The appellants have challenged the order dated 21-4-79 passed by the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act, Hyderabad in application No. 6/78 under section 15, Payment of Wages Act by which order the claim for deducted wages of six respondents including compensation being Rs.
14,076, was allowed. The contention of the appellants is that the order of the lower Court is not legal and proper as the respondents' pay was wrongly fixed which was subsequently corrected in view of the orders of the Sind Government and therefore the wages were not illegally deducted.
2. The case of the respondents was that they were Accounts Clerks with the appellants serving since about 15-20 years and there was an agreement between the Union of the respondents and the appellants on 2-6-73 as a result the salaries of the respondents were fixed with effect from 1/3/1972 in the National Pay Scales. The respondents were paid salaries upto June 1977 in National Pay Scale No. 7, but the salaries were reduced with effect from July, 1977 without any legal justification and hence the salaries were illegally deducted. It was admitted by the appellants that the salaries were reduced as alleged but it was done in view of the order's of the Sind Government as the respondents were working as Accounts Clerks and that category was not covered in the National Pay Scales and subsequently under orders of the Sind Government the left out categories were given National Pay Scale No. 6.
3. The appellant in his written statements has asserted that the pay scale of the respondents was wrongly fixed in N. P. S. From 1/3/1972 and they drew salaries upto June, 1977 in grade-7 but in view of Government letter No. FD(SR)-ii/1-154/71 dated 3-1-73 Finance Department and another letter No. FD(SR)/ii-21-45/76 dated 29-6-77, the pay of the respondents was revised. None of the said letters is produced with the written statement or thereafter nor any evidence in the lower Court. The appellants in his written arguments have stated that the letter of Finance Department, Govern-- ment of Sind dated 11-7-77 was on record which is wrong. The respondents were given salaries in National Pay Scales for more than 5 years and the bills are admittedly audited by the Accounts Officer of the Comptroller, Sind attached with the appellants. It is not known as to how the alleged mistake could be detected after such a long time. The appellants have failed to establish that the fixation of salaries of the respondents in National Pay Scale No. 7 was against any rule or any order of the Government and the scale was reduced under any lawful orders. Thus the appellants appeared to have illegally deducted the wages of the respondents. The amounts deducted are not disputed. Thus the Authority appears to have rightly allowed the deducted wages along with compensation.
4. It is also argued that the respondents were not entitled to make an application under section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act for enforcement of any settlement as was held by this Court in Application No. 54/74 under section 34, Industrial Relations Ordinance. 1969 vide order dated 5-10-
77. The respondents were allowed fixation in National Pay Scale as per settlement referred in letter Exh. P/1 as authorised by Superintending Engineer as per letter Exh. P/2. The actual claims are mentioned by the respondents in Statement Exh. P/3 which is not denied. This is not the case for enforcement of settlement of 1973 which was already enforced and continued to be acted upon till June 1977. Thus the respondents have not claimed the enforcement of any guaranteed right under that settlement but they have claimed the wages which were illegally deducted since July, 1977.
Thus the contention of the appellants in this respect cannot be accepted and the original application was legally maintainable before the Authority.
5. In view of the aforesaid discussion of the law and the facts I hold that the appellants have failed to establish that the order of the Authority is not proper and just and so I hold that the, appeal is not maintainable and so dismiss the same.