PIPRAICH SUGAR MILLS LIMITED Vs. PIPRAICH SUGAR MILLS MAZDOOR UNION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is a limited Company, which had been carrying on business in crushing sugar cane at a place, called Pipraich in Gorakhpur District from the year 1932. In 1946 it decided to expand its business, and with that object, sold its old machinery which had a crushing capacity of 160 tons per day, and purchased a new one with 650 tones capacity. The new plant was installed in 1947, and it is actually started working in 1948-49. During this period the sugar industry was passing through a crisis owing to shortage of sugar-cane, and in consequence, the Government assumed control of its production and supply. The quota which was allotted to the appellant's Mill proved too small to its being worked profitably with the result that in 1948-49 and 1949-50 the Company sustained losses which according to the appellant came to Rs. 2, 67, 042- 7- 4. After several unsuccessful attempts at getting a larger supply, the management wrote to the Government on 11-5-1950 either to increase their quota or to permit them to sell the Mills. In October 1950 the Government granted permission for the sale of the plant and machinery, and pursuant thereto, the management sold them to a Madras party. As the crushing season was then on, the appellant obtained from the purchaser a lease of the Mills for the current season agreeing to deliver possession thereof on the termination of the lease. It should be mentioned that the appellant was also carrying on negotiations with the purchaser for itself dismantling the machinery and erecting it at Madras for a lump consideration, expecting to perform the contract through its own workmen.

(2.) When the workmen became aware of the agreement of sale, their reaction to it was thoroughly hostile, and acting through their Union the respondent herein, they decided to prevent the transaction going through, as otherwise they would be thrown out of employment. With that object, they moved the Government to cancel the permission granted to the appellant for the sale of the Mills, and they also passed a resolution on 26-12-1950 to go on strike from 12-1-1951 and communicated the same to the appellant. This led to correspondence between the parties and as that is the foundation of the claim for compensation put forward by the respondent and awarded by the Tribunal it becomes necessary to set it out with sufficient fullness. On 3-1-1951 the Managing Director offered through the manager of the Mills, to allot 25 percent of the profits on the sale transaction with the Madras party on certain terms and subject to the condition "that the notice of strike, should be withdrawn at once and today, so that arrangement of work could be made". To this, the reply of the Union on 5-1-1951 was as follows:

(3.) To continue the narration, the lease having expired with the crushing season, the purchaser came over to Pipraich to take delivery of the Mills and to arrange for the machinery being dismantled and removed to Madras for being erected there. The appellant who, as already stated, was negotiating to get the dismantling done for a lump consideration found that its workman were as hostile to it as ever, and refused to help in the work. To adopt the language of the respondent in its written statement "they declined out of sentiment to dig their own graves". After fruitless attempts at getting them to co-operate in dismantling the machinery the management put up the following notice on 28-2-1951: