Latest news with #IndustrialDisputesAct
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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
SC allows manufacturing unit's closure, orders ₹15 cr ex-gratia for workers
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the closure of a unit manufacturing biscuits for Britannia Industries Limited (BIL) for over three decades by overruling a Bombay High Court verdict. Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra passed the verdict on an appeal of Harinagar Sugar Mills Ltd (HSML) against the high court's February 17, 2023 order. While HSML initially offered Rs 10 crore as a goodwill gesture to its employees, the court enhanced this amount to Rs 15 crore and ordered its payment within eight weeks. Considering that some of the employees may be, with the closure of this concern, losing the only job they have known and still others would be, for no fault of their own, rendered unemployed, we appreciate the gesture made by HSML. Such a statement is taken on record," the court said. Senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for HSML, had left it to the court to decide on the enhancement. We deem it just and proper to further enhance the appellants' offer by a sum of Rs 5 crore, thus, making it Rs 15 crore instead of Rs 10 crore, as mentioned in our order... Let the amount be released forthwith, as per their entitlement, in favour of the employees and, in any case, not later than eight weeks from the date of the judgment, it said. HSML was engaged in biscuit manufacturing exclusively for BIL for over three decades under successive job work agreements and the latest agreement of May 22, 2007 was terminated by BIL with effect from November 20, 2019, following a six-month notice period. In response, HSML applied for closure of its operations under Section 25-O of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, submitting the application on August 28, 2019, and notifying its workers shortly thereafter. The case reached the Bombay High Court through petitions after the Maharashtra State Government allegedly failed to respond to the closure application within the statutory period. The state government said that a letter of September 25, 2019, amounted to a refusal of permission. HSML contended that the delay triggered the deemed approval clause under the relevant provision of the Industrial Disputes Act. Justice Karol, who authored the verdict, considered whether the state government's communication of September 25, 2019, qualified as a valid refusal order under the Industrial Disputes Act. The bench also dealt with the question whether the deputy secretary, who issued the communication, was legally empowered to do so. The verdict ruled in favour of HSML and held that the letter of September 25, 2019 did not constitute a valid or reasoned order of refusal as mandated by law. The deputy secretary, it held, was not the 'appropriate government' under the Act, and had no authority to seek resubmission or revision of the closure application. The bench then held since no valid order was passed within 60 days of the application, permission to close must be deemed granted, effective from October 27, 2019. We hold that the application dated August 28, 2019 was complete in all respects, and the 60-day period for the deemed closure to take effect would be calculable from said date," it said. Secondly, the deputy secretary was not the appropriate government who could have asked HSML to revise and resubmit the application for closure as the authority was only vested with the minister concerned, it said. "The minister did not, even in the slightest, consider the merits of the matter independently, much less with or without any application of mind. Subdelegation to the officer was not permitted by law, and, therefore, any communication made by him would be without any legal sanction, the verdict said. The bench reiterated the constitutional right to trade and business under Article 19(1)(g) and closures must still adhere to statutory procedures that safeguard public interest and employee rights. The bench acknowledged the humanitarian aspect of the case and appreciated HSML's willingness to provide additional compensation. The amount was ordered to be disbursed among the affected employees within eight weeks from the date of the judgment.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Govt approves amendment to 3 labour laws, restructure revenue dept
Bhopal: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the restructuring of the offices of the principal revenue commissioner and the commissioner of land records besides amendments of three labour laws to suit industries. The cabinet meeting was held at Pachmarhi to commemorate the valour and sacrifice of Raja Bhabhut Singh, the tribal ruler who stood and fought against the British empire to safeguard 'jal, jungle and jameen' (water, forest and land). The cabinet also cleared the proposal for transfer of the Pawarkheda Composite Logistics Hub Project, currently being implemented by M/s Kesar Multimodal Logistics Ltd to M/s DP World Multimodal Logistics Pvt Ltd. It also cleared the setting up of the "agritech hub / innovation hub for agriculture" at Indore. According to the state govt, the offices of the principal revenue commissioner and the commissioner of land records would be restructured to meet modern day needs. The restructured body will be called the office of the commissioner, land resource management, with a main and an auxiliary headquarters. Under the new structure, the positions of superintendent and assistant superintendent of land records will be aligned with those of tehsildar and naib tehsildar respectively. The additional tehsildars and naib tehsildars will be assigned judicial and non-judicial duties such as protocol, law and order and surveys. Having a dedicated tehsildar for judicial functions will facilitate daily proceedings in revenue courts, leading to faster disposal of revenue-related cases, said an official press release. To simplify procedures and reduce compliance burden on small and medium industries, the cabinet has approved amendments of three labour laws including Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, The Factories Act, 1948 and Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation (MPSEDC) under the department of science & technology will be the State's implementing partner for "agritech hub / innovation hub for agriculture" at Indore. A sum of Rs 2 crore will be provided to IIT Indore during the financial year 2025-26 for the establishment of this hub. The project supported by the ministry of electronics and IT, GoI, with an approved cost of Rs.14.98 crore will be implemented by IIT Indore in collaboration with ICAR-IISR Indore, ICAR-CIAE Bhopal and C-DAC Pune. One of the key objectives of the agritech hub is the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Agriculture at IIT Indore. This centre will launch 46 advanced agritech programmes, support 40 innovations, file 25 patents, incubate 8 startups and facilitate 10 technology transfers and licensing agreements through startups. In addition, the hub will accelerate the development of genomics and phenomics for improved crop traits, precision agriculture and drone-based imaging, emerging technologies for seed quality testing and high-performance computing, big data analytics, and machine learning for advanced agricultural research and productivity enhancement.
New Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
VSP trade unions to go on 24-hour strike on May 20
VISAKHAPATNAM: The joint forum of all trade unions at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) has issued a formal strike notice to the Chairperson and Managing Director of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), proposing to go on a 24-hour strike beginning at 6 am on May 20. The notice, served under Section 22(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, was also marked to the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central), Ministry of Labour, Visakhapatnam. The unions have presented a comprehensive charter of demands, pressing the management, and the Centre to withdraw the proposed strategic sale of RINL. The key demands include the allotment of captive iron ore mines to RINL, the merger of RINL with the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and ensuring raw material availability before the re- commencement of Blast Furnace-3 operations. They also demanded a revival plan that includes improving upstream and downstream facilities to run the plant at full capacity. Among the major workforce-related demands are the immediate implementation of revised wages, regular monthly payment of full salaries, restoration of House Rent Allowance (HRA) with retrospective effect, and a halt to the termination of contract workers. The unions also called for the reinstatement of welfare measures that were withdrawn by the management.
New Indian Express
04-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Madras High Court rejects sacked TNSTC staff's zodiac argument
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) staff member, who was dismissed from service for unauthorised absence due to inimical astrological predictions about a 'likely accident' during the course of 'Gurupeyarchi ' – realignment of zodiac signs. The court also upheld the order of the Labour Court that endorsed the decision of the TNSTC to sack the staff member. The petitioner, A Senthamaraikannan of Athur in Salem district, was appointed as conductor with the TNSTC, Salem division, in 1993. He went absent without leave for certain period in 2013-14. After completing due procedures, the management dismissed him from service for unauthorised absence, on March 27, 2015. The matter went to the Labour Court after a conciliation process could not arrive at a settlement. Initially, Senthamaraikannan had informed the authorities that he was down with jaundice and so could not report for duty. However, the Labour Court found a document – submitted to the authorities on July 3, 2014 – explaining that 'with effect from February 16, 2014, his horoscope predicted the likelihood of an accident and that he would resume duty only after the Gurupeyarchi'. In 2019, the Labour Court, relying upon this document, concluded that his absence was 'wholly unauthorised' and he was 'not entitled to any relief'. He approached the high court with a plea to quash the Labour Court's order and issue direction to TNSTC to reinstate him in the service. Justice A D Maria Clete, in her recent order, noted that the Supreme Court in the LIC Vs R Dhandapani case had categorically held that in cases of unauthorised absence, the Labour Court ought not invoke its powers under Section 11A of the Industrial Disputes Act to interfere with the punishment imposed by the employer. The judge also held the explanation of the petitioner that he was absent due to the astrological predictions based on his horoscope as 'wholly unacceptable'. 'In view of the settled position of law, the writ petition stands dismissed,' she said in the order.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Sales executives can also invoke provisions of Industrial Disputes Act for redressal of grievances, rules Kerala high court
Kochi: Sales promotion employees, even if not classified as 'workmen' under the Industrial Disputes Act, are entitled to invoke the provisions of the Act for the redressal of their grievances, the high court has held. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Justice N Nagaresh issued the ruling while allowing a petition filed by the All-India Sales Representatives and Marketing Employees Federation challenging the decision of the regional labour commissioner, Kochi, to close a petition filed by them regarding a dispute over the transfer of employees of an insurance company. The Federation, a trade union, had previously approached the labour commissioner, challenging the action of the insurance company in transferring all workers who were members of the petitioner union from Kozhikode to various distant parts of the country. However, the labour commissioner closed the petition, holding that sales and marketing personnel were not 'workmen' as defined under Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This prompted the Federation to approach HC. Opposing the petition, the insurance company contended that the transferred employees were managers and that the transfers were necessitated by the closure of certain branches. It argued that an industrial dispute would not lie as the employees were not 'workmen' under the Act. It was also contended that the petitioner union was not a registered trade union and, therefore, could not raise a dispute under the Industrial Disputes Act. The petitioners, however, argued that although they were designated as sales managers, they were not performing managerial functions and were, in fact, ordinary sales promotion employees. They submitted that merely being described as managers could not exclude them from the purview of the Industrial Disputes Act. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Citing a previous HC judgment, the single bench held that although sales promotion employees may not fall within the definition of 'workmen,' the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act are nevertheless applicable to them. The court further held that the sponsoring union need not be a registered trade union for a dispute to qualify as an industrial dispute. Accordingly, the court set aside the labour commissioner's order and directed that the petition be reconsidered on its merits.
