Case: Oil &amp; Natural Gas Commission Vs. The Workmen

for the office staff to keep them occupied for more than 61/2 hours per day. It was only when the factory was completed and the administrative staff attached to it shifted to its own building at the factory site, that the management apparently on an overall assessment of its requirements fixed 8 working hours per day. This, in our opinion, was within the competence of the management. The Tribunal was also, in our view, not right when it observed that the work in the factory would not suffer by reducing the working hours of the clerical staff in the Baroda workshop from 8 hours to 61/2 hours a day. According to the Tribunal itself Shri Hasan had stated that he did not think that working of the factory would be adversely affected if the timings of the general staff and the office staff are changed with the number of working hours remaining the same and that change of half an hour this way or that way is done at times when required. In other words the Tribunal itself did not understand Shri Hasan to refer to the regular reduction of working hours by an hour and a half on a permanent basis. We may now turn to the actual statement of Shri Hasan (M. W. 1). He has stated:"The Baroda workshop differs from the other workshop of the Commission as it is a Central Workshop and takes up major repairs and controls all other shops in the Western Region. There are 8 to 9 departments in the office of the workshop. They are; (1) office Administration, (2) Technical Administration, (3) Stores, (4) Accounts, (5) Transport (6) Security, (7) Works Manager (i) (8) Works Manager (ii), (9) Planning and Designing. All these Departments have different controlling heads. If the hours of the staff working in the office of the workshop are reduced, it will adversely affect the working because the whole work is connected. It would certainly affect other workshops of the Commission because there will be agitations and dissatisfaction in other workshops. Transfers from the office of the main workshop to other workshops offices are quite frequent. The staff may be transferred to any part of India. Similarly the staff from other parts of India may be transferred to the office of the Baroda workshops." The passage on which the Tribunal has relied on for its view is :"I do not think that the working of the factory would be adversely affected if the timings of the general shift and the office staff are changed with the number of working hours remaining the same. Change of half an hour this way or that way is done at times when required. If a change is made of one hour in the timings with the number of working hours remaining the same, it is likely to affect adversely the working." This passage does not in any way detract from the categorical, statement made earlier that if the hours of the staff, working in the office of the workshop, are reduced, it will adversely affect the working because the whole work is connected. The Tribunal does not seem to have correctly read Shri Hasans statement. The view of the Tribunal that reduction in the hours of work of the office staff from 8 to 61/2 hours would not adversely affect the working is in our opinion, not only not supported by the evidence on the record but appears to be contrary to the statement of Shri Hasan. 13. The Tribunal was also not right in saying that in other projects the working hours of administrative office are 61/2 hours. Working hours in these offices according to the material on the record, vary and there is no uniform practice. But the fact that in some of the other offices, the working hours are 61/2 hours per day, cannot be the determining factor. The office at Baroda being the controlling office its requirements and exigencies of work are such that fixing of 8 hours work a day is, in our opinion, fully justified, and the Tribunal was wrong in reducing its working hours to 61/2 hours a day. The mere fact that the staff at Baroda is liable to transfer to other projects is, in our view, of little importance. Assuming that by transfer to some other projects the employee concerned would have to work for 61/2 hours a day, that would not render the fixation of 8 hours a dayd for the administrative office at Baroda objectionable or open to interference by the Tribunal. The Tribunal has itself already observed that in the other projects the working hours in the administrative offices vary. If that is so then this could not be a cogent ground for reducing the working hours from 8 to 61/2 in the Central Office at Baroda. Once it is found that 8 hours a day has been properly fixed for work in the administrative office there can be no question of payment of any compensation, for working for 8 hours a day in the past. 14. The respondents learned counsel, Shri Bhandare, has submitted that this Court should not interfere with the conclusions of the Tribunal under Article 136 of the Constitution as those conclusions are based on appreciation of evidence. However erroneous they may be, according to Shri Bhandare, it is not the practice of this Court to interfere with such conclusions. In our view the Tribunal has not only made some contradictory observations about the practice prevailing in the other projects of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission but has also misread the statement of Shri Hasan (M. W. 1). It has indeed wrongly interfered with the appellants decision in fixing the hours of work which was fully within its competence and was not open to any valid objection. The conclusions of the Tribunal are, therefore, tainted with serious infirmity justifying re-appraisal of the evidence by this Court for coming to its own independent conclusion on such re-appraisal.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]8. In our opinion, on the facts and circumstances of this case it cannot be said that 61/2 working hours a day was a term of service, for the simple reason that it was only during a period of the first six months. when the factory was being constructed at the site of the workshop that due to shortage of accommodation, the administrative office was, as an interim arrangement, temporarily located in tents at a place about 2 k.m. away, that the staff in this office was not required to work for more than 61/2 hours per day. There is no evidence that 61/2 hours per day was a condition of service : neither is there any such term of service in their letters of appointment, nor is such a term of service otherwise discernible from other materials on the record. As soon as the construction at the site of the factory was complete and the workshop was ready to start its normal and regular working, the administrative office was shifted to its permanent abode at the site of the factory. It was then that the proper regular working of the administrative office and its staff started at the site of the factory with working hours being appropriately fixed at 8 hours per day so as to facilitate efficient functioning of the workshop to the expected capacity12. In our opinion, there is merit in the learned Attorney Generals submission. The management must in our opinion, have full power and discretion in fixing the working hours of the administrative staff within the limits prescribed by the statute. When the change in the working hours is covered by Section 9-A read with the First Schedule of the Act, compliance with the said section would undoubtedly be necessary for its sustenance. In the present case, as already observed. Section 9-A is not attracted. When the administrative office at Baroda was temporarily located about a couple of kilometres away awaiting completion of its permanent abode, the factory was in the process of being constructed and there was no question of fixing the working hours of the administrative office on a permanent basis. Perhaps there was not even enough work for the office staff to keep them occupied for more than 61/2 hours per day. It was only when the factory was completed and the administrative staff attached to it shifted to its own building at the factory site, that the management apparently on an overall assessment of its requirements fixed 8 working hours per day. This, in our opinion, was within the competence of the management. The Tribunal was also, in our view, not right when it observed that the work in the factory would not suffer by reducing the working hours of the clerical staff in the Baroda workshop from 8 hours to 61/2 hours a day. According to the Tribunal itself Shri Hasan had stated that he did not think that working of the factory would be adversely affected if the timings of the general staff and the office staff are changed with the number of working hours remaining the same and that change of half an hour this way or that way is done at times when required. In other words the Tribunal itself did not understand Shri Hasan to refer to the regular reduction of working hours by an hour and a half on a permanent basis13. The Tribunal was also not right in saying that in other projects the working hours of administrative office are 61/2 hours. Working hours in these offices according to the material on the record, vary and there is no uniform practice. But the fact that in some of the other offices, the working hours are 61/2 hours per day, cannot be the determining factor. The office at Baroda being the controlling office its requirements and exigencies of work are such that fixing of 8 hours work a day is, in our opinion, fully justified, and the Tribunal was wrong in reducing its working hours to 61/2 hours a day. The mere fact that the staff at Baroda is liable to transfer to other projects is, in our view, of little importance. Assuming that by transfer to some other projects the employee concerned would have to work for 61/2 hours a day, that would not render the fixation of 8 hours a dayd for the administrative office at Baroda objectionable or open to interference by the Tribunal. The Tribunal has itself already observed that in the other projects the working hours in the administrative offices vary. If that is so then this could not be a cogent ground for reducing the working hours from 8 to 61/2 in the Central Office at Baroda. Once it is found that 8 hours a day has been properly fixed for work in the administrative office there can be no question of payment of any compensation, for working for 8 hours a day in the past14. The respondents learned counsel, Shri Bhandare, has submitted that this Court should not interfere with the conclusions of the Tribunal under Article 136 of the Constitution as those conclusions are based on appreciation of evidence. However erroneous they may be, according to Shri Bhandare, it is not the practice of this Court to interfere with such conclusions.In our view the Tribunal has not only made some contradictory observations about the practice prevailing in the other projects of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission but has also misread the statement of Shri Hasan (M. W. 1). It has indeed wrongly interfered with the appellants decision in fixing the hours of work which was fully within its competence and was not open to any valid objection. The conclusions of the Tribunal are, therefore, tainted with serious infirmity justifying re-appraisal of the evidence by this Court for coming to its own independent conclusion on such re-appraisal.