LexJAYDIP INDUSTRIES, THANA versus THE WORKMEN
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920 JA YDIP INDUSTRIES, TRANA v. THE WORKMEN December 16, 1971 [C~ A. VAIDIALINGAM AND K. K. MATHEW, JI.] Industrial Tribunal-Jurisdiction to fix minimum wages at rates higher than those f.xed by government during pendency of industrial dispute- Mlnimul?I Wages Act 1948 S, 3(2A). Industrial dispute-Minimum wages, what is. During the penilency of an industrial dispute betw~en the appellant and its workmen, arising out of the demand of the workmen for higb;,r scales bf pay, the appropriate government fixed under section 3 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the minimum rates of wages for the em- ployees employed in sched_uled employments including the appellant's industry.. The tribunal found that the appellant-concern was not finan- cially stable. It fixed the minimum wages at rates higher than the rate fix.ed by the government. In its award the tribunal referred to the mini- mum rates of wages fixed in the several awards passed by it from 1962 onwards and also considered the rist in the cost of living. It also took into account the consumer price index for the month of December, 1966, .an<! that for the month of January, 1967, for coming to the conclusion that rates ·higher than those specified in the notification published by government should be fixed as minimum wages. On the questiins whether the tribunal was right in fixing wages at rates higher than· the rates fixed by the go~ernment under s. 3 of the Act and whether what was fixed by the tribunal were minimum wages, HELD : (i) Sub-section (2A) of section 3 makes it clear that even after the fixation of minimum rates of wages by the appropriate govern- ment under s. 3 of the Act, it is open to an Industrial Tribunal adjudicat- ing an industrial dispute relating to wages payable to the employees in a scb;,duled employment to fix minimum wages at higher or lower rates, if the dispute was pending at the time of fixation of minimum wages under s. 3. [924 Gl . (ii) Minimum wages can provide not only for the sustenance of life, but also for the preservation of the efficiency of the worker. The rates of wages fixed by the tribunal ,were neither fair wages nor wages border- ing on fair wages. They were minimum \vag25 as explained by this Court. As such the capacity of the industry to pay was not a r\!levant consideration. [925 Fl [), Unichovi v. State of Kera/c. f.1962] 1 S.C.R. at p. 957, applied. B c D E F G The tribunal' \Vas not \Nrong in taking into '3.Ccount the rates of mini- mum wages fixed in the several awards for the workmen employed in the city of Bombay as affording criteria for fixing minimum rates of 'wages with suitable modification for !\le workmen employed under the appellant ~~ H CIVIL APPELLATE JURl@ICTION : Civil App~al No. 912 of 1967. - A JAYDIP INDUSTRIES v. WORKMEN (Mathew, J.) 921 Appeal by Special Leave from the Award dated March 3, 1967 of the Industrial Tribunal, Maharashtra, Bombay in Refe- rence (IT) No. 1 of 1968. I. N. Shroff, for the appellant. B The Judgment of the Court was delivered by c Mathew, J. This appeal, by special leave. is from an award passed by the Industrial Tribunal, Maharashtra, Bombay, on March 3, 1967. The Government of Maharashtra referred to the Tribunal on December 31, 1965, under section lO(i) (d) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the industrial dispute between M/s. Jaydip Industries, Thana, and the workmen employed under them, ansing eut of the following demands macle by the workmen :- (A) Following monthly scales of pay should be intro- D duced for all categories of workmen : E F G Unskilled Semi-skilled Skilled Highly skilled Rs. 150-5.00-200.00 175-· 7.50-250.00 225-10.00-325.00 350-25 .00-600.00 (B) The above scales of pay are consolidated and are on the basis of Bombay Working Class Cost of Living Index Number 480. In case if index number move above 480 for every point rise i:n Index Number, workmen should be paid ten paise per day as dearness allowance. (C) The above rates of pay should be made effective from 1st February 1965. (D) For the conversion of present daily rates into monthly rates. the present rate should be multi- phed by thirty. The amount should then be fitted In. the above grades. If the amount fells short of rnm1rnum of Grades demanded the same should be ht·ought up to the minimum. H (E) 0fter mak_ing adjustment in the above manner ad- .1ustment mcrem~nts at ·the rate of one for ever
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