'ASAD MUNIR (CHAIRMAN).--- The respondent, Adil Zaman, employed as a Flight Steward in PIAC, filed on 11-6-2010 a grievance petition, under section 41 of the Industrial Relations Act, 2008, to challenge order dated 22-4-2010 whereby he was grounded and not allowed to resume duties on board. Through its written reply, petitioner PIAC resisted the grievance petition but the grievance petition was disposed of vide Punjab Labour Court No,6, Rawalpindi's order dated 9-10-2010, in terms of the PIAC's counsel's undertaking that the respondent shall not be harassed or victimized but shall be allowed duties on board after completion of the refresher course in accordance with the applicable rules without any unnecessary delay. Thereafter, the respondent filed on 23-12-2010 a petition for initiating contempt proceedings against the petitioners for disobedience of the learned Labour Court order dated 9-10-2010 as he was not allowed to board and perform flying duties as per regular schedule. During the pendency of the aforesaid petition, the respondent filed an application to seek an order for the abatement of proceedings on the ground that after the promulgation of the Industrial Ordinance, 2011 on 18-7-2011, the NIRC had the exclusive jurisdiction in the matter as PIAC is a trans-provincial establishment in terms of section 2(10) of the Ordinance. By its order dated 31-10-2011, the learned Punjab Labour Court No,6, Rawalpindi, has dismissed the petitioners' application on the ground that the original petition was disposed of on 9-10-2010 whereas the Ordinance came into force on 18-7-2011.
2. Assailing the legality of the learned Labour Court's order dated 31-10-2011, the learned counsel for the petitioners has referred to section 2(x), section 2(xxxii) and section 54(i) of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2011, to argue that with the promulgation of the Ordinance on 18-7-2011, the learned Labour Court had ceased to have any jurisdiction with effect from 18-7-2011 from which date the NIRC 'has the exclusive the jurisdiction to deal with the individual grievance of an employee of a trans-provincial establishment like the PIAC.
3. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, I am unable to agree that the learned Labour Court lost its jurisdiction to proceed with and decide the petition pending before it prior to the promulgation of the Industrial Relations Ordinance on 18-7-2011. The petition arose out of the learned Labour Court's order dated 9-10-2010 whereby the respondent's grievance petition was disposed of in terms of the undertaking made on behalf of the PIAC. The petition for initiating contempt, under section 33(8) of the Punjab Industrial Relations Act, 2010, was filed on 23-12-2010 at a time when the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2011, was not in existence. There is also no provision in the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2011, or the Industrial Relations Act, 2012, which provides that the proceedings pending under the Punjab Industrial Relations Act, 2010, stand transferred to the NIRC. A similar issue arose in Glaxo Smith Kline Pakistan Limited through Group Industrial Relations Manager/Notified Factory Manager v. Sindh Labour Appellate Tribunal, Sindh and 2 others (2013 PLC 183) wherein it was held by a Division Bench of the Sindh High Court that the provisions of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2011, are prospective in operation and cannot be applied retrospectively. Para 18 of the judgment, being relevant, is reproduced below:--- "Admittedly as far as grievance of petitioners whose grievance petitions or appeals were pending on 18-7-2011 i,e, the date on which Industrial Relation Ordinance, 2011 was promulgated are causes which accrued before promulgation of the Ordinance. Therefore, both the Labour Courts while adjudicating grievance of such petitioners as well as Sindh Labour Appellate Tribunal while hearing revision applications and appeals filed before them prior to promulgation of the Industrial Relation Ordinance, 2011 or have arisen or arise out of matters before Labour Courts which matters were pending before 18-7-2011 are held to be competent to hear and decided those matters in accordance with the law which prevailed as on the date when proceedings were initiated.
Therefore, contention of learned counsel that Labour Appellate Tribunal had no jurisdiction is repelled."
4. In view of the foregoing, the learned Labour Court was invested with the jurisdiction to proceed with and adjudicate upon the respondent's petition as the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2011, is not applicable to cases pending prior to its promulgation on 18-7-2011. Resultantly, there is no merit in this revision petition in which is dismissed.