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At the outset, it will in convenient to consider the question of principle. The object of the industrial law is two-fold, namely, (i) to improve the service conditions of industrial labour so as to provide for them the ordinary amenities of life, and (ii) by that process, to bring about industrial peace which would in its turn accelerate productive activity of the country resulting in its prosperity. The prosperity of the country, in its turn, helps to improve the conditions of labour. By this process, it is hoped that the standard of life of the labour can be progressively raised from the stage of minimum wage, passing through need found wage, fair wage, to living wage. Industrial adjudication reflected in the judgments of tribunals and the courts have evolved some principles governing wage fixation though accidentally they related only to industries born in the private sector. The principle of region-cum-industry, the doctrine that the minimum wage is to be assured to the labour irrespective of the capacity of the industry to bear the expenditure in that regard, the concept that fair wage is linked with the capacity of the industry, the rule of relevancy of comparable concerns, and the recognition of the totality of the basic wage and dearness allowance that should be borne in mind in the fixation of wage structure, are all so well settled and recognised by industrial adjudication that further elaboration is unnecessary. In this context, a reference to the decisions in Messrs. Crown Aluminium Works, v. Their Workmen(), Express Newspapers (Private) Ltd., v. The Union of India(2), French Motor Car Co. Ltd. v. Workmen () and The Hindustan Times Ltd., New Delhi v. Their Workmen(4) will be useful. There is no, and there cannot be any, dispute on the laudable aims of industrial policy of our country in the matter of wage fixation. Das Gupta, J., in The Hindustan Times Ltd., New Delhi. v. Their Work-, men(4) said at page 240 :

"In trying to keep true to the two points of social philosophy and economic necessities which vie for con- sideration, industrial adjudication has set for itself cer- tain standards in the matter of wage fixation. At the bottom of the ladder, there is the minimum basic wage which the employer of any industrial labour must pay in order to be allowed to continue an industry. Above this is the fair wage, which may roughly be said to approximate to the need based minimum, in the sense of a wage which is "adequate to cover the normal needs of the average employee regarded as a human being in a civilised society". Above the fair wage is the "living wage"-a wage "which will maintain the workman in the highest state of industrial efficiency, which will enable him to provide his family with all the material things which are needed for their health and physical well- being, enough to enable him to qualify to discharge his duties as a citizen"."
"I am, however, of opinion that in linking the dearness allowance, a portion of which has been merged in the basic wage, the totality of emoluments should not be ignored, otherwise in the case of a market increase in the cost of living, if the linkage is done without bearing in mind the total emoluments, the total emoluments would not be satisfactory and may even become out of line with those in other large concerns in the region. Again the linkage need not be done so as to provide increase in dearness allowance at a uniform rate. Otherwise increase in dearness allowance on account of rise in the cost of living for employees drawing wages and salaries above certain ranges of basic wage or pay as would vary inadequately neutralise the rise in cost of living-"

It is, therefore, clear that the Tribunal increased the wages of the lower category of employees by adding part of the dearness allowance to their original basic wages, at the same time bearing in mind that the total packet of wages and dearness allowance compared favourably with those in similar concerns. It has introduced the slab system so that in the case of employees falling in the higher slabs, the rise in prices is adequately neutralised. The Tribunal did not commit any error of principle.