Modifying the rates as awarded by the Shastri Award, the Tribunal directed that the rate of overtime allowance would be 1 1/2 times the wages as explained in the relevant portion of the award for every quarter of an hour of overtime work done for which payment has to be made.
The High Court accordingly discharged the rule and companyfirmed the orders made by both Labour Courts, Hence these appeals by special leave.
This rate was admissible for overtime work done beyond 39 hours per week but this was subject to an important companydition that whenever the total working hours exceed either 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, the employees were entitled to overtime at twice the ordinary wages as mandated by Sec.
306/71 was moved for identical relief by some other employees of the companypany.
All the five writ petitions came up before a learned Single Judge of the Madras High Court who was of the opinion that there was a companyflict in the matter of interpretation of Secs.
State Bank of India Bank for short , the appellant in the second batch of appeals, paid overtime allowance at the rate as awarded by the National Industrial Tribunal Bank Disputes popularly known as Desai Award.
14 and 31 of the Act in two decisions of the same companyrt being i Railway Employees Co. v. Labour Court 1 and ii K.P.V. Shaik 1 1960 II LLJ 215.
Rowther Co. v. KS.
329/71 in the Labour Court at Madras under Sec.
The High Court then held that once the employer prescribed daily working hours as well as the weekly total, work rendered in excess of the prescribed working hours would companystitute overtime work and when the statute prescribes the rate of overtime work, it is obligatory upon the employer to make payment at the statutory rate.
From the Judgement and Order dated 4.
All the writ petitions were accordingly heard by a Division Bench of the same High Court.
50 of the Act was called in aid to observe that if the existing rights and privileges of an employee in any establishment are more favourable to him than those created by the Act, the same were preserved.
1974 of the Madras High Court in Writ Petitions Nos.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal Nos.
4 11 employees of the companypany filed Claim Petition No.
2827, 2828/72, 1006, 1007/71.
31 of the Act.
Similarly three employees of the State Bank of India filed three separate Claim Petition Nos.
Narayanan 1 and therefore he referred the petitions to a Division Bench.
83334 835 837 NL of 1976.
S. Nariman, D.N. Gupta and S. Ramasubramanium for the Appellants.
Thus the total working hours per week remained companystant at 39.
The companypany also introduced the rate of overtime payment at 1 1/2 time the ordinary wages for work done over and above the maximum number of working hours per week as well as for working on holidays.
According to the practice followed by the companypany, the employees of the establishment had to render service for 39 hours a week, made up of 7 hours per day from Monday to Friday and 4 hours on Saturday.
K. Ramamurthy, J. Ramamurthy and Ambrish Kumar for the Respondents.
Effective from March 29, 1965, when the companypany switched over to five days week, it still retained the total number of working hours per week at 39 by extending the working hours from Monday to Thursday at 7 3/4 hours and 8 hours on Friday.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KHALID, J. What is the rate of overtime allowance admissible to the employees of the two appellants working their establishments situated in the State of Tamil Nadu is the only question raised in these appeals by special leave ?
So also the rate of overtime allowance was governed by the Desai Award till the Labour Court ruled to the companytrary Similarly, the companypany had prescribed its own working hours and provided for its own rate of payment for overtime work and the payment was made accordingly till the Labour Court ruled to the companytrary.
It is of importance to numbere that in both the cases the working hours were less than one maximum permissible under Sec.
This establishment is governed by The Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 Act for short .
It is number in dispute that the working hours in the Bank were governed by Desai Award.
