SABINA, J. - (1.) THIS petition has been filed by the petitioners, who were working in the Field Office, seeking a direction to the respondents to treat them equal to the employees working on identical posts in the head office or district office in all respects i.e. in grant of holidays etc. Petitioners have also challenged the order dated 1.9.1994 (Annexure P -3), whereby, representation moved by one of the petitioners was rejected by the respondent.
(2.) CASE of the petitioners, in brief, is that respondent had its head office in Chandigarh and various branches in the State of Punjab. All the employees of one cadre of the Markfed were performing the same duties whether they were posted in head office or district office or in the branch office. Qualifications, nature of duties and pay scales of the employees of one cadre were identical. Employees working in one cadre formed a common seniority list irrespective of the fact that whether they were working in the head office or district office or branch office. Petitioners were senior branch officers, branch officers, field officers or field officers Grade II and were performing their duties in the branch office. Petitioners could be transferred to head office or district office. Grievance of the petitioners is that although, their counterparts working in district office or head office were working for five days in a week, whereas, petitioners were made to perform duties for six days in a week and some times they had to work on Sundays also. Therefore, this petition has been filed by the petitioners seeking a direction that they should be provided the same facilities as were being provided to their counterparts working in the head office or district office.
(3.) PARA Nos. 3 and 4 of the written statement filed by the respondent read as under: - "3. Contents of para 3 are not correct as stated. The correct facts are that respondent federation is a registered Co -operative Society with its registered office at Ropar and Head Office at Chandigarh. It has various branches in the State of Punjab. These branches are manned by the employees of the Markfed working under different Cadres from Salesman FO (Gr.II) to that of Sr. Branch Officer. It is wrong to suggest that all the employees of the Markfed form a single cadre. Each category of employee has separate seniority and separate cadre keeping in view different qualification, nature of duties and pay scale etc. The nature of duties of the employees working in the H.O. District office and Branch Offices are altogether different. The staff working on the ministerial posts in the H.O.or in the D.M. office perform different nature of duties than the staff/employees working in the Markfed, Branch Offices situated in the Field in the State of Punjab. It is submitted that the Branches situated in he State of Punjab are normally the godowns for storage of essential commodities, like fertiliser and pesticides etc. as well as procurement and storage of foodgrain stocks. These branch offices are manned by the Field staff designated as Salesman, field Asstt./F. O. Gr.11 to that of Sr. B. O.subject to the categorisation of the branch concerned as the case may be. In these circumstances, the seniority list of the Field staff of the Markfed for each category is different who are normally posted in Branch offices of Markfed. However, for certain exigencies of the work, sometimes a Field employee is deployed to work in the Head office or in the District Office. The Branch offices of the Markfed situated in the state of Punjab are mostly at Tehsil level and are for all intents and purposes shops as defined in Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1958. For ready reference the definition of the Shop is re -produced as below: "Shop" means any premises where any trade or business is carried on or where services are rendered to customers and includes office, store -rooms, godowns sale depots or warehouses, whether in the same premises or otherwise, used in connection with such trade or business but does not include a commercial establishment or a shop attached to a factory where the persons employed in the shop are allowed the benefits provided for workers under the Factories Act, 1948 ". ;