R. N. Mittal, J. - (1.) Briefly the case of the petitioner is that it is an association of the Government Employees working in the head office of the Transport Department and is a recognised body with its office at Chandigarh. The Punjab Transport employees submitted a charter of demands to the respondents One of the demands was to grant bonus or ex- gratia payment to the Transport employees. An agreement was arrived at between the parties regarding the payment of ex gratia amount on Jan. 22, 1967 which was in the following terms:- "Agreed that all the employees will be entitled to receive annual ex- gratia payment in accordance with the principles and provisions of Bonus Act, 1965, beginning from accounting year 1966-67 (ending 31-3-1967). The payment of minimum 4% should be made before 31-5-1967 and the balance, if due, shall be paid as possible immediately after Audit". It was then decided by the Government to pay to the employees ex gratia amount calculated on the basis of same principles and entitlement as it was laid down in the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.
(2.) It is alleged that in accordance with the agreement all the employees of the Transport Department were eligible to get the ex- gratia payment but it has been allowed to all the employees except about 70 employees who are working in the Head Office of the Directorate Department It is further averred that the Commercial Wing of the Transport staff are split into three unless named as:- (i) Central Workshop Unit, consisting of about 70 employees. (ii) Punjab Roadways, consisting of about 900 employees, and (iii) Headquarter Unit, consisting of about 78 employees out of which 8 are officers. The employees of categories Nos (i) and (ii) have been given the benefit of ex- gratia payment but not those of category No. 3. The petitioner represented to respondent No 2 that all categories of employees of Transport Department of Commercial Wing have been allowed payment of 4 per cent ex- gratia but the members of the petitioner who are (Similarly situated and working in Head Office have been deprived thereof. They further represented that the posts of different wings were inter-changeable and when the employees of Roadways Unit or Central Workshop Unit are transferred to the Head Office or vice versa, both the inter-transferred employees get the benefit of ex- gratia payment. It is said that no heed has been paid to their representations. Consequently, it is prayed that the respondents be directed to grant the ex- gratia payment to the members of the petitioner.
(3.) The Writ Petition has been contested by the respondents inter alia on the ground that the Punjab Government National Motor Transport Workers Union, Jullundur, had submitted a charter of demands as a consequence of which an agreement was entered into with the workers of the Punjab Roadways on 22nd January. 1967. The petitioner was not a party to that agreement. It is an association of the civil servants working in the Directorate of State Transport, Punjab It is not a trade union of the workers of the Punjab Roadways who have been getting ex gratia payment in lieu of bonus payable to the industrial workers. The members of the petitioner are in the higher scales of pay as compared to the corresponding posts in the Punjab Roadways. Consequently, it is stated that they are not entitled to the ex gratia payment as claimed by them.;