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REGISTERED No D-28

The Gazette of India

EXTRAORDINARY

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1949

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF LABOUR.

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 25th February, 1949

No. L.R.-2(162).—In pursuance of Section 17 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (XIV of 1947), the Central Government is pleased to publish the following award of the Industrial Tribunal, Calcutta, in the industrial dispute between the Bengal Provincial Railway Company, Limited, Mugra, District Hooghly and then workmen: —

Reference No. 2 of 1948

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT'S INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL, CALCUTTA:

IN THE MATTER OR AN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE BETWEEN THE BENGAL PROVINCIAL RAILWAY COMPANY, LIMITED, MAGRA, DISTRICT HOOGHLY, AND THEIR "WORK- MEN.

Present Sri S. P. Varma, Barrister, Chairman, Central Indus- trial Tribunal, Calcutta.

For the Railway ... Sri K. K. Basu,

Sri Sankar Mitra, Sri N. Das Gupta,

Sri II. N. Roy, Manager and Engineer-in-Chief.

For the Union ... Sri H. K. Sanyal,

Sri B. Majumder, President, B. P. Railway Employees' Union.

AWARD

By an order No. LR.2(162), dated 24th August, 1948 the present industrial dispute between the Bengal Provincial Railway Company Limited, Magra, District Hooghly and their workmen was referred to this Tribunal under Section 10(l)(c) of the Industrial Disputes Act with the following Schedule consisting of 12 Issues:

SCHEDULE

(1) Recognition of the Union.—The Bengal Provincial Railway Employees' Union being formed under the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Management should give immediate recognition to this Union.

( 351 )

(2) Fixation of a Minimum Basic Pay.—The minimum basic pay of the clerks and the workers should be fixed in accordance with the Central Pay Commission's recommendations.

(j}) Deamess Allowance.—The cost of living having increased abnormally, the employees should be paid a flat rate of Dearness Allowance amounting to Es. DO per month.

(4) Bonus.—Annual Bonus amounting to two months' pay should be

granted to each employee just before the Durga Puja.

(5) House Allowance .—The Management should provide every employee with residential quarters and where no such quarters are made available to them, a monthly allowance of Bs. 5 should be granted.

(6) Provident Fund.—Provident Fund scheme similar to the East Indian Bailway should immediately be introduced with retrospective effect.

(7) Gratuity.—Every employee should be paid at the time of retirement

a gratuity equal to one month's pay for every year of service,

(8) Soales of Pay.—'Scales of pay for all employees, approved by the Union, should be introduced and the present position on the soale should be determined after full consideration of the service and age of the employee.

(9) Duty-Houra and Overtime Allowance.—Duty hours of an employee, in the ordinary course, should not exceed 48 hours a week, and when employed more than 48 hours, should be granted an allow- ance equal to double the ordinary rate of pay.

(10) Costumes to the Employee!;.—Bveuy employee should be provided

with costumes to put on during duty hours.

(11) Service Conditions.—Better service conditions and security of service

should be a&sured to all employees.

(12) Running Room.—Bunning room for rest should be made available

to the drivers and guards.

History of the Dispute.—The Bengal Provincial Bailway Company Limited was formed in. 1890. Previously it was known as "Tarakeswar Magra Steam Tramway" which was opened in 1895. This railway covers a distance of about 41i miles including a branch line which covers a distance of about 6 miles which is a guaranteed railway in which a dividend must be paid at a certain percentage. The Nominal Capital of the Company was 11 lakhs and the Paid up Capital 8 lakhs and 48 thousand. The dividend paid for 1946 for the Main Line was 1^ per cent. In earlier years it used to be more. The bulk of the railway is situated in the district of Hooghly.

Near about the beginning of October 1047, the workmen formed themselves into a Union in the name of the "Bengal Provincial Bailway Employees Union" and on the 6th October 1947, the said Union sent to the Company a Charter of Demands of the employees, which forms a part of their statement before this Tribunal &B Annexure 'A'. The Union claims to represent the bulk of the working men under the Company. On the 5th November 1947, the Union served upon the Company a notice for strike intimating that if the demands of the workers were not fulfilled they would go on strike from the midnight of 23rd/24th of November 1947. The matter was taken up by the Begional Labour CoiainiBsioner (Central), Oaloutja* and the strike was postponed. On

the intervention of the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central), the Manage- ment gave some increments in their pay. Thinking the increments were inade- quate, the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) made certain suggestions which would be referred to later on; but the Company having failed to accept the suggestions, the matter was referred to the Central Government for the appointment of a Tribunal and that is how this matter came up before this Tribunal.

So far as Issues.

(1) Recognition of.the Union,-—The Bengal Provincial Railway Employees' Union being informed under the Indian Trade Unions Aot, 1926, the Management should give immediate recognition to this Union.

(9) Duty-HouTa and Overtimo Allowance .—Duty hours of an employee, in the ordinary course, should not exceed 48 hours a week, and when employed more than 48 hours, should be granted an allow- ance equal to double the ordinary rate of pay.

(10) Costumes to the Employees —Every employee should be provided

with costumes to put on during duty hours.

AND

(11) Service Conditions.—-Better service conditions and seouritj of service

should be assured to nil employoes.

are concerned, \ am glad to note that the parties have agreed and they have put in an application which is marked Appendix 'A' of this fCward. As there is no legal defect in the terms of the compromise and the parties understand the terms of the compromise, it is recorded and the award on these issues is made in the terms of the petition for compromise. It will be notioed that only a part of the Issue No. 9 has been agreed upon. For overtime work there is no) agreement. For that I would award a double rate of pay to workers who are employed for more than 48 hours a week.

'

ISSUE NO. 2.—Fixation of a Minimum Bamc Pay.—The minimum basio pay of the clerks and the workers should be fixed in accordance with the Central Pay Commission's reoora- mondations;

ISSUE NO. 8.—Deaiitess Allowance.—The coit of living having increased abnormally, the employees should be paid a flat rate of Dearness Allowance amounting to Rs. 30 per month;

AND

ISSUE NO. 8.—Scales of Pay.—'Scales of pay for all employees, approved by the Union, should be introduced and the present posi- tion on the scale should be determined after full considera- tion of the service and age of,the employee.

These three Issues are taken together

The Union demands that the minimum ba^ic pay of the clerks and the workers should be fixed in accordance with the Pay Commission's Report pub- lished by the Central Government. In their statement before this Tribunal they also gave a list of different categories of workmen and the respective pays thn't they were drawing The Railway, however, gave different figures in reply and their figures were admitted to be correct by the Union in course of their Argument These figures I shall give in the course of the discussion. The oase

of the Railway is that they are running at a loss and thatl they cannot afford to pay any increment to Ihe staff. A general increment was given to the staff in September 1047. They say that tire willing to give further increments provid- ed they get the loan which they have asked for from the Central Government.

In the course of argument it was argued on behalf of the Union that the proper scrutiny of tho Balance Shoets of the different years was necessary to see if the statement of the Railway was correct. There were also allegations against the Railway of having made some secret profits. They also eaid that certain properties belonging to the Railway were settled with the people with- out holding a publio auction and in some cases goods were carried without showing that any freight was charged thereon. On behalf of the Railway it was pointed out that the fact that there were restrictions about bookings were brought to the knowledge of the Company only on the 10th September, 1948. So far as settlement of tanks and other proporties belonging to the Railway was concerned it was said by the Railway that these properties were settled with thoir employees because it was one of the ways of helping the employees whose pays were rather law- With regard to oarrying of goods without charges, the instance that was cited by the Union was explained by showing that the bill was submitted on the 8th November, 1948, and payment was made on ihe 29th November, 1948. These instances to my mind do not establish clearly that any secret profit was made. I have looked at the Balance Sheets of several years and went through them with the assistance of the Railway Accountant- I have alsoi got a comparative table of the gross income, gross expenditure and Profit and Loss of the Railway for several years, I need not mention the figures of oilier jcars, but it appears that in the year 1945-40 the Railway made a profit of Rs. 30,666, in 1946-47 the Railway made & profit of Re. 8,405 but in 1947-48, the income was Rs. 1,85,119 nnd the gro<-3 expenditure was Rs. 2,10,859 with the result that they incurred a loss of Rs. 31,740 in that year This includes depreciation also.

Judging from the attitude of the Railway, it seems that they are not unwilling to moot the workers demand but they say that they are not in a position to givo thorn any enhanced remuneration beyond that which they gave in September 1947. Looking at the rate of payment to the employees of the Railway, which will be apparent from the table given below, there is no doubt that the rate is according to present standards lamentably low. So, what we have to seo is as to what can be done under tho circumstances. There is the Pay Commission's Report upon which the Union bases its claim- On the other hand there is tho plea of the Railway that they are not in a position to pay. No serious defect has been pointed out to tne nor have I been able to discover any in tho Balance Sheet of the Railway and there is no doubt on the figures mentioned therein thnt the financial condition of tho Railway is anything but satisfactory. When the case was before the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central), Calcutta, he made the following recommendations to the Chairman of the Railway:-—•

"(1) Salaries of employees getting below Rs. 20 per month should be raised to the latter amount.

(2) Salaries of employees getting more than Rs. 25 but lees than Rs. 80 should be raised up to the latter amount.

(ft) The recent increment granted at various amounts should be done at a flat rate of Rs. 10 to all.

(4) The four discharged employees who have not been given their increment should be paid the same with rptrpppectiye effect,

(5) In order to ensure better relationship between the Administration and the employees, the employees union should bfi formally re- cognised.

(fi) System of written berviee condition for the employees as obtaining on State and other Railways should be introduced as early as possible."

The Railway, however, did not see its way to agree to tho first three proposals although they wore prepared to accept the last three. This wos made clear in the letter, dated 8rd February, 1948. Whether the Pnion would have been satisfied or not by the Uailwtiy accepting all the six proposals, it is difficult to say. But it is clear that even this demand in the first three recommenda- tions of the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) were not acceptable to the Railway chiefly on the groun I of their financial condition.

The question then arises Ub to what is to be done under the circumstances.

On the one hand there is a View that industrial concerns who cannot pay proper wages to their employees have no right to exist- 1 gather this from the "following ptiBBagc in the Award in the dispute between "The "Workmen employed in the Mien Mines situated in the Province ul Bilijr and their emplovers". (Central Government Industrial Tribunal at Dhanbrad Reference No. 2 of 1948) :—

"The Workmen 'mist first be given u reasonable minimum wage; and it hay bien said by Authority -that an industry which is unable to pay a reasonable minimum wage has no ri^ht to exist. The 'Workmen are entitled, in addition to minimum wage to reason- able advances consistent with the industry's ability to bear it; and this subject must be approached with nn appreciation of the background of the industry, its present day condition, and its reasonable expectations of the future."

On the other hand, I find the following passage in the award in the dispute between Management of Kesharimull Kujadalmull, 4fi Strand Road, Calcutta and their Workmen, published in the Calcutta Gazette Extraoidinary, da.tcd 28th October, 1948 (P. 1095):—

"Dr. (xadgil once lemarked 'Financial consideration and general economy of t"he industry are two of the most important factors which cannot be overlooked in deciding what emoluments arc to bo paid to the workers'. It may often lead to destruction of the industry altogether leading to unemployment if thube considerations ore overlooked and a living wage according to theoretical definition be thrust upon an industry."

I have come across various awards from West Bengal in which the capacity of the employers to pay has been taken into consideration. I need not multiply instances but I will content myself by referring to Order No. S798Lab , dated 23rd October 1948—Between Calcutta Steam Navigation Company Ltd. and their Workmen—and the award from which I have quoted above. These two views appear to be contrary to one another but perhaps the former view represents the ideal which should be kept in view m dealing with an industrial dispute whereas the latter deals with conditions actually existing in an industry.

Grviiij; iny best consideration to the question, J feel that the pay of the

workers should be increased as mentioned below:—

Categories

Proposed

Existing :

Minimum Maximum

1. 2. 3.

Olerk . Peon . Qunrd ,

. Ba. 40—2—60 25—i-30 35—2—5fl (With the usual allowances on mileage)

4.

Ra. 25/- KB. 86/- 18/- 25/. 25/ 35/• (Plus mileage allowance @ As. -/8/- per 100 miles) 20/- 35/-

T.T.I. .

3 0 — 1 ^5 (With the usual commission and allowanoe.)

(PIUB 25% commission and milpago allowanoe @ AH. -/8/- per 100 miles)

5. a. 7. 8. 9. 10.

n.12.

3g 2 55 \ 30—4—35 25 i 30 30—1—40 25—1—30 40—5—125 30—1—35 25—1-30 13.

21/- 40/. Station Master Pointsman 17/- 23/- . 15;- 20/- Porter t •*•**! """/ - • Banking Clurk 23/- 27/-12/- 18/- Sweeper Skilled Workman 38/- 125/. Semi-skilled workmen 25/- 30/- "DnflkiJl* d workmen 15/- 30/- Drxver 23—1—30 31—1—35

30_-1—40 and 40—1—60

JJearnens Allowanca.—In tho present financial condition of the Bailway, it ia difficult to allow Dearness Allowanoe to the extent demanded by them but I feel that some Dearness Allowance should be granted to the workers, I would, therefore, allow EH. 5 per head ni a flat rato as a token Dearness Allowance to the workers. I hope when the financial condition of the Eailway improves they will bo able to give the Dearness Allowance in accordance with the rocognised standards. So far as the pay sftnle is concerned, I have taken that into consi- deration iu giving the above table.

IHSTTL No. 1: Bonus,—Annual Bonus amounting to two months' pay should be granted io each employee just before the Durga Puja. Iu view of the present financial condition of the Eailway about which I have referred to in dealing with Isbue No. 2, I think no bonus can be awarded at present.

Istit/w No. V House illowaivr.—'ilie Management should provide every

employee with residential quartern and where no such

quarters are made available to them, a movhtly allowance

of H:<. 5 should be granted.

As against thin, ibc reply of the Oompany ia that Sintiou Masters are generally provided wilh freo quarters and other wholetime jnombers of the staff are given rent if they ore living in rented houses. This statement we find in a r^ply by the Railway to tho Charter of Denumdn of the employee;-. In the course of argu- ment nlso it was stated that Station Masters are given free quarters and with. regard to other employees, those who live in rented housos ftro given house rent aud nothing is paid to those who are living in their own houses. No specific instance has been cited before this Tribunal to question the correctness of the Eailway's atafcoment. I would, therefore, leave the matter as it is and would not give any award aa asked for by the Union on this issue.

'ISSUH No, 6: Provident Fund.— Piovident Fund scheme ninrilar to the East

Indian Railway should immediately be introduced with

retrospective effect.

AND

fasT-iK No. 7: Gratuity .—Every employee should be paid at the time of

retirement a gratuity equal to one month's pay for every

year of service.

Note : Thoaa who are s;ettini? bolow the proposed minimum will start with tho proposed

minimum but those who are getting above the proposed jninimum should, DO fitted into the Boals prop Wed.

These two issues are taken up together.

The Union demands Provident fund scheme similar to East Indian Railway and that it should be introduced with retrospective effect. About gratuity, they demand that at the time of retirement every worker should get a month's pay for every year of service as gratuity. The Railway says that they contributed 26 per cent, of the employees' subscription. This contribution hag been stopped on account of the eriticul economic condition of the Railway. Ko far as the gratuity is concerned, they say that nothing is paid to tuiy staft, but, in some cases they paid a lump sum as help to some of the claimants nnd the maximum that thty have paid m any case is Rs. 250. The contribution to the Provident Fund, I was told in the course of argument was stopped in the year 1984 by the Company. The employees are still subscribing to the Provident Fund. Provident l^und is useful inasmuch as it develops the habit of thrift amongst the workers and it also secures for them along with the contribution of the employer, an appreciable sum of money for their old age. Although it may ho very desirable to have a Provident Fund but it will be a serious financial strain to the Railway to ask them to pay their contribution from the year when they stopped contributing. But EI hope that when their financial condition improves they will introduce this system properly. I would leave the Provident Fund as it is without making any award as asked for by the Union.

But some provision must be made for retiring benefit to the workers. This award will be in force for one year and the Railway informs me that there may npt be many cases of retirement during that year but m case there be inbtances of retirement either on account of old age or sudden incapacity, physical or mental, and if they are not being turned out of service on account of misconduct, ,some provision should be made for the workers in the shape of gratuity. I would, therefore, order that those who retire during the year when the award will be hi force, should be paid half month's average pay for evory year of their sorvice, the maximum not to exceed 15 months. The average pay will be the pay drawn during the twelve months preceding retirement or death". In the case of death the amount should be paid to their legal heurs or nominees.

ISSUE NO. 12: Running Room.—Running room for rest should be made available to the driveis and guards.

The Union claims running room for rest. As against this the Railway states that it is essential at Dhaniakhali and arrangement is being made to construct it before the end of the year. So far as Tarakcswar and Jamalpurganj are con- cerned, there are additional rooms there and the running staff use them for their rest. I am of opinion that no award is called for on this issue when the Railway Is trying to construct an additional rest room at Dhaniakhali over and above the rest rooms available at Tarakeswar and Jamalpurganj.

In conclusion I beg to add that the real difficulty in this dispute has been to find a solution to the problem of securing proper living wages to the workers in the present financial condition of tho Railway. T hope the Railway will be eble to secure the loan from the Central Government they have asked for. With the oo-operation of satisfied workers and strict management, I hope they will be able to tide over their present difficulties.

S. P. VAUMA,

Chairman,

Central Industrial Tribunal.

CALCUTTA;

The 26th January, 1949.

APPENDIX 'A1

To

Sri 8. P. Varma,

Central Industrial Tribunal at Calcutta.

IN THE MATTEB OF AN INDUSTBUL DISPUTE BETWEEN BENGAL PROVINCIAL RAILWAY Co. LTD. AND THEIR WORKMEN AS REPRESENTED BY THE BENGAL PROVINCIAL BAIL WAY EMPLOYEES' UNION.

The humble petition of the Company and its .employees

MOST RESPEOTFULLY SBEWETH :

That the parties have agreed to the following terms, via.:

(a) Be: Ieaue No. 1.—The Company has agreed to recognise the above

Union as representing the Workmen.

(b) Be: Issue No. 9.—It is agreed that the duty hours of an employee shall not ordinarily exceed 48 hours a week.

(c) Re: Issue No. 10.—Jt is agreed that the Company shall provide the employees with costumes to put on during duty hours.

(d) Re: Ieaue No. 11.—The Company shall incorporate the service rules and conditions as prevailing in E. I. Railway in its rules and conditions.

Your petitioners, therefore, pray that the above terms may be incorporated in the Award to be made by the Tribunal in the above matter. And your petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray.

(&d.) H. K. SANYAL,

(Sd.) N. DAS GUPTA, Advocate for the Workmen. Pleader for the Company.

The 16th January, 1949.

TBUE COPY

S. P. VABMA, Chairman,

Central Industrial Tribunal,

Ga\cut\a-

H. KHANNA,

Deputy Secretary to the Government of India.

£UBLIBHBD BT THB MANAOWR or PUBLICATIONS, DELHI, INDIA.

• p B I N T H) BX T HB M A N A O B B, G ' O V H & N M I NT OF I N D IA P R E S S, N BW D H C I B I, I N D I A.