Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, J. - (1.) THIS order shall dispose of 11 writ petitions bearing C.W.P. Nos. 2182, 2184, 2186, 2196, 2267, 3210, 3235, 3241, 3247, 3261 & 3988 of 2014, involving common questions of facts and law. However, to dictate orders, facts have been taken from C.W.P. No. 2182 of 2014 titled Municipal Council Morinda v. Presiding Officer, Industrial Tribunal, Patiala and another. The petitioner -Council is aggrieved against the order dated 02.09.2013 (Annexure P1) passed by the Labour Court, Patiala whereby the applications of the workmen under Section 33 -C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short, the 'Act') have been allowed and they were held entitled to receive extra wages for the actual work done for each Saturday, for the period of 3 years immediately preceding the filing of C.W.P. No. 119 of 2002, decided on 14.05.2002. The entitlement was to continue till 30.08.2006 or the date of retirement/death of the workman, whichever was earlier in view of the fact that octroi was abolished from 01.09.2006.
(2.) THE case of the employees of the Municipal Council, Morinda, in their applications filed under Section 33 -C(2) of the Act dated 17.12.2007 was that they were working as Octroi Clerk/Peon and had performed duties at the octroi checkposts in the Octroi Department on all Saturdays whereas the other employees working in other branches were enjoying all the Saturdays as Public Holidays. The employees working in the Octroi branch of the respondent -Council had a Common seniority with other employees having same designation working in the other branches of the Department and their pay scales were same. The employees had approached this Court in C.W.P. No. 7021 of 1992, claiming the benefits but the writ petition was dismissed. Thereafter, the Apex Court had passed the judgment on 15.03.2000 in Municipal Employees Union and others v. State of Punjab and others,, 2000 (9) S.C.C. 432. Thereafter, the workman had approached the Nagar Council to grant the relief but the same was denied and C.W.P. No. 119 of 2001 titled Shubkaram Joshi and others v. State of Punjab and others, was disposed of by this Court on 14.05.2002 (Annexure P3), in the same terms as per the judgment of the Apex Court in Municipal Employees Union (supra). It was, accordingly, averred that though having been performing duties on Saturdays ever since they joined the duties and were entitled for the wages on the said days and in view of the directions of the Apex Court had restricted their claim from 01.11.1989, i.e., 3 years prior to the date when they first approached the this Court in their writ petition filed in 1992. The said applications were resisted on various grounds that the same was not maintainable and was outside the scope of jurisdiction of the Labour Court under Section 33 -C(2) and there was no existing right or claim and it was filed at a belated stage. The claim of rest days wages or double wage for the rest days was only a policy matter and only the Punjab Government could make the policy and frame rules and the Municipal Rules and Act were applicable to the applicants. Field staff were getting the benefit of uniform, washing allowance, shoe allowance and conveyance allowance which was not given to the other staff. The octroi post is inter transferable in the office but the field staff remained working in the field as per their job. The applicants were performing their duties as per the prevailing rules and no extra work had been taken from them by the Department. The notification regarding 5 days a week was only applicable to office staff.
(3.) THE workman tendered into evidence the orders passed by this Court in earlier writ petition and to rebut the evidence, the petitioner -Council examined Gurdeep Singh. The facts, as noticed above, were incorporated in detail in the impugned order and it was held that 52 Saturdays were granted as holidays to all the staff working in the office of the Municipal Council of the Government offices of the State and since there was no bye -laws promulgated by the respondent -Council for the applicants, who were working for 6 days a week and the submission of the officials had been considered on 09.01.1992 favorably. Vide the proceedings of the Committee issued on 20.02.2003, it was decided to implement 5 days' a week but since the opinion of the Legal Assistant was taken and thereafter, the octroi was abolished on 01.09.2006 and the applicants were no longer working as Octroi Clerks/Peons.;