Gujarat High Court
Pwd And Forest Employees Union & 89 vs State Of Gujarat & 2 on 18 June, 2015
Author: J.B.Pardiwala
Bench: J.B.Pardiwala
C/SCA/9455/2015 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9455 of 2015
==========================================================
PWD AND FOREST EMPLOYEES UNION & 89....Petitioner(s)
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & 2....Respondent(s)
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR SHALIN MEHTA, SR.ADVOCATE with MS VIDHI J BHATT, ADVOCATE
for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 - 90
MS SHRUTI PATHAK, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
==========================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA
Date : 18/06/2015
ORAL ORDER
Draft amendment is allowed. The amendment shall be carried out forthwith.
By this writ-application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners, working with the Gujarat State Forest Development Corporation Limited past several years on daily wage basis, have prayed for the following reliefs :
"(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ or mandamus commanding the respondent authorities to consider framing a scheme for giving permanent status to the petitioners no.2 to 90 at par with the scheme for daily-wagers in other Government Departments as contained in Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988;
(B) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of Page 1 of 6 C/SCA/9455/2015 ORDER mandamus commanding the respondent authorities to adopt and extend the benefits contained in the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 to the petitioners no.2 to 90;
(C) Your Lordships may be pleased to declare the failure on the part of the respondent authorities to frame a scheme for giving permanent status to the petitioners no.
2 to 90 at par with the scheme for dai1y wagers in other Government Departments as contained in Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 as unfair labour practice, discriminatory, arbitrary, unreasonable and is thus violative of Articles 14, 16, and 21 of the Constitution of India;
(D) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus directing or commanding the respondent authorities to ensure that the minimum wages as prevalent in the State, as per the notification 26.12.2014 issued by the Labour and Employment Department are paid to the petitioners no.2 to 90 herein;
(E) Your Lordships may be pleased to declare that the inaction on the part of the respondent authorities in not ensuring that the minimum wages are paid to the petitioners no.2 to 90 as illegal, discriminatory, arbitrary, and is, thus, violative of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 16, 21 and 23 of the Constitution of India;
(F) Pending admission and final hearing of the present petition, Your Lordships be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to ensure that the minimum wages are paid to the petitioners no. 2 to 90;
(G) Pending admission and final hearing of the present petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to restrain the respondent authorities from terminating the services of or taking any coercive action against any of the petitioners no. 2 to 90; and Page 2 of 6 C/SCA/9455/2015 ORDER (H) Your Lordships may be pleased to pass any other appropriate order, as deemed fit, in the interest of justice."
The facts giving rise to this application may be summarised as under :
The petitioners are working as daily wagers with the Corporation past couple of years. Most of them have put in more than 30 years of service. They are working on daily wage basis, which is less than the minimum wages prevalent in the State. It is their case they have not been given any of the benefits like leave paid wages, etc. that are available to the regular employees of the organization doing the same or similar kind of job.
Mr.Mehta, the learned senior advocate appearing for the petitioners, invited my attention to a Government Resolution dated 17th October 1988, which provides for certain benefits/ permanent status to all the daily wagers working in the Forest Department of the Government on completion of 5/10/15 years of service as daily wagers. This scheme initially was a one-time measure but, thereafter, was made a permanent policy or rule to be applied in all cases of daily wagers appointed subsequent to 17th October 1988. The scheme is in operation even as on today.
In a recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court, it has been declared that the employees of the Forest Department would be entitled to the benefits of the Government Resolution dated 17th October 1988 if the conditions are otherwise fulfilled. The Supreme Court, in the case of State of Gujarat Page 3 of 6 C/SCA/9455/2015 ORDER and others v. PWD Employees' Union, (2013)8 Scale 579, considered two questions : (i) whether the daily wage workers of the Forest and Environment Department working for 5 to 30 years for works other than building and maintenance and repair work were entitled to derive the benefits of the scheme contained in the Resolution dated 17th October 1988 issued by the State from Road and Building Department; and (ii) if so, whether the members of the respondents - employees' unions working on daily wage for more than 5 to 30 years in the Forest and Environment Department of the State were entitled for similar benefits of the scheme contained in the Resolution dated 17th October 1988. The Supreme Court, ultimately, ruled in para 25 as under :
25. As per scheme contained in Resolution dated 17th October, 1988 all the daily wage workers were not entitled for regularization or permanency in the services.
As per the said Resolution the daily wagers are entitled to the following benefits:
"(i) They are entitled to daily wages as per the prevailing Daily Wages. If there is presence of more than 240 days in first year, daily wagers are eligible for paid Sunday, medical allowance and national festival holidays.
(ii) Daily wagers and semi skilled workers who has service of more than five years and less than 10 years are entitled for fixed monthly salary along with dearness allowance as per prevailing standard, for his working days. Such daily wagers will get two optional leave in addition to 14 misc. leave, Sunday leave and national festival holidays. Such daily wagers will also be eligible for getting medical allowance and deduction of provident fund.
(iii) Daily wagers and semi skilled workers who has service of more than ten years but less than 15 years are entitled to get minimum pay scale at par Page 4 of 6 C/SCA/9455/2015 ORDER with skilled worker along with dearness allowance as per prevailing standard, for his working days.
Moreover, such daily wagers will get two optional leave in addition to 14 misc. leave, Sunday leave and national festival holidays. He/she will be eligible for getting medical allowance and deduction of provident fund.
(iv) Daily wagers and semi skilled workers who has service of more than 15 years will be considered as permanent worker and such semi skilled workers will get current pay scale of skilled worker along with dearness allowance, local city allowance and house rent allowance. They will get benefit as per the prevailing rules of gratuity, retired salary, general provident fund. Moreover, they will get two optional leave in addition to 14 misc. leave, 30 days earned leave, 20 days half pay leave, Sunday leave and national festival holidays. The daily wage workers and semi skilled who have completed more than 15 years of their service will get one increment, two increments for 20 years service and three increments for 25 years in the current pay scale of skilled workers and their salary will be fixed accordingly."
In view of the decision of the Supreme Court, the picture is clear. However, the Government will have to undertake the exercise of considering the case of each of the petitioners, whether they are entitled to the benefits of the Resolution dated 17th October 1988 or not.
Such exercise shall be undertaken at the earliest and shall be completed within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the order.
The representation which is at page 185 containing the material particulars shall also be considered.
Page 5 of 6 C/SCA/9455/2015 ORDERThe details of each of the petitioners as such is on record. It should not take much time for the Government to verify the same. However, in case of any difficulty, and if some more information is required, it will be open for the Government to call for the same from a particular employee with a copy marked to the Union, and if such information is demanded, the same shall be demanded for expeditious consideration of the case.
In any view of the matter, the entire exercise shall be completed within a period of three months, and if they are otherwise entitled to the benefits, the same shall be sanctioned and disbursed.
(J.B.PARDIWALA, J.) MOIN Page 6 of 6