Anil Ltd workers get relief from Gujarat HC

While workers demand pay revision, company claims to have reached settlement

In a relief to workers of Anil Ltd demanding pay revision, the Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed company's application claiming that a settlement has been reached with majority of the workers.

A division bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala directed Anil Ltd to produce evidence with regard to the settlement before the Industrial Tribunal, where the workers' case for pay revision and interim relief was pending, by August 8. The court also allowed the workers to put their evidence with regard to the settlement before the Tribunal by the set date.

According to case details, in March this year over 500 workers of Anil Ltd approached the Industrial Tribunal seeking revision of wages. The company had opposed the demand on various grounds including financial difficulties, claimed Rajesh Mankad, a lawyer representing workers in the tribunal. He said that workers had filed an application for interim relief of Rs  3,000 per month from the company while the pay revision matter was pending with the tribunal. The company had opposed the interim relief demand before the tribunal and moved an application before the tribunal to consider the settlement reached as final.

But the tribunal rejected the company's application and said that it would first deal with the interim relief demand of the workers, Mankad said. Aggrieved by tribunal's decision the company had approached the High Court against tribunal's order. "The High court today dismissed Anil Ltd's appeal against the tribunal's order," senior advocate Mukul Sinha representing the workers in High Court said.

With regard to the issue company spokesperson said, "The company has already done the pay revision with effect from April 1, 2013 and the agreement has been accepted by majority of the workmen."