Writ Petition No. 22540 of 2023 · The High Court
Case Details
- 1 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 10TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2023 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE JYOTI MULIMANI WRIT PETITION NO.22540 OF 2023 (L-MW) BETWEEN: 1. ALL INDIA TRADE UNION CONGRESS, REGISTERED UNDER THE TRADE UNIONS ACT, 1926, KARNATAKA STATE COMMITTEE, NO. 6, SIRUR PARK ROAD, SHESHADRIPURAM, BENGALURU - 560 020. REPRESENTED BY ITS GENERAL SECRETARY. 2. ENGINEERING AND GENERAL WORKERS UNION, REGISTERED UNDER THE TRADE UNIONS ACT, 1926, BENGALURU DISTRICT, GHATE BHAVAN, VYALIKAVAL, G.D. PARK EXTENSION, BENGALURU - 560 003, REPRESENTED BY ITS GENERAL SECRETARY. (BY SRI. K.B.NARAYANASWAMY., ADVOCATE) …PETITIONERS Digitally signed by THEJASKUMAR N Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AND: THE STATE OF KARNATAKA, DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR, VIKASA SOUDHA, 5TH FLOOR, DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR VEEDHI, BENGALURU - 560 001, REPRESENTED BY ITS ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY. (BY SRI. M.SRINIVAS KUMAR., HCGP) …RESPONDENT - 2 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, SEEKING CERTAIN RELIEFS. THIS WRIT PETITION IS COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
Decision
ORDER Sri.Narayana Swamy.K.B., learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri.M.Srinivas kumar., learned HCGP for the respondent have appeared in person. The petition is listed today for orders regarding non- compliance of office objections. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that minor objections are complied with and other objections may be over-ruled. Submission is noted. Office objections are over-ruled. With the consent of learned counsel for the respective parties, the Writ Petition is heard finally. 2. The brief facts are these. The first petitioner is the Karnataka State Committee of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC for short), functioning in the State of Karnataka, espousing the cause of the organized - 3 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 and more so of the unorganized workers. AITUC was founded in the year 1920 and later came to be registered under the Trade Unions Act, of 1926. It is a national-level premier trade union federation, led by illustrious leaders of the national freedom movement. In Karnataka, several trade unions have been affiliated with AITUC. Thus, AITUC, through its affiliated trade unions, represents about two lakh workers in the State of Karnataka. The membership comprises Anganwadi Workers, Mid-Day Meal Workers, Construction Workers, Factory Workers, Contract Labor, Daily Wage Workers, Road Transport Workers, Coffee-Estate Workers, Beedi Workers etc., The first petitioner has been espousing the cause of workers employed in the minimum wage sector as these workers do not have their trade union organizations to seek better wages and service conditions from the employers of the scheduled employment. It is estimated that there are about 1.7 Crore workers employed in the minimum wage sector in the State of Karnataka. Hence, the first petitioner considers that it is their paramount obligation to voice the grievances of these voiceless workers employed in the minimum wage sector. This Writ Petition is one such endeavor. - 4 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 The second petitioner is a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Act and it is affiliated to AITUC. Workers in a score of engineering industries and general services establishments in and around Bengaluru Urban and Rural District have become members of the second petitioner Union. It has a membership of around 5,000 workers, which includes those working in the minimum wage sector. Hence, the second petitioner is vitally concerned that the respondent State Government fixes the rates of minimum wages in scheduled employment liberally and in accordance with the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and in accordance with the law laid down by the Apex Court and various High Courts about fixation of minimum wages. The concept of minimum wages is animated by the Directive Principles of State Policies. The history of minimum wage fixation is replete with umpteen cases of judicial intervention by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and various High Courts from time to time to get justice for workers employed in the minimum wage sector to ensure not only the mandate of the Constitution of India in part III under Article 19, 21 and 23 are not frustrated and violated, but also to ensure that the appropriate Governments - Central and - 5 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 State Governments - give effect to the Directive Principles of the State Policy enumerated in Part-IV of the Constitution. The Government followed the guidelines prescribed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the REPTAKOS BRETT case while fixing the minimum rates of wages for the first time and while reviewing and revising the rates of minimum wages on subsequent occasions. There was no ambiguity in this regard. The Labor Department would collect data relating to food basket, clothing and house rent from different centers in the State and based on the data so collected, would fix/ revise the rates of minimum wages after applying the guidelines prescribed in the case of REPTAKOS BRETT and would propose the said rates in the Draft Notification under Section 5(1)(b) of the Act and call for suggestion/ objections from the concerned parties to the draft Notification. Thereafter, the State Minimum Wages Advisory Board, after discussing the suggestions/ objections received from the affected persons/ organizations, would forward the Advisory Board's proceedings with or without their recommendation to the State Government. The procedure had been followed by the - 6 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 government in fixing and revising the rates of minimum wages in some of the scheduled employment in the year 2015-16. As things stood thus, the Government issued Draft Notification No.KaE 89 LWA 2022 dated:17.06.2022, proposes to revise the minimum rates of wages in Wooden Log Industry, in exercise of the power vested in it under Section 3(1)(b) and 5(1)(b) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and invited suggestions and objections from the affected persons, employers and employees organizations, to be submitted to the Government within two months from the date of Notification. The Minimum Wage Advisory Committee meeting was scheduled on 27.09.2022. In the meeting, the petitioners brought to the notice of the Committee about their objections regarding revision of minimum wages. Subsequently, one more Advisory Committee meeting was scheduled on 24.11.2022 and on that day, the petitioners submitted a representation and urged that their objections and recommendations may be considered and they also pressed for application of the norms framed by the Apex court in REPTAKOS BRETT case. - 7 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 The specific contention of the petitioners is that the Government had not collected any data on essential food items, clothing, rental value etc., from various city centers that should go in to the calculation of food cost, which exercise is imperative for fixing the rates of minimum wages in accordance with the REPTAKOS BRETT case. It is said that the Government has given a go-by to the imperative requirements and issued the Final Notification on 13.01.2023. It is this Notification that is called into question in this Writ Petition on several grounds as set out in the Memorandum of the Writ Petition. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioners and learned HCGP for the respondent have urged several contentions. Heard, the contentions urged on behalf of the respective parties and perused the Writ Papers with utmost care. 4. The point that requires consideration is whether the Notification issued by the Government on the 13th day of January 2023 is sustainable in law. 5. The facts have been sufficiently stated and do not require reiteration. The principal ground on which this Court is - 8 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 asked to quash the Notification dated 13.01.2023 is that the Government has completely ignored the objections and recommendations put forth by the petitioners and further the Government has not adhered to the guidelines/norms framed by the Apex Court in the REPTAKOS BRETT case. The issue revolves around the fixation and revision of minimum rates of wages in different scheduled employment. Suffice it to note that the Government issued the Notification on the 13th day of January 2023 revising the rates of minimum wages payable to the workmen in the scheduled employment. The Final Notification is furnished in the Writ Petition. The same is marked as Annexure-A. A perusal of the same would reveal that the Government has placed reliance on the Draft Notification dated 17.06.2022 published on 15.07.2022 and revised the minimum rates of wages in different scheduled employment. The Apex Court settled the law back in the year 1992 in the REPTAKOS BRETT case and framed guidelines and norms. It is pivotal to note that the guidelines/norms framed by the Apex Court are required to be followed by the appropriate - 9 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 Governments scrupulously both in the cases of fixing the minimum rates of wages for the first time and reviewing and revising the rates in subsequent occasions. It is not in dispute that the petitioners requested the Advisory Board to consider their objections and recommendations and also the application of the norms framed by the Apex Court in the REPTAKOS BRETT case. However, the Government without giving any consideration to the valid objection and without applying the norms framed by the Apex Court, mechanically fixed/ revised the rates of minimum wages as had been proposed in the draft notification in the scheduled employment. The rates of minimum wages fixed/ revised in the final notification are unsustainable in law. Furthermore, a perusal of a Final Notification would reveal that the Government has revised the rate of minimum wages by adding just 10% over the rates fixed in the earlier notification of 2015-16. This is arbitrary and contrary to the guidelines framed by the Apex Court in the REPTAKOS BRETT case. 6. Learned HCGP submits that the guidelines laid down by the Apex Court in the REPTAKOS BRETT case are applicable only when the rates of minimum wages are being - 10 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 fixed in respect of scheduled employment for the first time, but not applicable to the cases of revision of rates subsequently. I am unable to accept the said contention. The reason is simple and apparent. In fact, on all previous occasions, the Government has revised the rates by applying the guidelines framed by the Apex Court. Furthermore, the Hon'ble Apex Court has not made any distinction as contended by HCGP. Therefore, the contention is satisfactorily hopeless. I may venture to say that the stand taken by the Government would lead to an anomalous situation. The Government has given go-by to the imperative requirements and erroneously issued the Final Notification. For the reasons stated above, this Court deems it proper to quash the Final Notification dated 13.01.2023 issued by the Government of Karnataka and direct the Government to consider the objections and recommendations put forth by the petitioners and also the application of the guidelines/ norms framed by the Apex Court in REPTAKOS BRETT case in fixing/ revising the rates of minimum wages in accordance with the law. - 11 - NC: 2023:KHC:36837 WP No. 22540 of 2023 7. The Writ of Certiorari is ordered. The Notification issued by the Government on the 13th day of January 2023 vide Annexure-A is quashed. The respondent shall redo the Notification impugned in the Writ Petition following strictly the procedure and norms fixed by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of REPTAKOS BRETT in determining the rates of wages. The redone Notification will be given effect from 13.01.2023. The Government is directed to complete the entire process within an outer limit of three months from the date of receipt of the certified copy of this order. 8. Resultantly, the Writ Petition is allowed. Sd/- JUDGE TKN/MRP List No.: 1 Sl No.: 8