Summary
The Supreme Court rejected GSRTC Badali Kamdars’ claims to permanent-cadre and time-scale benefits retrospectively from completion of 180 days after their initial daily-wage engagement. Their entitlement was governed by clause 20 of the unchallenged 1989 settlement, linking consideration to the prescribed selection, seniority, available permanent posts and qualifying service. The Corporation had followed that procedure and granted absorption benefits accordingly. No appointment term, rule or other legal basis established the earlier entitlement claimed.
Issues
- Whether completion of 180 days from initial Badali engagement entitled employees to retrospective permanent-cadre and time-scale benefits despite clause 20 of the settlement.
- Whether earlier judicial orders established the claimed entitlement.
Held
- The unchallenged settlement of 21 December 1989 bound both employer and employees under section 18 of the Industrial Disputes Act. Clause 20 governed their individual consideration and benefits upon fulfilment of its conditions. The Corporation’s compliance with that procedure was undisputed. (¶¶ 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33)
- Initial service as a Badali Kamdar did not itself establish entitlement to the permanent-cadre time scale after 180 days reckoned from initial engagement. In the circumstances, absorption followed availability of a clear conductor vacancy and the employee’s seniority under the settlement. No appointment term, settlement provision or Corporation rule supported the retrospective benefits claimed. (¶¶ 29, 30, 31, 32, 34)
- The earlier orders relied on concerned their own facts, lacked the evidentiary setting of these cases, or addressed different settlement clauses. They did not determine the issue under the operative 1989 settlement and did not require a similar award here. The Court declined to reappreciate the evidence in these appeals. (¶¶ 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
Result
Employees’ appeals dismissed. High Court orders setting aside the Industrial Tribunal’s retrospective-benefit awards upheld; benefits granted under clause 20 remained effective.