixing--
Gratuity scheme-Age of retirement of warkers-Retrospective operation 
of award; discretion of Tribunal in fixing dale. 
The appellant was a Government undertaking incorporated under the 
Indian Companies Act. 
Its registered office was in Maharashtra and hi 
main business the manufacture of antibiotics. The entire equity capilal 
of the company was held by the President of India and his nominees and 
the entire Board of Directors was nominated by him. Service conditions 
of the workmen and other matters were subject to the approval of lbe 
President of India. Though the company was a limited one and ther&-
fore had a distinct corporate existence, it was in effect finaoct.d and 
COil· 
trolled by the Central Government. 
On 
dispute arising between the 
workmen of the company and the management thereof the Government 
of Maharashtra made a reference under 
s. IO(l)(d) of the Industrial 
Disputes Act, 1947 for its adjudication. The 
Industrial Tribunal gave 
its award in two parts and gave, inter alia, the following findings : 
Rejecting the contention of the company that in flXing the wage scale.• 
different considerations and standards should apply to public sector under-
takings as distinct from private sector undertakings, the Tribunal fixed the 
wage scale on region.cum-industry basis. It 
found that 
the .company 
was a very large and prosperous concern and its wage scales were on the 
low side particularly in regard to the lower categories of workers, taking 
into consideration the duties and qualification prescribed for them. 
The 
Tribunal fixed the wage scales having regard to the company's financial 
position, its productive. capacity, a comparative study of its wage struc~ 
ture with that of its neighbouring industries and similar other relevant 
faclors. 
It retained the existing dearness allowance scheme except for a 
small alteration in the slab of dearness allowance 
for the pay group 
Rs. 301-500; it merged a .proportion of what would normally be paid 
in the shape of dearness allowance in the ba.'iic pay in the case of lower 
categories of workmen by giving increases wherever 
necessary 
for the 
basic pay only. 
It linked the dearness allowance with the cost of living 
index for Poona. 
It evolved a gratuity scheme for the \\.'Orkmen. It gave 
retrospective operation to the award. 
There were other findings on the 
various demands of the workmen. The company appealed to this Court 
under Art. 136. 
HELD : (i) In dealing with appeals brought to this Court under Art. 
136 of the Constitution against awards which construct wage structures, 
this Court would not interfere with 
the actual provisions of the wage 
structure unless some general principles 
were involved. 
There was no 
Justification for the argument that this 
C'.-0urt had by convention 
and 
practice adopted a more liberal attitude in the case of appeals against 
awards than in other appeals. 
[658 C..DJ 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
A 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
; 
H 
ffiNDUSTAN ANTIBIOTICS v. WORKMEN 
653 
Observations in Bengal Chemical 
and 
Pharmaceutical Works Ltd., 
Calcutta v. Workmen. [1959) Supp. 2. S.C.R. 136, teaffirmed. 
(ii) The object of Industrial law is two-fold namely, (i) to improve 
the service conditions of industrial labour so as to provide for them the 
ordinary amenities of life, and (ii) by that process to bring about inclm-
trial peace which would in its turn accelerate productive activity o~ tho 
country resulting in its prospe~ty. The prosperity of ~e country !11 i!" 
turn helps to improve the conditions of labour. By this process it is 
hoped that the standard of life of labour cal) be progressively raised from 
the stage of minimum wage, passing through need found wage, fair wage, 
to livins; wage. 
The principle of region-cum~industry, the doctrine that 
the mimmum wage is to be assured to labour irrespective of the capacity 
of the industry to bear the expenditure in that regard, the concept that 
fair wage is linked with the capacity of the indmtry, the rule of rele-
vancy of comparable concerns, and the recognition of the totality of the 
basic wage and de

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