Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishments (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981 – s. 2(3), 7 – Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 – ss. 2(3), 2(6) – Employees of Government Corporation sought regularisation – Inspector of labour conferred permanent status to the workmen – High Court upheld the same and directed to provide employment to the employees – Cross appeals – Issue as regards, applicability of the 1981 Act to the parties – Corporation, if could be termed as an industrial establishment as per the 1947 Act – Members of the Union, if would qualify as workmen and thus, would be eligible for permanent status u/s. 3 of the Act – High Court on remand, if could have ignored the order of the Inspector of Labour and suggested to institute an ‘Industrial Disputes Claim’ questioning non-employment:
Held: Activities conducted by the Corporation fall under those mentioned u/s. 2(3) of the 1947 Act – Construction work, which the Corporation, by its own admission, carries out, is also for nongovernmental bodies such as firms, companies, and individuals – Language of s. 7 of the 1981 Act implies that this Act shall not apply to those workmen who are engaged in the construction of buildings and the like or other construction work be it structural, mechanical, or electrical and thus, the establishments and its workmen engaged exclusively in the work of construction, shall be exempted – However, this would not allow the Corporation to wash its hands off the responsibilities or obligations under the Act, since the construction to be undertaken by the Corporation, is only one of the many activities to be undertaken by it – To take all the workers out of the purview of the Act, especially, when the said workers were not the ones undertaking construction, unwarranted – Employee having uninterruptedly continued in service for 480 days or more for 24 months, having been met, the Act would apply to the parties – Furthermore, the scope of remand was limited – Since the High Court concluded that the Act would apply, no reason for it to disturb the finding of the Inspector of Labour – It ought to have simply ordered that the order of Labour Inspector which concluded that members of Union be given permanent employment, be complied with. [Paras 21-25, 27, 28]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
This page is for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate for advice specific to your situation.