- (1.) This appeal, by special leave, arises out of an industrial dispute between the appellant firm and eight of its workmen represented by the All India Chhata Karkhana Muzdoor. Union referred for adjudication to the Second Labour court, Calcutta. The dispute was whether the dismissal of the said eight workmen by the appellant firm was justified
(2.) The dispute arose from the following facts : Prior to 4/02/1960, most of the workmen in the appellant's factory were members of the All India Chhata Karkhana Muzdoor union. Sometime prior to February 1960 they became members of the rival union, the Calcutta Chhata Karkhana Muzdoor Union. The said eight workmen and two others, however, refused to join the rival union and that resulted in bad feelings between the two unions. On 4/02/1960, there was trouble in the factory when a procession of workers entered into the factory and began to throw brickbats and other missiles. The appellants did not then take any action presumably because the trouble was amongst the workmen themselves owing to the said union rivalry. However, when the said eight workmen together with the said two others (with whom we are not concerned in this case) arrived at the factory, the rest of the workmen requested the appellant firm not to give work to them. It would seem that the appellants thereupon declined to give work to those workmen. According to the appellants, the workmen had passed a resolution asking the appellants 207 not to give work to those workmen and had handed over that revolution to them. The workmen raised a dispute on the ground that the refusal to give them work amounted to dismissal which was sponsored by the All india Chhata Karkhana Muzdoor Union.
(3.) The Labour court found, on the evidence before it, that the appellants had refused to give work to these workmen out of deference to the wishes of the rest of the workers. It held, however, that the action of the appellants in refusing work to those workmen amounted to their dismissal and since the dismissal was not for any misconduct and was made without holding any enquiry it was unjustified. In that view the Labour court ordered reinstatement and directed payment of all back wages from 5/02/1960 till the date when they would be taken back in employment.;