- (1.) Twenty five workers raised an industrial dispute before the Labour Court for adjudication. The terms of the reference order was in two parts, namely- (1) Whether the employers were justified in not giving 25 workers the pay scale of Rs. 2550-3200, and (2) Whether the employers were justified in terminating the services of the workman w.e.f. 11.7.2006, if not, to what relief the workers are entitled to? Before the Labour Court the workers contended that they were appointed as Switchman/Linesman since 1990 and were being paid wages on a daily rated basis and had not been made permanent. The workers contended that they have worked for more than 240 days in a calendar year and were being paid a lump sum @ Rs. 950/- per month whereas they were entitled to be given the pay scale of Rs. 2550-3200 which was given to the workers who were performing similar nature of work as that being performed by the regular workers. It was further alleged, that they raised a demand through the Union and when the Union exerted pressure upon the employers, the services of the workers were arbitrarily terminated w.e.f. 11.7.2006. It was contended that having worked continuously for a long period of time, the action of the employers in terminating their services were wholly arbitrarily and in violation of the provisions of Section 6-N of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act.
(2.) The employers, who is the Nagar Nigam, Kanpur filed their written statement contending that the appointments are made under the U.P. Municipal Corporations Act, 1959 and that the workers in question are not the workers of the Nagar Nigam and that they had never worked for 240 days in a calendar year. It was contended that whenever a permanent Linesman or a Switchman goes on a leave for more than ten days, then the Nagar Nigam is obliged to employ persons on daily rated basis. It was contended that, as and when a permanent worker goes on leave, the workers in question are appointed and that too for not more than ten days in a month. It was contended that for the days the workers were appointed they were paid the wages.
(3.) In the light of these assertions, the Nagar Nigam contended that there is no 'master and servant' relationship. The workers are not "workmen" as defined under the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act nor the Nagar Nigam is an "industry" as defined under the said Act.;