A Case on Contract Labour: M/s. ABC Chemicals Limited
M/s ABC Chemicals Limited located at Thane – Belapur Road, Maharashtra is engaged in manufacturing of various chemicals since 1991. The total manpower of the Company is 450. The employee canteen at M/s ABC Chemical Ltd was contracted to Mr. Ram Shetty. The canteen contract was registered by the company under The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) 1970. An agreement was also signed by Rama Shetty as a canteen contractor and a Mr. Kulkarni, factory manager on behalf of company.
The said contract was renewed every year and rates of the contract also were renewed every year with the consent of both the parties. In the canteen Mr. Shetty had employed about 10 workers and they were provided with uniforms, attractive wages and accommodation.
Mr. Shetty had another canteen contract in a neighbouring company where he had employed about 15 canteen boys. In both the companies, the canteen worked smoothly. After every three months, Mr. Shetty would rotate these canteen boys on rotation between the two companies, so that there would be no continuity of job in either of the companies for the canteen boys. This practice continued for a long time........................
The Event
In the month of October 1995, Mr Mohite on his regular round in the company, observed that outside the canteen Mr Ramesh Bhoir along with canteen boys was discussing something when they all saw Mr Mohite coming towards the canteen they immediately disbursed from canteen area except for Mr Ramesh Bhoir who remained outside the canteen. Mr Mohite ignored him and went back to his office. Mr Ramesh followed him and went to the office of Mr Mohite...........
Industrial Relations Issues
Mohite, along with the Works Manager and other departmental heads jointly decided on terminating the contract of the Canteen with immediate effect and intimated Mr. Shetty, the contractor to remove his men and material and clear whatever compensation was due to him from the management. Mr Mohite appreciated Mr Ramesh Bhoir and union committee members for the work done by Mr. Ramesh........
Union Pressure on Management
The matter did not end here. Keeping a day’s gap, the canteen workers approached Mr. Ashok Mahatre, VP of “Maharashtra Shramik Sena” based at Turbhe village. The canteen workers enlisted themselves as members of that union and approached the Labour Commissioner Office, Thane along with Mr. Mahatre..........
Case to Labour Commission
Because of pressure from local leaders Mr. Mahatre, The Labour Commissioner Office accepted their letter of complaint and orally told them that action will be taken against company within few days, and till that time, the removed workers and union should maintained discipline. Thereafter, next day, Mr Mahatre along with canteen workers and other local people approached the company’s gate along with the copy of the letter which was submitted in the Labour Commissioner’s Office..........
Endless Conciliation
Mr. Mahatre and others at the same time started giving slogans against the company and further they used abusive language against the management. Every day in the morning, they used to gather at the gate and hurled slogans against the management of M/s. ABC Company Ltd. They continued for further 8 days with this activity.........
