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The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed an appeal filed by the management of Sundaram Industries Ltd, a part of TVS Group engaged in the manufacture of rubber products for various industrial applications, in a dispute between the management and Sundaram Industries Employees Union.
The court said there was no reason for it to intervene in the issue, in which the Madras High Court dismissed the company's appeal against an oder of the Industrial Tribunal, Chennai. The tribunal has earlier ordered that the punishment of dismissal is disproportionate to the the gravity of their offence and to reinstate employees who were dismissed by the company, with 50 per cent back wages.
“At any rate, the labour court having exercised its discretion in setting aside the dismissal order on the ground that the same was disproportionate, the high court was justified in refusing to interfere with that order under Article 226 of the Constitution,” said the SC order.
The order, issued by judges T S Thakur and Vikramajit Sen, added, “There is, in any event, no compelling reason for us to invoke our extraordinary power under Article 136 of the Constitution or to interfere with what has been done by the two courts below.”
The company did not offer a comment on the order. Not all the workmen mentioned in the earlier cases are facing the action at present, said a source from the group.
The dispute started in March 1999, when 13 out of 488 moulders working during the period, declined to abide by the instructions issued by the management to place their individual bags of production on the weighing scale at the end of their work shift. The management suspended the defaulting members, against which the union raised a dispute before the Labour Officer. The Officer advised the union and its workmen to apologise to the management and tender an undertaking to the effect that they would not repeat their acts in future.
The company argued that despite the apology and undertaking furnished after this, the workmen continued to disobey the instructions and enticed three more employees to follow their act. The workmen were dismissed based on the charges of misconduct, persistent disobedience and insubordination.
The workmen argued that placing the bag of their production on the electronic weighing scale and report the weight require additional time including long waiting time on queue for their turn for the weighing machines, which would require additional time beyond the shift hours without any additional remuneration for the same.
The union approached the Industrial Tribunal, Chennai and the Tribunal came to the conclusion that although the domestic inquiry conducted by the management against the delinquent workmen was fair and proper and the charges stood proved, the punishment of dismissal imposed upon the workmen was shockingly disproportionate to the gravity of the offence, according to the Supreme Court order.
The Tribunal set aside the order of dismissal passed against the workmen and directed their reinstatement with 50 per cent back wages.
The company filed a petition with the Madras High Court, which was dismissed by a Single Judge. An appeal by the management of the company also failed and was dismissed by a Division Bench of Madras High Court. It is against these orders the company has approached the the Supreme Court for relief.
The company argued that the conduct of the delinquent workmen was wholly unjustified having regard to the fact that they had, in the course of the proceedings before the Labour Officer, Madurai, not only apologised for their misconduct but filed an undertaking in writing to obey their superior officers in the future.
