Chennai: Pointing out that remaining mute witness to such monstrous action initiated by the management dismissing 294 workmen at one stroke will only lead to destitution of constitutional principles on one hand and on the other, abdication of constitutional responsibility, the Madras high court has stayed the order of Pricol Limited, Coimbatore, dismissing 294 workmen en-masse.
Allowing the petition filed by Kovai Mavatta Pricol Thozhilalar Otrumai Sangam, Justice V.Parthiban said, “This court has no hesitation in entertaining the petition and consequence of such conclusion would be that there shall be an interim stay of order dated February 11, 2019, dismissing 294 workmen till a final decision is taken by the Labour and Employment department and the Commissioner of Labour under section 10 (1) and 10 (B) of the Industrial Disputes Act”.
Originally, following several disputes between the Union and the Management of Pricol, there was a strained relationship between them for some years. After conciliation talk, a settlement was arrived at and the workers resumed their work. While so, to their shock, the management had transferred 302 workers to Sricity-Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarakand. Against the en masse transfer, the Union approached the authorities for referring the Industrial Disputes for adjudication. While it was pending, the management had passed an order dismissing 294 workmen. Aggrieved, the union filed the present petition.
The judge said in order to maintain industrial peace, the decision to dismiss as many as 294 workmen, cannot by any stretch of legal standards be held as a private dispute concerning only management and the union. Such monstrous dispute transcends beyond a private relationship between the labour and management and assumes public interest and as a consequence of which, invites discharge of public duty cast on the management. Therefore, the argument that the writ will not lie against such dispute appear to be too emaciated proposition for its acceptance by this court, the judge added.
The judge said this court has to necessarily live up to the fundamental expectation of citizens and extend its arms to protect certain sections of citizenry from being victimized even before initiation of adjudicatory process. In any event, only in industrial adjudication, the dispute between the union and management could be resolved and this court cannot come to any conclusion in regard to the same as the scope of the present litigation was narrow and transient. “It is the bounden duty of the constitutional courts to become alive to the cries of the workmen in order to protect their interest as temporary measure at least till the dispute is referred for adjudication under the Industrial Disputes Act”, the judge added.
Directing the Pricol to treat 294 workmen as employees of their Coimbatore unit as before, the judge said the parties shall be bound by further orders to be passed by the government in regard to the dispute raised by the union.
The judge directed the conciliation officer to complete the process of conciliation and on completion of such conciliation, in case of failure, the authorities were directed to refer the dispute for adjudication under the Industrial Disputes Act.
