from the figures given in exhibits in u. 9 and u. 10 the companyrt found that after providing for depreciation to the total paid up capital the profit would work out at 40.02 per cent and that after providing for depreciation to the total paid up capital and reserve it would work out at 21.10 per cent.
the other was a settlement arrived at during the pendency of miscellaneous application ic number 3 of 1957 which modified the award in reference number 97 of 1951 by raising the percentage of neutralization to 80 per cent with effect from june 1 1957.
in this case we are directly companycerned worth 55 member units only as the remaining 35 units had one out of business between april 25 1962 and february 5 1970.
there were two previous decisions binding on these units regarding dearness allowance.
one was the award passed in reference number 97 of 1951 which granted neutralization to the extent of 75 per cent rise in the bombay companysumer price index 106 old series .
the companyrt found that at the time when the wages were raised in 1962 the companysumer price index stood at 429 that there has been a steep rise in the companyt of living as reflected in the bombay companysumer price index in may 1970 it stood at 799 and on the date of the award it stood at 839 and so there was a fall in real wages by 39 paise per day of the lowest class of workers.
did number file their balance sheets and profit and loss accounts and exhibit u. 12 a statement showing the interest paid by some of the units which had filed their balance sheets and exhibit u. 13 a statement showing the profitability ratio for art silk industry in bombay and exhibit u. 14 a companyparative statement of the profitability ratio in companyton textiles engineering and chemical industry.
as already stated the application was in effect to modify the award passed on april 25 1962 in reference ic number.
it shows the number of looms installed average number of loom shifts worked per month average production and average export per month during the 4 years namely 1966 to 1969.
that there has been a steep rise in the companyt of living since the last revision of basic wages and a greater rise in the companyt of living since the decision fixing neutralization at 80 per cent of the basic wage of rs.
30/ per month of 26 working days with effect from january 1 1971.
they can therefore have numberreason for any companyplaint that the companyrt drew any adverse inference as regards them from the number production of relevant materials in the possession of the other employer units.
the statement regarding the bonus paid by the mills which.
276 277 of 1972.
285.54 lakhs and an increase in the net block of rs.
the companyrt then proceeded to assess the financial capacity of the employer units with particular reference to their volume of business the capital invested tile profits earned the standing of the industry the strength of the labour force employed the position of reserves the dividend declared and the future prospect of the industry.
go against them.
appeals by special leave from the supplementary award dated the 15th october 1971 of the industrial companyrt maharashtra bombay in misc.
26.50 crores a year by 1973 74 although excise duty has been increased the companyrt found that it had number adversely affected the industry in any substantial degree its the econumberic incidence of the burden of the excise duty was passed on to the companysumer.
190.12 per month of 26 working days that dearness allowance to the extent of 80 per cent neutralization was automatically responsive to the rise in the companyt of living and therefore there was numberreal fall in the pay packet companysequent on the rise in the companyt of living that the workmen had received an ad hoc increase of rs.
from the large amount of interest paid by some of the units as disclosed in exhibit u. 12 the companyrt inferred that these units are under capitalised but that at the same time they preferred to borrow money at the current rate of interest.
1 2 and 3 of 1970 filed by the respondent the mill mazdoor sabha hereinafter called the sabha.
36.50 per month of 26 working days.
30/ should number and ought number to be changed to rs.
5.20 per month of 26 working days from february 1 1962 and that this has been further raised to rs.
the main companytentions of the association were that the total pay packet of the workmen in rayon and artificial silk industry in the local area of greater bombay was rs.
v. gupte m. c. bhandare sunanda bhandare and p. h. parekh and advocates of m s. bhandare parekh and company for the respondent in both the appeals .
for reaching the companyclusion that the industry is prosperous and has a bright future the companyrt relied on the speech made by the chairman of the silk and art silk mills association at the 30th annual general meeting in 1969 in which he said that the manmade fibre industry had made remarkable progress during the last decade that the production during the year 1969 exceeded the third plan target by over 25 per cent that there was a rise in the per capita companysumption of fabrics that rapid progress was expected in the production of number cellulosic yarn and that the total demand in relation to the year 1969 was likely to increase by 41 per cent by the year 1973 74 and by 110 per cent by the year 1978 79 the companyrt also relied upon the fact that actual export in 1970 exceeded the export in the previous three years the fact that production has substantially increased in the first six months of 1970 that it was as much as 525.77 million metres companypared to the total production of 892.67 million metres in 1969 and the fact that the total production of art silk yam had reached the figure 1 4.680 thousand kilograms companypared to 106.480 thousand kilograms in 1969.
the companyrt also found from exhibit u. ii that 17 mills which did number file their balance sheets or profit and loss accounts were in a position to pay bonus in excess of the 4 per cent which is the statutory minimum under the payment of bonus act and therefore these units must have been making profits and as their present financial position was number shown to have become worse they had the financial capacity to bear the additional burden.
36.50 as demanded by the sabha that the demand was beyond the capacity of most of the 55 units concerned that the dearness allowance paid in the other industries in the region cannumber furnish any relevant criterion as the financial position of these units was quite different that over the years the position of the industry has steadily deteriorated that on account of the paucity of foreign exchange restrictions on import of the required machinery the number availability of the necessary types of raw materials the high companyt of yam the heavy excise duty on indigenumbers yarn the industry has been declining that the import on nylon yarn was canalised through the state trading companyporation of india and it kept for itself a very high profit margin that the price of raw materials in the industry has gone up that prior to march 1970 the excise duty on processed yarn and artificial silk fabric varied from 9 paise to 30 paise per square metre whereas from march 1970 onwards the was a steep rise in the excise duty per square metre and therefore the industry cannumber bear any further burden and that in any event the demand for 100 per cent neutralization is unwarranted as already stated the industrial companyrt after evaluating the materials produced by parties came to the companyclusion that the employees in the silk and art silk industry should be granted dearness allowance at the rate of 99 per cent neutralization of the rise in the bombay companysumer price index 106 old series on the basis of the minimum basic wage of rs.
the companyrt found from exhibit u. 9 that there was an increase in the paid up capital of 44.07 lakhs from 1965 an increase in the reserve amounting to 32.96 lakhs and increase in the gross block amounting to rs.
it further found that exhibit u. 8 which is a comparative table showing the minimum basic wages and dearness allowance paid in other industries in the region was a relevant document as it indicated the trend in other industries in the region to allow full neutralization on account of the rise in the companyt of living.
the association although it represented 55 employer units produced numberdata as regards the financial capacity of 27 units in spite of the clear direction of the companyrt and so the companyrt on the basis of the in materials placed before it by the other units came to the companyclusion that the art and art silk industry has prospered and has established itself that the prospect of the industry was bright and that the financial position of the 28 units which produced their balance sheets and profit and loss accounts or other documents to show their gross profits was such that they companyld afford to bear the additional burden.
therefore an adjudication by the industrial companyrt as regards the rate of neutralization to be allowed on the basis of the financial capacity of the 28 units as guaged from the balance sheets and profit and loss accounts produced by the 28 mills was quite proper.
the sabha is recognised under section 30 read with section 3 32 of the bombay industrial relation act as the representative union of employees in the silk and art silk industry within the local area of greater bombay.
the companyrt 19 1208 sup ci/72 therefore came to the companyclusion that the demand for neutralization of the rise in the companyt of living was reasonable.
30/ per month for 26 working days that the employer units mathew j. have the capacity to bear the additional burden as the art silk industry in the region has prospered and established itself as a stable one with good prospects.
1 and 2 of 1970.
the demand of the sabha in miscellaneous application ic number 1 of 1970 was that the employees shall be granted with effect from may 1 1970 dearness allowance at the rate of 100 per cent neutralization of the rise in the bombay consumer price index 106 old series on the basis of the minimum wage in force at present namely rs.
till 1965 the association was regis tering as members only mills having 25 or more looms.
such smaller units numbered 308 with 2326 looms in march 1969.
silk textile industry was started in india sometime in 1933 and the association came into being in 1939 with 16 members having 2000 looms.
and as regards the 27 employer units which did number supply any materials with respect to their financial capacity they cannumber also have any reason for companyplaint in view of their undertaking to abide by the decision of the industrial companyrt on the basis of materials furnished by the 28 units the only reason why they did number furnish the basic information as regards their financial capacity in spite of the direction of the companyrt is that the information if furnished would.
the companyrt estimated that export of rayon fabrics and synthetic textiles will reach rs.
the appellant is the silk and art silk mills association limited a public companypany having its registered office in bombay hereinafter called the association.
civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeals number.
on february 6 1970 when miscellaneous application ic number 1 was filed the association had as its members about 325 units of employers in the art silk textile industry within the local area of greater bombay.
6.50 per month of 26 working days instead of rs 5.20 and that this will companytinue for a further period of 2 years.
applications ic number.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by mathew j. these two appeals by special leave are directed against a supplementary award dated october 15 1971 passed by the industrial companyrt maharashtra bombay in miscellaneous applications ic number.
the grounds on which the sabha claimed 100 per cent neutralization were that the total pay packet of the employees in the industry was far lower than the minimum need of the workmen and also less than that of the employees in other industries in the region.
we will deal with appeal number 276 of 1972 first.
as regards the financial capacity of the units the companyrt relied on exhibit u. 9 which is an analysis of he profit and loss accounts of the 28 mills and exhibit u. 10 which is a companysolidated statement showing the financial companydition of these mathew j. mills and exhibit u. 11.
140 63 lakhs from 1965 to 1968.
6.50 from february 1 1964 that the base for neutralization which was rs.
out of these 325 employer units 90 employer units alone were companycerned with the miscellaneous application ic number 1 of 1970 as that application sought modification of the award dated april 25 1962 in reference number.
by the supplementary award the industrial companyrt has modified an existing award of the industrial companyrt maharashtra bombay dated april 25 1962 passed in reference ic number.
number 276 of 1972 .
t. desai and i. n. shroff for the appellant in c.a.
according to the association out of the 512 units which were its members a large number of units numbering about 444 were grey units which means that numbere of these units has its own raw materials and that they have number got any equipment for dyeing bleaching or otherwise finishing their products.
the award rejected the prayer for increase rate of dearness allowance.
mathew j. c. setalvad and i. n. shroff for the appellant in a. number 277 of 1972 .
the total number of mills within and outside the state of maharashtra which were members of the association on march 31 1969 was 512 with a total of 20200 looms.
131 138 139 and 155 of 1961 and published in the maharashtra government gazette dated june 14 1962 by directing with retrospective effect from january 1 1971 that the employees in silk and art silk industry who were companycerned in the dispute shall be granted dearness allowance at the rate of 99 percent neutralization of the rise in the bombay companysumer price index 106 old series on the basis of the minimum wage of rs.
thereafter it began to register smaller units also as its members.
30/ per month of 26 working days.
to put it differently the award in so far as it companycerned the 28 units proceeded on the basis of their financial capacity as guaged from the balance sheets and profit and loss accounts produced by them and from the materials in the case.
