Y.A. Mamarde v. Authority under the Minimum Wages Act (Small Causes Court), Nagpur, (SC) BS107965
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Before:- C.A. Vaidialingam, I.D. Dua and G.K. Mitter, JJ.

Civil Appeals Nos. 1704 and 1937 of 1967. D/d. 12.4.1972.

Y.A. Mamarde and others - Appellants

Versus

Authority under the Minimum Wages Act (Small Causes Court), Nagpur and another - Respondents

In C. A. No. 1937 of 1967

Ganshyam and others - Appellants

Versus

Authority under the Minimum Wages Act (Small Causes Court), Nagpur and another - Respondents

For the Appellant in both Appeals :- M/s. H.W. Dhabe and A.G. Ratnaparkhi, Advocates.

For the Respondent No. 2 in both the Appeals :- Dr. W.S. Barlingay, Sr. Advocate (Mr. P.C. Bhartari, Advocates for M/s. J.B. Dadachanji and Co.).

A. Interpretation of Statutes - Recourse to preamble, can be taken - Only in case of doubts or ambiguous language of enactment.

[Para 13]

B. Madhya Pradesh Minimum Wages Rules, 1951, Rule 25(1)(b), Expln. - Words "double the ordinary rate of wages" - Do not mean double the rate of minimum wages fixed under the Act - It include the casual requisites and other advantage mentioned in the explanation.

[Para 13]

C. Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Section 5 - Minimum wages - Revision - Fixation of minimum wages by notification D- 21-2-1951 in respect of unskilled labour only - Subsequent notification D- 22-2-1956 fixing revised rates of minimum wages - Words "unskilled labour" not mentioned in it - Held, the second notification did not apply to all categories of labour - It had to be read in the background of earlier notification - Hence later notification must also be confined to "unskilled labour".

[Para 14]

Cases Referred :-

Union of India v. B.D. Rathi, AIR 1963 Bombay 54.

Municipal Borough, Bijapur v. Gundawan (M.N.), AIR 1965 Mysore 317.

Madras Port Trust v. Claims Authority, AIR 1957 Madras 69.

JUDGMENT

I.D. Dua, J. - These toe appeals by special leave (C. As. Nos. 1704 and 1937 of 1967) are directed against the judgment of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court dated August, 19, 1966 dismissing four applications under Article 227 of the Constitution arising out of orders made by the Authority under the Minimum Wages Act 11 of 1948 (hereinafter called the Act) in repeat of claims made by employees of the 'City of Nagpur Corporation' (hereinafter called the Corporation) working in various Departments of the Corporation.

2. On July 13, 1964 Sitaram Madhorao, Chaukidar and 9 other employees of the Octroi Department of the Corporation filed an application under Section 20 of the Act in the Court of Small Causes at Nagpur, which was the Authority appointed under the Act. The application was presented through the General Secretary of the Nagpur Corporation Employees' Association which was a registered trade union. The application is brief and, therefore, we consider it proper to reproduce its material parts in its own words :

Earlier on June 23, 1965. T.R. Khante, Time-keeper and 13 other employees of the Water Works Department of the Corporation had similarly applied under Section 20 of the Act through B. M. Mahale, General Secretary of the Nagpur Corporation Employees' Association. This application reads :

3. On November 10, 1964 some preliminary objections raised by the Corporation were disallowed by the Authority and the applications were directed to be tried on the merits.

4. On February 17, 1965 the Authority made an order on the following four issues which arose out of the claims made by the employees :

5. Under issue no. 1 the wireman was held to be a skilled worker and the time-keeper and lineman, semiskilled, disagreeing with their contentions that they were unskilled workers. Under issue no. 2 the Authority held that the second notification of 1956 only provided for the minimum rates of wages of unskilled labour including casual labour in the employment of the City of Nagpur Corporation. The applicants mentioned in issue No. 2 who had worked on weekly days of rest i.e. Sundays were accordingly held disentitled to claim wages for work done on those days in the absence of any provision made by the State Government under Section 13(1) (c) of the Act. Rule 25 of the M.P. minimum Wages Rules was held not to provide for payment for work on a day of rest envisaged by Section 13(1) (c) of the Act. Though in view of this decision under issue no. 2 issue no. 3 was held not to survive, still a decision on issue no. 3 was also recorded, the details of which are not necessary to mention. Under issue no. 3 (a) in the absence of a provision by the State Government under Section 13(1) (c) of the act for payment for work done on weekly days of rest the applicants were held disentitled to claim payment under the act. Issue Nos. 4 and 4 (a) were decided against the chowkidars and the motordriver concerned. All the four applications were accordingly dismissed with costs.

6. Feeling aggrieved by the order of the Authority four special civil applications were presented in the Bombay High Court. Nagpur Bench, under Article 227 of the Constitution. The High Court disagreed with the view of the authority on the interpretation of the second notification and held that the second notification was intended to apply to all employees and was not confined only to unskilled workmen as was the case with the notification of 1951. It, however, upheld the view of the Authority that ordinary rate of wages contemplated by Rule 25 means ordinary minimum rate of wages, considering this view to be in accordance with the view taken by the Bombay High Court in the Union of India v. B.D. Rathi, AIR 1963 Bombay 54.

7. On behalf of the appellants the only point canvassed in these two appeals arises out of the rejection of their claim with regard to overtime work done by them and work done by them on weekly rest days. On behalf of the respondents, however, it was contended that the High Court was wrong in the construction placed by it on the notification of 1956.

8. Minimum Wages were fixed by the Government by means of a notification under Section 5 of the Act on February 21, 1951. According to this notification the Government fixed "minimum rates of wages for unskilled labour including casual labour in respect of scheduled employments" mentioned in the schedule in that notification. The item which concerns us is item no. 2 which reads as "employment under any Local Authority". Various rates were fixed for certain categories of employees against this item. This notification so far as relevant reads :

Schedule of the Minimum rates of Wages
Serial no. and name of schedule employment.
Minimum rates of wages for unskilled labour (including casual labour)
...... .....
2. Employment under any local authority Re.-/12/- per day for adult female labour at all other centers.
Re. 1/per day for adult male at Nagpur town and in Bhandara and Balaghat Districts.
Re. -/14/- in Wardha, Buldana, Akola, Nimar, Hoshangabad and Nagpur districts (including Nagpur town).
Re. -/13/- in Jabalpur, Katni, and Sagar towns and places within 10 miles radius of these towns.
Re.-/12/- in Amravati, Yeotmal, Betul and Chanda Districts.
.... .... .... .... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..."

In this notification minimum wages in respect of some other categories of employees which do not concern us were also fixed.

9. On February 23, 1956 the Government issued the following notification fixing revised minimum rates of wages in supersession of those fixed under the notification of 1951 :

SCHEDULE

10. As observed earlier, the respondents raised the question that the second notification did not supersede the earlier notification so as to take within its fold all employees as held by the High Court but it was only confined to unskilled labour including casual labour the minimum rates of whose wages were determined under the earlier notification of 1951. To this aspect we will revert later.

11. The point strenuously canvassed on behalf of the appellant relates to the construction to be placed on Rule 25 of the M. P. Minimum Wages Rules, 1951 made under Section 30 of the Act. That rule provides for extra wages for overtime and reads :

12. It is common ground between the parties that Sunday has been declared to be a day of rest and the normal working hours per day are 9 hours a day or 54 hours a week. According to Shri Dhabe the appellants' learned counsel the words "at double the ordinary rate of wages" used in clause (b) of Rule 25 mean double the rate of wages which are actually being paid to the employees concerned and not double the rate of wages fixed under the Act as minimum wages, whereas according to Dr. Barlingay, learned counsel for the respondent, the Act is only concerned with providing for minimum wages and if an employee is being paid more than minimum wages so provided, the Act does not operate and the employer cannot be compelled to pay higher wages. The employees of the corporation are already being paid much higher wages than those fixed under the Act as minimum wages and, therefore, so contended Dr. Barlingay there is no legal obligation on the employer to pay higher wages. The provision requiring payment at double the ordinary rate of wages contained in Rule 25, must according to the respondent's argument, be read as "the ordinary rate of minimum wages fixed."

13. Let us first deal with this question. The Act which was enacted in 1948 has its roots in the recommendation adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1928. The object of the Act as stated in the preamble is to provide for fixing minimum rates of wages in certain employments and this seems to us to be clearly directed against exploitation of ignorant, less organised and less privileged members of the society by the capitalist class. This anxiety on the part of the society for improving the general economic condition of some of its less favoured members appears to be in supersession of the old principle of absolute freedom of contract and the doctrine of laissez faire and in recognition of the new principles of social welfare and common good Prior to our Constitution this principle was advocated by the movement for liberal employment in civilised countries and the Act which is a pre-Constitution measure was the offspring of that movement. Under our present Constitution the State is now expressly directed to endeavour to secure to all workers (whether agricultural, industrial or otherwise) not only bare physical subsistence but a living wage and conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure. This Directive Principle of State Policy being conducive to the general interest of the public and, therefore, to the healthy progress of the nation as a whole, merely lays down the foundation for appropriate social structure in which the labour will find its place of dignity, legitimately due to it in lieu of its contribution to the progress of national economic prosperity. The Act has since its enactment been amended on several occasions apparently to make it more and more effective in achieving its object which has since secured more firm support from the Constitution. The present rules under Section 30, it may be pointed out, were made in October, 1950 when State was under a duty to apply the Directive Principles in making laws. No doubt the Act, according to its preamble, was enacted to provide for fixing minimum rates of wages, but that does not necessarily mean that the language of Rule 25 should not be construed according to its ordinary, plaint meaning, provided of course, such construction is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act and there is no other compelling reason for adopting a different construction. A preamble though a key to open the mind of the Legislature, cannot be used to control or qualify the precise and unambiguous language of the enactment. It is only in case of doubt or ambiguity that recourse may be had to the preamble to ascertain the reason for the enactment in order to discover the true legislative intendment. By using the phrase "double the ordinary rate of wages" the rule-making authority seems to us to have intended that the worker should be the recipient of double the remuneration which he, in fact, ordinarily receives and not double the rate of minimum wages fixed for him under the Act. Had it been intended it provide for merely double the minimum rate of wages fixed under the Act the rule-making authority could have so expressed its intention in clear and explicit words like "double the minimum rate of wages fixed under the Act". This intendment would certainly have been stated in the explanation added to Rule 25(1) in which the expression "ordinary rate of wages" has been explained. The word "ordinary" used in Rule 25 reflects the actuality rather than the worker's minimum entitlement under the Act To accept Dr. Barlingay's suggestion would virtually amount to recasting this phrase in Rule 25 for which we find no justification. This rule calls for practical construction which should ensure to the worker an actual increase in the wages which come into his hands for his use and not increase calculated in terms of the amount assured to him as a minimum wage under the Act. The interpretation suggested on behalf of the respondents would have the effect of depriving most of the workers who are actually getting more than the minimum wages fixed under the Act of the full benefit of the plain language of Rule 25 and in case those workers are actually getting more than or equal to double the minimum wages fixed, this provision would be of no benefit at all. This construction not only creates a mere illusory benefit but would also deprive the workers of all inducement to willingly undertake overtime work with the result that it would to that extent fail to advance and promote the cause of increased production. We are, therefore, clearly of the view that R. 25 contemplates for overtime work double the rate of wages which the worker actually receives, including the casual requisites and other advantages mentioned in the explanation. This rate, in our opinion, is intended to be the minimum rate for wages for overtime work. The extra strain on the health of the worker for doing overtime work may well have weighed with the rulemaking authority to assure to the worker as minimum wages double the ordinary wage received by him so as to enable him to maintain proper standard of health and stamina. Nothing rational or convincing was said at the bar why fixing the minimum wages for overtime work at double the rate of wages actually received by the workmen should be considered to be outside the purpose and object of the Act. Keeping in view the overall purpose and object of the Act and viewing it harmoniously with the general scheme of industrial legislation in the country in the background of the Directive Principles contained in our Constitution the minimum rates of wages for overtime work need not as a matter of law be confined to double the minimum wages fixed but may justly be fixed at double the wages ordinarily received by the workmen as a fact. The Bombay High Court has no doubt held in Union of India v. B.D. Rathi (supra) that "ordinary rate of wages" in Rule 25 means the minimum rate for normal work fixed under the Act. The learned Judges sought support for the view from Section 14 of the Act and Rule 5 of the Railway Servants (Hours of Employment) Rules 1951. The workers there were employees of the Central Railway. With all respect we are unable to agree with the approach of the Bombay High Court. Section 14 of the Act merely lays down that when the employee, whose minimum rate of wages is fixed a prescribed wage period, works in excess of that period that employer shall pay him for the period so worked in excess at the overtime rate fixed under the Act. This section does not militate against the view taken by us. Nor does a provision like Rule 5 of the Railway Rules which merely provides for 54 hours employment in a week on the average in any month go against our view. The question is not so much of minimum rate as contrasted with the contract rate of wages as it is of how much actual benefit in the form of receipt of wages has been intended to be assumed to the workman for doing overtime work so as to provide adequate inducement to them willingly to do overtime work for the increasing production in a peaceful atmosphere in the industry. The problem demands a liberal and rational approach rather than a doctrinaire or technical legalistic approach. The contract rate is not being touched by holding that R. 25 contemplated double that rate of wages which actually come into the workman's hands any more than it is touched by fixing the minimum rate of wages under Section 3, 4 and 5 of the Act. The decision of the Mysore High Court in Municipal Borough, Bijapur v. Gundawan (M.N.), AIR 1965 Mysore 317 and of the Madras High Court in Chairman of the Madras Port Trust v. Claims Authority, AIR 1957 Madras 69 also take the same view as the Bombay High Court does. We need not, therefore, deal with them separately.

14. Coming now to the notification in our view the notification dated February 23, 1956 has to be read in the background of the notification dated February 21, 1951 with the result that the later notification must also be held to be confined to unskilled labour. It is no doubt true that the notification of 1951 dealt with several categories of employees. But that in our opinion does not militates against the construction that the second notification has only to be adjusted with and fitted into the first notification in so far as it varies or revises some of the rates fixed in the earlier notification without extending its operational boundaries by deleting the word "unskilled" from the expression "unskilled labour." The High Court was, therefore, not right in holding the second notification to be applicable to all categories of labour. The result, therefore, is that both the appeals are allowed and the case is sent back to the Authority under the Minimum Wages Act for a fresh decision in accordance with law and in the light of the observations made above. Dr. Barlingay undoubtedly desired us to go into various claims of the employees but in our view it would be more in the interest of justice that the matter is remitted back to the Authority for a fresh decision. The appellants would get their costs in this Court.

Appeal allowed.