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PETITIONER:

JAGRIT MAZDOOR UNION (REGD.) & ORS. ETC. ETC.

Vs.

RESPONDENT:

MAHANAGAR TELEPHONE NIGAM LTD. & ANR.ETC. ETC.

DATE OF JUDGMENT29/11/1989

BENCH:

MISRA RANGNATH

BENCH:

MISRA RANGNATH

SAWANT, P.B.

RAMASWAMY, K.

CITATION:

1989 SCR Supl. (2) 329 1990 SCC Supl. 113

JT 1989 Supl. 364 1989 SCALE (2)1455

ACT:

Casual Labourers (Grant of Temporary Status) Regulation

Scheme, 1989.' Reserve Trained Pool Telephone

Operators--Regularisation of--Directions by Court.

HEADNOTE:

The Petitioners in first two Writ Petitions are Reserve

Trained Pool Telephone Operators (RTPTOS) of Delhi and

Bombay Mahanagar Telephones who are seeking directions that

after their absorption as regular employees following the

implementation of the directions of this Court dated

28.7.1986 in an earlier Writ Petition No. 11764 of 1985

filed by the All India Telegraph Engineering Employees Union

Class III of Bombay Telephones, they are entitled to be

brought on par with the regular Staff for grant of all other

service benefits as well since they have been performing the

same duties as performed by regular operators.

The other two Petitions pertain to the Department of

Posts. One is by the Reserve Trained Pool Operators (RTPOS)

and the other by the Substitute Employees and Casual Labour-

ers in that Department. While the RTPOS have claimed relief

of being placed at par with regular, permanent or temporary

employees in the matter of service conditions, the substi-

tute employees and casual labourers claim that they be paid

the same emoluments as the regular employees.

Disposing of the Petitions, this Court,

HELD: The scheme known as Casual Labourers (Grant of

Temporary Status in Regularisation) Scheme has been formu-

lated and put into operation from 1.10.1989. Hence no fur-

ther specific direction is necessary as regards applicants

covered by the Telephone Nigams of Delhi and Bombay except

calling upon the respondents 10 implement every term of the

Scheme at an early date. [332E-F]

As per existing recruitment rules, extra-departmental agents

are

330

given preference in the matter of absorption as Group 'D'

postmen. Directions have already been issued for their

absorption against the vacancies. [333H]

The claim to bonus may be left to arbitration or for

being dealt with by a Consultative Council. [334F]

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After rendering three years of continuous service with

temporary status, the casual labourers shall be treated at

par with temporary Grade 'D' employees of the Department of

Posts and would thereby be entitled to such benefits as are

admissible to Group 'D' employees on regular basis. [335B]

JUDGMENT:

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition No. 1119 of

1986 etc. etc.

(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India).

G. Ramaswamy, A.S.G., N.C. Sikri, N.S. Das Bahl, B.D.

Sharma, Ms. Madhu Sikri, B.W. Vaidya, R.B. Misra, Ms. A.

Subhashini (not present) and Dalveer Bhandari for the ap-

pearing parties.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

RANGANATH MISRA, J. The first of these applications

under Art. 32 of the Constitution is on behalf of the Delhi

Reserve Trained Pool Telephone Operators (RTPTOs) asking for

a direction to the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited to

treat all the telephone operators at par after their absorp-

tion as regular employees. Three letters addressed to the

learned Chief Justice of this Court have been treated as

writ petitions and are the remaining one under Art. 32 of

the Constitution. The first one (1276/86) is by the Reserve

Trained Pool Telephone Operators of Bombay. They claim the

self-same relief as asked for in the earlier case; the

second one (1623/86) is on behalf of the Reserve Trained

Pool Operators in the Department of Posts and they

have .claimed relief of being placed at par with regular,

permanent or temporary employees in the matter of service

conditions. The third one (1624/86) is on behalf of substi-

tute employees and casual labourers in the Department of

Posts. They have claimed that substitute employees and

casual labourers be paid the same emoluments as regular

employees.

331

In an earlier Writ Petition No. 11764 of 1985 filed by

the All India Telegraph Engineering Employees Union Class

III of Bombay Telephone where the prayer for treating the

Reserve Trained Pool Telephone Operators at par with regular

staff had also been asked for, this Court made the following

order on 1.5. 1986:

"The matter is adjourned to 28.7. 1986 to

enable the newlyadded respondent No. 3 to file

counter-affidavit on or before 15.7. 1986.

Rejoinder, if any, will be filed within one

week thereafter. Meanwhile, the respondent

will pay to the operators drawn from the

Reserve Trained Pool of the Telephone Opera-

tors from Bombay and Delhi Telephones Rs.4.90

per hour provided that the total salary of the

Telephone Operators from the Reserve Trained

Pool shall not exceed the salary of regularly

appointed Telephone Operators."

On 23.7. 1986, this Court in that Writ Petition further

ordered:

"The order passed by the Court on 1.5. 1986

shall be final. The wages shall be paid in

accordance with the terms contained in that

order. We, however, make it clear that if the

Dearness Allowance and other allowances are

varied hereafter the workers concerned shall

get D.A. and other allowances accordingly

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subject to the limit that the total emoluments

would not exceed the salary of regularly

appointed Telephone Operators. If the peti-

tioners have any other grievance they are at

liberty to agitate. This order will apply to

all RTPA employees who'are similarly

situated."

It is the stand of the respondents that that order of

this Court has been implemented with effect from 28.7. 1986.

After that was done, the RTPTOs of Bombay and Delhi have in

their respective Writ Petitions applied for further reliefs

as already indicated. According to the petitioners in these

two Writ Petitions, the RTPTOs are entitled to be brought on

par with the regular staff for grant of other service bene-

fits as they have been performing the same duties as per-

formed by regular operators.

The two petitions have been opposed by the relevant

Ministry by filing counter-affidavits where the stand taken

is that RTPTOs are a special class by themselves with their

own incidents of service and they cannot be treated at par

with regular employees. The differences between the two

services have been highlighted in the counter-affidavits.

332

It is also the stand of the respondents that the order of

this Court referred to above dated 28.7.1986 finally dis-

posed of the major claim raised in the two petitions of the

employees of the two Telephone Nigams and fresh action was

not appropriate. It is also pointed out that on 10th of

February, 1986, there was an agreement of settlement and the

present petition was an attempt to reopen the matter. On

31.1. 1989, when Writ Petition No. 1276 of 1986 came up for

hearing before this Court, the following order was made:

"Learned counsel for the petitioners concedes

that the regularisation of 21,000 employees in

the Department of Telecommunications has been

effected but complains that no such proceeding

has taken place in respect of the postal

employees. He states that there is pressing

need for a parity of service conditions in-

cluding pay, house rent allowance and other

allowances between the temporary employees and

the regular employees covered by this catego-

ry. The learned Additional Solicitor General

of India assures us that the scheme will be

finalised latest by first week of April, 1989

and that complete position will be placed

before the Court at that stage ...... "

The scheme known as Casual Labourers (Grant of Temporary

Status in Regularisation) Scheme has been formulated and put

into operation from 1.10. 1989 and a copy thereof has been

placed for our consideration. We find that the scheme is

comprehensive and apart from provision for conferment of

temporary status, it also specifies the benefits available

on conferment of such status. Counsel for the respondent-

Nigams have told us that the scheme will be given full

effect and other benefits contemplated by the scheme shall

be worked out. In these circumstances, no further specific

direction is necessary in the two applications relating to

the two Nigams of Bombay and Delhi except calling upon the

respondents to implement every term of the scheme at an

early date.

The two remaining writ petitions relate to the Depart-

ment of Posts. Though an assurance had been held out by the

learned Additional Solicitor General that a separate scheme

for the postal employees would be prepared and placed before

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the Court within a time frame, that has not been done. At

the hearing, a note containing tentative proposals and a

statement as to what has been done by way of improving the

conditions of service have, however, been placed before the

Court. The statement relating to improvements brought about

333

indicates that after April, 1986, about seven thousand RTPs

have been absorbed. Since the RTP category is no more ex-

panding, only about 2,900 of them remain to be absorbed. We

have been told by learned counsel for the Department that

equal number of justified and supernumerary posts are being

created and the Ministry's proposal is in the hands of the

Ministry of Finance for approval and is expected to be

finalised soon. This has to be done within a time frame. and

we direct the posts of both the categories to be created by

the end of January, 1990, and the process of absorption to

be completed by 31.3. 1990. With such absorption made, the

RTPs will become regular employees. All their claims would,

thereafter, be regulated on the basis of entitlement in

accordance with extant rules.

So far as the claim of earned leave is concerned, we

find that Telecommunications Regularisation Rules provide

for leave entitlement on pro-rate basis--one day for every

ten days of work. The same benefit would be admissible to

the employees of the Department of Posts as we find no

reason to adopt a different basis.

In National Federation of P & T Employees & Anr. v.

Union of India & Anr., [1988] 1 SCC 122, this Court direct-

ed:

"The Union of India and other respondents are

directed to pay wages to the workmen who are

employed as casual labourers belonging to the

several categories of employees in the Posts

and Telegraphs Department at the rates equiva-

lent to the minimum pay in the pay scales of

the regularly employed workers in the corre-

sponding cadres but without any increments

with effect from February 5, 1986 on which

date the first of the above two petitions,

namely, Writ Petition No. 302 of 1986 was

filed. The petitioners are entitled to corre-

sponding dearness allowance and additional

dearness allowance, if any, payable thereon.

Whatever other benefits which are now being

enjoyed by the casual labourers shall continue

to be extended to them ."

It has been stated that in compliance with that direc-

tion the Department has alredy formulated a scheme for

absorption of casual labourers and about a thousand justi-

fied posts are being created with concurrence of the nodal

Ministry. As per existing recruitment rules, extra-depart-

mental agents are given preference in the matter of absorp-

tion as Group 'D' postmen. Directions have already been

issued for their absorption against the vacancies. It has

been pointed out

334

again that casual labourers are being paid bonus while

substitutes are not entitled under the existing scheme.

The other note placed before us at the bearing

indicates:

1. Justified (by necessity) posts in Groups

'C' and 'D' will be created in the administra-

tive and operative establishments as per the

existing norms for creation of posts in con-

sultation with the Finance Ministry,

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2. On creation of the posts, recruitment will

be done following the existing recruitment

rules giving preference to extra-departmental

agents over casual labourers;

3. If on the basis of established norms,

casual labourers are in excess, their services

shall be dispensed with in accordance with

law; and

4. If any casual labourers cannot be re-

trenched straightaway, they shall be paid

wages for three months at the existing rates.

This tentative scheme does not take into account the

several specific claims advanced by the petitioners in the

two writ petitions. These are House Rent Allowance, City

Compensatory Allowance, Bonus and Earned Leave. There are

also demands for weekly off day, postal holiday and materni-

ty leave. Weekly off has now been given to RTPs, casual

labourers and substitutes under order of this court and the

claim does not survive for adjudication. All these three

categories in these two writ petitions are also being given

three national Holidays. For the remaining postal holidays,

the claim has been pressed but we are of the view that until

absorption, they may not be granted. It has been agreed

before us that the claim of bonus may be left to arbitration

or for being dealt with by the Consultative Council.

As regards House Rent Allowances, City Compensatory

Allowance and Maternity Leave, we see. no justification for

treating the employees of the Postal Department differently

from those covered under the Regularisation Rules in the

Telecommunications Department. Temporary status would be

available to the casual labourers in the Postal Department

on completion of one year of continuous service with at

least 240 days of work (206 days in the case of officers

observing five days' week) and on conferment of temporary

status, House Rent Allowance and City Compensatory Allowance

shall be

335

admissible. There would be no justification to withhold

Maternity Leave as that is an obligation of the employer

under the law and the State as an ideal employer fulfilling

the Directive Principles of State Policy envisaged in Part-

IV of the Constitution should provide the same. After ren-

dering three years of continuous service with temporary

status, the casual labourers shall be treated at par with

temporary Grade 'D' employees of the Department of Posts and

would thereby be entitled to such benefits as are admissible

to Group 'D' employees on regular basis.

So far as the substitutes are concerned, it has been

stated to us that orders have been issued for considering

their claims against Group 'D' vacancies and a copy of the

Department's letter has been produced. We hope and trust

that the direction shall be implemented in its true spirit.

The claim on behalf of substitutes ordinarily is not enter-

tainable but we have been told that there are substitutes

who work for long periods continuously. We are inclined to

agree with counsel for the petitioners that in such cases

their claims should have been appropriately considered by

the Department.

The writ petitions are disposed of with the aforesaid

directions without any order as to costs.

R.N.J. Petitions dis-

posed of.

336

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