- (1.) PUNJAB State Electricity Board (for short, the Board) terminated the services of Kundan/singh-workman which gave rise to an industrial dispute and the same was referred for adjudication to the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Bhatinda. By the impugned award dated November 22, 1989, the Labour Court recorded a finding that the workman was entitled to reinstatement with continuity of service and full back wages. The motion Bench while admitting the writ petition filed by the management stayed the operation of the award which order was subsequently modified and the same was made subject to the provisions of Section 17-B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. After the modification of the stay order, the Board has reinstated the workman. It is common case of the parties that the workman is being paid wages at the initial stage of the current pay scale but not the increments to which he has become entitled in terms of the impugned award. The present application has been filed by the workman with a prayer that a direction be issued to the Board to pay to him his full current wages including the amounts due to him by way of increments to which he is entitled under the award. The application is resisted by the Board and what is contended on its behalf is that the workman is not entitled to increments as he had not worked for the period during which these increments are alleged to have accrued and that he is entitled only to the wages at the initial stage of the current pay scale.
(2.) I have heard counsel for the parties and find no merit in the submission of the learned counsel for the Board. In spite of the operation of the award having been stayed by this Court, the Board decided to reinstate the workman and obviously he has been reinstated in terms of the award and subject to the final orders that may be passed by this Court in the writ petition. In these circumstances, when the Board has reinstated the workman it must also pay to him the other benefit as flowing from such reinstatement to which he has been found entitled by the Labour Court. Since the workman has been found entitled to be reinstated with continuity of service, he will be deemed to have worked for the period when he was out of employment and such period has, therefore, to be counted for the purposes of giving him increments. The current wages will, therefore include the amounts which have accrued to the workman by reason of the increments which would have been paid to him had he not been out of employment.
(3.) IN the result, the application is allowed and the Board is directed to pay to the workman his full current wages including increments to which he has become entitled for the period when he was kept out of employment.;