Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL HATTA
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
BHAGAT SINGH & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 05/02/1998
BENCH:
SUJATA MANMOHAR, D.P. WADHWA
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
THE 5TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1998
Present:
Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Sujata V. Manohar
Hon’ble Mr. Justice D.P. Wadhwa
Ashok K. Singh, Adv. for S.K. Agnihotri, Adv. for the
appellant
Amitabh Verma, Adv. for Ashok Mathur, Adv. for the
Respondents.
O R D E R
The following order of the Court was delivered:
The respondents, who are Moharrirs/peons working with
the appellant Municipal Council, Hatta, filed an application
under Section 22 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, before the
Competent Authority (Labour Court) under the Minimum Wages
Act, 1948 for payment of overtime on the ground that they
were working for 4 additional hours everyday. Their
application for the period 1.2.82 to 31.3.83 has been
allowed and the writ Petition which was filed by the
appellant before the High Court has been dismissed.
The respondents who are employees of the appellant
Municipal Council are governed by the provisions of Madhya
Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1961. Under Section 95 of the
Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, the State Government is
entitled, inter alia, to make rules in respect of scale of
pay and all allowances by whatever name called an other
service conditions of Municipal Employees. Pursuant to the
power so vested, the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Services
(Scales of Pay and Allowances) Rules, 1997, have been
framed. The pay scale of Moharrirs is fixed at Rs. 70-2-80-2
1/2-100-EB-4-120. There is no provision under these Rules
for payment of any overtime allowance.
The respondents contended that they would be entitled
to overtime under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 by Virtue of
Section 14 of the said Act. According to them, service with
Local Authority is one of the employment covered by the
Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Now, the minimum wages which are
prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act. 1948 which would be
applicable to the respondents are Rs. 50/- per month.
Admittedly, the respondents re getting wages above the
minimum wages prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
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The short question is whether Section 14 of the Minimum
Wages Act, 1948 would apply to such persons. Section 14(1)
which is relevant for the present purposes is as follow:
Section 14
"Overtime - (1) Where as employee.,
whose minimum rate of wages is
fixed under this Act by the hour.
by the day or by such a longer wage
period as may be prescribed, works
on any day in excess of the number
of hours constituting a normal
working day, the employer shall pay
him for every hour or for part of
an hour so worked in excess at the
overtime rate fixed under this Act
or under any law of the appropriate
Government for the time being in
force, whichever is higher."
There is also an amendment to section 14 by addition of
sub-section (1a) under the Minimum Wages (Madhya Pradesh
Amendment and Validation) Act, 1961 being Act 23 of 1961.
Sub-section (1a) which is inserted in Section 14 entitles
the State Government by Notification to fix the limit for
overtime work in a Scheduled employment. This provision is
not directly relevant. To claim overtime under Section 14,
the following conditions must be fulfilled by an employee
(1) the minimum rate of wages should be fixed under the
Minimum Wages Act, 1948; and (2) such an employee should
work on any day in excess of the number of hours
constituting a normal working day. Therefore, overtime under
Section 14 is payable to those employees who are getting a
minimum rate of wage as prescribed under the Minimum wages
Act, 1948. These are the only employees to whom overtime
under Section 14 would become payable. In the present case
the respondents cannot be described as employees who are
getting a minimum rate of wages fixed under the Minimum
Wages Act, 1948. They are getting much more and that too
under the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Service (Scales of Pay
and Allowances) Rules, 1967. Therefore, Section 14 has no
application to them. We have not been shown any other
provision under which they can claim overtime.
The application under Section 22 of the Minimum Wages
Act, is, therefore, misconceived. The respondents seem to
have proceeded on the basis that because employment under
any Local Authority is listed as Item 6 in the Schedule to
the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 they would automatically get
overtime under the said Act. Section 14, however, clearly
provides for payment of overtime only to those employees who
are getting minimum rate of wage under the Minimum Wages
Act, 1948. It does not apply to those getting better wages
under other statutory Rules.
The appeal is, therefore, allowed and the impugned
order of the High Court as well as the competent Authority
under the Minimum wages 1948 is set aside. There will
however, be no order as to costs.