DECISION ' The respondent, Akhtar Iqbal, who is employed as Power Controller in the Mechanical Department of the Railway Administration, filed a grievance petition before the Seventh Labour Court claiming for advance increments under the incentive scheme detailed in the Railway Administration's letter, dated 22nd January, 1966, on the strength of his passing the B.A. Examination. The learned Labour Court heard the respondent's grievance petition alongwith the eight other grievance petitions and allowed all of them by a short order, dated 13th April, 1980. In coming to this decision the learned Labour Court relied upon two earlier decisions given by it on 17th July, 1978 and 19th September, 1979.
2. The claim of the respondent rests on the incentive scheme as spelt out in the Railway Departments letter dated 22nd January, 1966.Para. (A) of the scheme provides for re-imbursement of all the expenses incurred by an official in connection with the passing of an examination specified in the scheme. Para. (B) of the scheme provides for refund of the Examination Fee and a Cash Reward of Rs, 500 in the case of an official who passes a proficiency test in German, French or Japanese prescribed by the Ministry of External Affairs. Sub-Para. (11) of this paragraph provides for the grant of two advance increments to an official who passes a post-graduate degree in Public or Business Administration from a recognised University in Pakistan. Paragraph (C) of the scheme provides for the grant of two advance increments to class 2 officials of specified Departments who acquire the minimum qualifications necessary for recruitment to class I service in their respective Departments. Paragraph (D) of the scheme, upon which the claim of the respondent is founded, provides for the grant of for advance increments to class 3 staff in the mechanical and other prescribed Department who acquire qualifications prescribed for class 2 officers in their respective Departments. In other words in order that an official should be entitled to for advance increments under the incentive scheme, he should firstly he a class 3 employee, secondly, he should be serving in or be an employee of the prescribed Department, and thirdly he should pass or acquire the qualification prescribed for class 2 officers in his respective Departments. Since the respondent belonged to the Mechanical Department in order to be entitled to for increments under paragraph
(D) of the incentive scheme, he has to acquire the qualifications prescribed for class 2 officers in the Mechanical Department. It is common ground that B.A. Is not the prescribed qualification for class 2 officers in the Mechanical Department where only Engineering qualifications are prescribed.
As such, the respondent clearly does not fulfil the conditions necessary to entitle him to for advance increments under the incentive scheme. Even if the passing of the said examination is an examination specified in the scheme the respondent would only be entitled to reimbursement of all expenses incurred in connection with the passing of the said examination, as provided in paragraph (A) of the scheme, and not for advance increments, which have been. Claimed by him.
3. For the reasons discussed by me above I would set aside the decision of the learned Labour Court and allow the appeal.