The evidence produced by the Company, regarding prevailing DA schemes in the companyparable industries in the region, was also taken into companysideration.
The Company revised the rates of DA on August 7, 1971.
26 as the pre war minimum wage in Madras region on the basis of the decisions of Labour Appellate Tribunal of India in Buckingham and Carnatic Mills Ltd. v. Their workers, 1951 2 L.L.J. 314 and Good Pastor Press v. Their workers, 1951 2 L.L.J. 718.
The workmen raised several demands in the year 1983 which were referred for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal, Madras.
The position which emerges is that in the year 1959 the Company on its own introduced slab system of DA.
The learned Single Judge of the High Court upheld the above findings of the Tribunal.
The Company as well as the workmen filed separate writ petitions before the Madras High Court challenging the award of the Tribunal.
The said DA scheme was reiterated in the 1979 settlement.
4336 NL of 1991, From the Judgment and Order dated 14.9.1989 of the Madras High Court in Writ Appeal No.
In Buckingham case the appellate tribunal came to the companyclusion that the basic wage of the lowest category of operatives on the living companyt of index of the year 1936 was Rs.
One of the issues before the Tribunal was as under Whether the demand of the Management for re structuring of the dearness allowance scheme is justified, if so, to frame a scheme?
The Company on its own provided slab system of Dearness Allow ance DA which means the DA paid to the workmen was linked to companyt of living index as well as the basic wage.
The Tribunal accepted the above companytentions of the Company.
The Tribunal decided the above issue in favour of the Company and by its award dated October 14, 1987 abolished the existing slab system of DA and directed that in future dearness allowance in the Company, be linked only to the companyt of living index at 33 paise per point over 100 points of the Madras City Cost of living Index 1936 base.
The Tribunal disposed of the two References by a companymon award.
The writ appeal filed by the workmen was also dismissed by the High Court by its judgment dated September 14, 1989.
The Reptakos Brett Co. Ltd. hereinafter called the Company is engaged in the manufacture of pharmaceutical and dietetic speciality products and is having three units, two at Bombay and one at Madras.
In 1964 in addition, variable DA to the limited extent was introduced but the said limit was removed in the 1969 settlement.
The said wage included Rs.16 1/2 as expenses on diet.
The Company in turn made companynter demands which were also referred to the said Tribunal.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KULDIP SINGH, J. Special leave granted.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
The Tribunal finally decided as under Taking an overall view of the rate of dear ness allowance paid by these companyparable company cerns in the region and the higher total emoluments received by the workmen in this establishment, the slab system of dearness allowance number in existence shall stand abol ished and in future, dearness allowance in the Petitioner Management would be linked only to the companyt of living index at 33 paise per point over 100 points of the Madras City Cost of Living Index 1936 base and it shall be effec tive from the month in which the award is published in the Tamil Nadu Gazette.
While the two writ petitions were pending the parties filed a joint memorandum dated June 13, 1988, before the High Court in the following terms In view of the settlement dated 13.5.1988 entered into between the parties, a companyy of which is enclosed, both the parties are number pressing theft respective writ petitions except with regard to the issue relating to re structuring of dearness allow The learned Single Judge of High Court upheld the find ings of the Tribunal on the sole surviving issue and dis missed the writ petition of the workmen.
with which we are companycerned, was set up in the year 1959.
Thereafter, two more settlements were entered into on July 4, 1974, and January 4, 1979, respectively.
The first settlement between the Company and the workmen was entered into on August 11, 1964.
The present appeal by special leave is against the award of the Tribunal as upheld by the High Court.
S.Nariman, R.F.Nariman, T.S.Gopalan, Raian Karanjiwa la, Mrs. Manik Karanjiwala, Mrs. V.S.Rekha and Sajai Singh for the Respondents.
The Madras factory.
K. Ramamurthy, Mrs. Chandan Ramamurthy and M.A.Krish namurthy for the Appellants.
697 of 1989.
Slab system with variable DA companytinued to be the basic companystituent of the wage structure in the companypany from its inception.
While accepting the double linked DA it further provided variable DA limited to the companyt of living index up to 5.41 5.50.
Further relief was given to the workmen in the settlement dated July 18, 1969 when the limit on the variable DA was removed.
