VAIDIALINGAM - (1.) ALL these appeals, by special leave, are directed against the Award dated 20/01/1967 of the National Industrial Tribunal, Calcutta in Reference No. NIT-1 of 1966. Civil Appeal No. 415 of 1967 is by the Company regarding the disallowance of certain items by the Tribunal for arriving at the available and allocable surplus for the accounting year 1964-65.
(2.) CIVIL Appeals Nos. 813 and 1302 of 1967 are by the two unions representing the workmen, against that part of the Award rejecting the claim of the Unions for adding back certain items for the purposes of calculating the rate of bonus to be paid by the appellant company. As mentioned earlier, the year of account is 1964-65, which is, 1/10/1964 and ending 30/09/1965. The appellant Company was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, in 1935 and was made into a public company in 1958. It is a venture of the British Oxygen Company incorporated in England and the English Company still holds a little over 66 Per Cent of the shares of the Indian Company. The main products of the Company are production of industrial gases like oxygen, dissolved acetylene,. nitrogen and hydrogen and also electrodes and welding equipment and medical equipment. The Company has been paying bonus to its workmen from 1948 and since then it has been paying bonus by agreements with the union. The bonus, so paid, has been more or less at five months basic wages subject to a minimum and maximum as per the agreement. For the year in question, 1964-65, there was no agreement, as the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 (hereinafter to be referred as the Act) came into force. There is no controversy that this is the first accounting year, in respect of which the bonus is to be paid under the Act. The accounts of the Company were passed at the Annual General Meeting held on 12/02/1966. The Company calculated bonus at the rate of 17.58 Per Cent of the total annual wages or salary plus Dearness Allowance and declared the said amount payable by notice dated 23/03/1966. The Company originally worked out the allocable surplus under the Act for the said year at Rs. 30,35,958. As the sum of Rs. 1,72,69,770 was the total salary and wages including Dearness Allowance payable for the said year, the allocable surplus worked out at 17.58 Per Cent of the said total wage bill and hence bonus was declared at that rate.
(3.) THE Unions protested against the rate of bonus declared by the Company and demanded a substantial increase in the quantum of bonus. THE claim by the Indian Oxygen and Acetylene Employees' Federation was for payment of bonus equal to eight months' basic wages subject to a minimum of Rs. 400.00. Another union, National Federation of Indian Oxygen Workmen, Jamshedpur, claimed bonus at the maximum rate of 20 Per Cent provided under the Act. A third union, also the Bombay Labour Union, claimed bonus at the maximum rate of 20 Per Cent . A fourth union, Indian Oxygen Employees Union of Rajawadi, Bombay, demanded bonus at 25 Per Cent of the total earnings or at six months' basic wages, whichever was higher. As attempts at settlement failed, a strike notice was given by some of the Unions. Originally, there was a reference of the dispute by the Government of West Bengal to a tribunal. Later on, this order of reference by the State Government was cancelled and the Central Government by order dated 7/07/1966, referred the dispute for adjudication to the National Industrial Tribunal at Calcutta. The question referred was as follows: "Whether the workmen are entitled to a higher bonus than 17.5 per cent for the year 1964-65 as offered by the management? If so, what should be the quantum of bonus for the said year?" ;