WORKMEN OF WILLIAMSON MAGOR & CO. LTD. versus WILLIAMSON MAGOR & CO. LTD. & ANR.

Citation: [1982] 2 S.C.R. 42 · Decided: 07-12-1981 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: V.D. TULZAPURKAR · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
42 
B 
c 
WORKMEN OF WILLIAMSON MAGOR 
&CO. LTD. 
v. 
WILLIAMSON MAGOR & CO. LTD. & ANR. 
December 7, 1981 
(V.D. TULZAPURKAR, BAHARUL ISLAM AND 
A. V ARADARAJAN, JJ.) 
Industrial Disputes Act 1947 Ss JO and 15. 
Management granting promotion to junior employees-Rightful claim of senior 
employees superseded-Industrial dispute-Whether there is victimization-Jwis· 
diction and duty of industrial tribunal to declare promotions illegal and unjusti-
D 
fied-ln consultation with management and union frame norms and rules for 
promotion. 
Labour Law-Promotion-Whether a managerial function-Whether to be on 
subjective satisfaction of management or on some objective criteria. 
Words & Pharases-' Victimisation'-Meaning of-Interpretation in favour 
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of labour whether to be accepted. 
F 
G 
H 
The Workmen (Respondent No. I) alleged that the Management (Appel· 
lant) started giving indiscriminate and arbitrary promotions and/or u1>gradations 
to some of the employees who were its favourities, disregarding the rightful 
claims of a number of other employees so much so that even junior members 
were given promotions superseding the rightful claims of the senior employees. 
According to the Union, the management arbitrarily promoted/upgraded three 
persons and unjustly denied promotion/upgradation to twelve senior employees 
and that this was victimisation and unfair labour practice, and that these three 
persons after their promotion/upgradation used to do the same work as before 
occupying the same chairs and working on the same tables as they had done 
before the date of upg,rndation/promotion. 
As a dispute arose between the management and the union, the State 
Government referred the issue to the Industrial Tribunal for adjudication. 
During the pendency of the reference before the Tribunal the management again 
promoted from the General to the Special Grade two clerks supet >eding 56 
senior and efficient clerks of the General Grade. This issue was also referred to 
the Industrial Tribunal. 
The Tribunal, on a consideration of the oral and documentary evidence 
adduced beforo it, found that the management did not care to establish the 
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WORKMEN v. WILLIAMSON MAGOR & co. 
43 
justification of the promotions of the persons named in the two references 
superseding the claim of the others, but held that it could not give any relief 
to the workmen when their positive case was that there was no standard or norms 
for giving promotion. 
In the appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the Manage-
A 
ment that : (I) Promotion is not a condition of service in a private company, 
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and (2) although there were no norms, the promotions of the persons in ques-
tion were not arbitrary and that unless victimisation was proved by the union, 
the management's action should not be disturbed. 
Allowing the appeal 
HELD : 1. (i) The management, in consultation with the workmen or 
their representatives and under the direction, supervision and control of the 
Labour Commissioner shall frame norms/rules fixing quota for the grades and 
for promotion/upgradation of its workmen, and the upgradation and/or pro-
motion shall be made by the management in terms of the norms/rules so 
framed. [51 D-E] 
That meanwhile the promotions/upgradations of the three persons which 
is the subject matter of the first reference and the promotions/upgradations of 
the two persons which is the subject matter of the second reference are can-
celled and these workmen shall be at par with the workmen who were super-
seded till promotions/upgradations are made by the management in terms of 
the norms/rules to be prepared. No future promotions/upgradations shall be 
made until the norms/rules are framed. [51 F-52 A] 
(ii) Industrial Tribunals are inten<jed to adjudicate industrial disputes 
between the management and the workmen, settle them and pass effective 
awards in such a way that industrial peace between the employers and the 
employees may be 
maintained so that there can be more production to 
benefit all concerned. For this purpose the industrial tribunals, should not be 
constrained by the formal rules of law and should avoid inability to arrive 
at an effective award to meet justice in a particular dispute. [48 F-G] 
In the instant case there was victimisation of the superseded workmen. 
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F 
The Tribunal should have, therefore declared that the promotions were illegal 
and unjustified, being the result of arbitrary action of the manage

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