Orissa High Court
Orissa Lift Irrigation Corporation vs Commissioner For Workmen Compensation ... on 30 March, 2005
Equivalent citations: 99(2005)CLT659
Author: J.P. Mishra
Bench: P.K. Mohanty, J.P. Mishra
JUDGMENT J.P. Mishra, J.
1. In this Writ Application, the Orissa Lift Irrigation Corporation (In short, "the OLIC") calls in question the legality of Annexure-3 dated 30th August, 1993 wherein the authority under the Minimum Wages Act, Balasore has directed the petitioner to pay the differential wages for the period from January, 1991 to April, 1991 to 21 Electricians (NMRs) working under the petitioner.
2. The Opp. Party No. 2 being the Secretary of the Workers' Union filled claim under Section 20(2) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 on behalf of 21 Electricians and one Tracer claiming them to be the highly skilled category workers within the entitlement of Rs. 40/- per day. The authority accepted their plea and directed the petitioner to pay the differential amount in the category of highly skilled labourer to 21 NMR Electricians while dismissing the prayer of one NMR Tracer vide Annexure-3. It is averred that the authority committed gross error by resorting to the Order No. 2M-53/87-9283/OLIC dated 13.4.87 which stood revised under the order of the OLIC vide Annexure-2 dated 2.5.91 pursuant to the Labour and Employment Department Notification dated 27.2.90 (7564-IW/5-3/90-L.E. & No. 17350-IW/5-21 -L.E.). It is further averred that there is absolutely no post of Electrician Gr.-A which has been categorized for payment of Rs. 40/- per day as highly skilled labourer in the notification under Annexure-1 and, therefore, the common order under Annexure-3 is illegal. The stand of the opp. party No. 2 in his counter is that 21 NMR Electricians are equivalent to Electrician Gr.-A and supported Annexure-3. According to him, the Electricians working under the petitioner were getting Rs. 18/- per day under the order of the OLIC as per Annexure-B/2 under the category of highly skilled labourer (Electrician Gr.-A) pursuant to the Government of Orissa Labour & Employment Department Notification No. 5/87-2701/L.E. dated 20.2.87 under Annexure-2 and, therefore, the authority has not committed any error taking into consideration of the wages received by the Electricians as highly skilled labourer on the basis of Anenxure-B/2.
3. It is submitted by the Learned Counsel for the petitioner that the authority could not have passed an order categorizing the Electricians as highly skilled labourer equalizing them as Electricians Gr.-A as there is no post in the nomenclature of Gr.-A under the petitioner. It is next contended that the authority had no jurisdiction to award a claim which stood superseded by the Subsequent Notification, i.e., Annexure-1.
4. Learned Counsel for the Opp. Party No. 2 repealed the contention of the petitioner with the submission that NMR Electricians are entitled to be paid as highly skilled labourer as they were paid as such under the order of the OLIC under Annexure-B/2. According to the Counsel, the order of the authority in Annexure-3 is free from any error.
5. There is no controversy that the Government of Orissa, Labour & Employment Department can revise the rate of wages under Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 from time to time. The opp. parties have not disputed that there is no post of Electrician Gr.-A in OLIC.
6. In view of the above admitted position, the persons working under the petitioner against the post of Electrician can never be paid the wages to which an Electrician Gr.-A is entitled. The Learned Authority under the Minimum Wages Act has mentioned its reason for its award in the following paragraph.
"While analyzing the facts on records and the statements given by both the parties from time to time, I find that the O.P. Management have made an error in paying the electricians Minimum Wages as applicable to Skilled Workers w.e.f. Jan'91 to April'91 since they were categorized by the Corporation as Highly Skilled Workers."
Annexure-3 reveals that the notification No. 5/872701/L.E., Bhubaneswar, dated 20.2.1987 (Annexure-A/2) pursuant to which Annexure-B/2 was placed before the authority along with Annexures-1 and 2, the authority came to the conclusion fixing the wages of NMRs in highly skilled category on the basis of Annexure-B-2 wherein the Electricians who were notified under highly skilled category vide OLIC Notification No. 9238/OLIC dated 13.4.1987 pursuant to Annexure-A/2. In Annexure-A/2, the Electricians were placed under skilled category only. The Electricians (Gr.-A) were placed as highly skilled labourer, but the notification of OLIC (Annexure-B/2) categorized Electricians as highly skilled labourer which was not in consonance with the Labour & Employment Department notification under Annexure-A/2. However, according to the categorization made in Annexure-B/2, the Electricians were getting Rs. 18/- per day. Annexure-1 is the notification of Labour & Employment Department dated 27.12.1990 wherein the rate of wages was revised in supersession of all previous notifications categorizing Electricians and Tracer in skilled category only. Electricians Gr.-A were categorized as highly skilled labourers. Accordingly, Annexure-2 dated 2.5.1991 emerged fixing the wages at Rs. 35/- per day to the Electricians as skilled labourers. Jeep Drivers, Tractor Drivers, Stenographers were categorized as highly skilled labourers for payment of Rs. 40/- per day. This shows that there was no Electrician Gr.-A post for which the same was not notified in highly skilled categories (Annexure-2). since in the notification (Annexure-1) and also in the order of OLIC (Annexure-2) the Electricians were categorized as skilled labourers on the strength of the supersession of all previous notifications, the authority committed an error directing the petitioner to pay the differential dues from January, 1991 to April 1991.
7. For the above reasons, we set aside the order under Annexure-3 of the authority without disturbing the order passed in respect of the Tracer.
The Writ Application is allowed accordingly.
P.K. Mohanty, J.
8. I agree.