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RANJAN GOGOI, J.

1. The Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 (hereinafter for short ‘the Act’) was enacted to regulate the conditions of service of working journalists and other persons employed in newspaper establishments throughout the country. The Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation dealing with, inter alia, entitlement to gratuity, hours of work, leave as well as fixation of wages payable both to the working journalists and non-journalist newspaper employees, as may be. So far as fixation and revision of wages is concerned, Section 9 of the Act has left such fixation or revision of wages in respect of working journalists to be dealt with by a Wage Board constituted thereunder. The recommendations of the Wage Board, if accepted, are to be notified by the Central Government under Section 12 of the Act. Section 13 of the Act provides that upon coming into operation of the Order of the Central Government under Section 12 every working journalist will be entitled to be paid wages at the rate not less than what is specified in the Order. Chapter IIA of the Act contains pari materia provisions with regard to non-journalist employees of newspaper establishments.

5. Section 17B of the Act provides for appointment of Inspectors to ensure compliance with the various provisions of the Act.

6. The Central Government in exercise of its powers under Sections 9 and 13C had constituted two Wage Boards on 24.05.2007 under the Chairmanship of one Dr. Justice Narayana Kurup (retired Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Madras) to determine the wages to be paid to working journalists and non-journalist employees. As Justice Kurup resigned from the post of Chairman on 31.7.2008, Justice G.R. Majithia (retired Judge of the Bombay High Court) was appointed as Chairman of the two Wage Boards on 04.03.2009. The Wage Boards headed by Justice Majithia (hereinafter referred to as the “Majithia Wage Board”) submitted its recommendations to the Central Government on 31.12.2010. The same were accepted by the Central Government on 25.10.2011 and a Notification to the said effect, under Section 12 of the Act, was published on 11.11.2011.

16. The petitioners contend that the working journalists as well as the non-journalist employees are entitled to receive their wages as per the Majithia Wage Board Award once the recommendations have been accepted and notified by the Central Government under Section 12 of the Act. This, according to the contempt petitioners, flows from the provisions of Section 13 read with Section 16 of the Act under which provisions, the Wage Board recommendations, on being notified by the Central Government under Section 12 of the Act, supersedes all existing arrangements including specific contractual arrangements governing conditions of service of working and non-journalist employees. The wages recommended by the Wage Board, as approved and accepted by the Central Government, is guaranteed by the Act to the concerned working and non-journalist employees. The wages notified can be departed only to adopt more beneficial and favourable rates. It is, therefore, the contention of the contempt petitioners that any agreement or undertaking to be governed by the previous wage structure, which is less favourable than what has been recommended by the Majithia Wage Board, is non est in law. That apart, contentions had been raised that none of the said undertakings are voluntary and have been obtained under duress and under threat of transfer/termination. The contempt petitioners, therefore, urge that the Majithia Wage Board Award to the above extent may be clarified by this Court.

26. There is nothing either in the provisions of the Act or in the terms of the Wage Board Award which would enable us to hold that the benefits of the Award would be restricted to the regular employees and not contractual employees. In this regard we have taken note of the definition of “newspaper employees”, “Working Journalist” and “Non-Journalist newspaper employees” as defined in Section 2(c), 2(f) and 2(dd) of the Act. Insofar as “variable pay” is concerned, as already noticed and extracted in paragraph 7 above, this Court while dealing with the concept of variable pay has taken the view that the said relief has been incorporated in the Majithia 11 AIR 1955 Mad 45 at p.47 Wage Board Award in order to give fair and equitable treatment to employees of newspapers. Therefore, no question of withholding the said benefit by taking any other view with regard to “variable pay” can arise. In fact, a reading of the relevant part of the Award would go to show that the concept of “variable pay” which was introduced in the Award stems from grade pay contained in the Report of the 6th Pay Commission and was intended to bring the working journalist and non-journalist employees covered by the Act at par with the Central Government employees to the extent possible. So far as the concept of heavy cash losses is concerned, we are of the view that the very expression itself indicates that the same is different from mere financial difficulties and such losses apart from the extent of being crippling in nature must be consistent over the period of time stipulated in the Award. This is a question of fact that has to be determined from case to case.