This is a petition under Section 17, 31 read with section 54 of the IRA, 2012.
Contention of learned counsel for the petitioner are that petitioner union (Industry-wise) has been formed after adopting due procedure provided under the law purely for improvement of relations between employer /management and workmen and Pasban Workers Union, Philips Morris Pakistan Ltd. has been formed for the establishment of (a) Philips Morris Pakist an Limited Bhadarabad, Sahidal (Punjab) (b), Philips Morris Pakistan Ltd Kotery (Sindh) (c) Philips Morris Pakistan Ltd. Leaf division Thakhtbhai Mardan (KPK). That petitioner has applied for registration of trade union before RTU Islamabad, and respondent manageme nt has been duly informed and notified through Registered Mail regarding office bearers as well as members of the Pasban Workers Union, and pendency of the application for registration before the learned RTU Office which is in the knowledge of the management but with the ulterior motive and mala fide intention establishment has started extending constant threats to the office bearers, members and other workers to punish by way of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment and transfer etc due to formation of trade union. And the workers including office bearers and members of the petitioner union are under the sever harassment of management regarding their employment through unfair labour practice on the part of management has prayed that respondent may graciously be restrained from committing unfair labour practice by discharging, dismissing, retrenching and transferring or punishing the office bearers/members and other workers during the pendency of application for regist ration of petitioner union by the RTU. Alongwith main petition an application for grant of interim relief supported by the af fidavit has been filed.
2. Respondents were issued notice with the direction that meanwhile the responde nts are restrained from passing any order adversely af fecting the employment of the petitioner , office bearers, members and workers till next date.
3. Respondents entered appearance and filed reply statement and while raising preliminary legal objections on maintainability of the petition contended that for seeking the redressal or approaching this commission precondition is that trade union should be registered as Industry-wise trade union under Section 2(xviii) of IRA, 2012 read with Section 13 and that there is no provision in the IRA 2012 which authorize a unregistered trade union to file petition before this Commission and that under Section 13 every trade union shall be a body corporate by the name under which it is registered, shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and the power of contract to acquire, hold and dispose of property , both moveable and immoveable, and shall by the said name sue or be sued, as such the title petition is liable to be dismissed. The respondents also raised objection that under Section 54(e) of IRA, 2012 petition can only be filed in the manner laid down in section 33(9) by the CBA or the employer and that too for the enforcement of predetermined right guaranteed or secured to the CBA under any law, award or settlement and for the individual rights of workers or mem bers of the CBA while this petition has been filed espousing the cause of individual members. And that petition can only be filed for the unfair labour practice and none of the allegations or pleas mentioned falls with the ambit of any provision of Section 31 of IRA, 2012. Retrenchment or closure following due process providing under the Stand ing Orders is not a unfair labour practice, hence this petition is not maintainable.
4. Arguments heard and record perused.
5. Admittedly petitioner union has applied for registration is a unregistered trade union which cannot sue or be sued by its own name under the law. It is not denied the petitioner union was not a registered trade union at the time when it filed the petition before this comm ission so it was only a combination of workmen as such it could bring the petition in its own name as it did not have the status' of a body corporate so as to be entitled to sue or be sued such a status is acquired by the trade union only when it gets registered with the RTU, the law provides that every registered trade union shall be a body corporate by the name under which it is registered and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and power to contract. Unregistered trade union cannot sue or be sued in its name.
CBA in an application under the IRA, 2012 can only raised grievance before the Commission for enforcement of its own rights guaranteed under the law, award and settlement and not the right of individual worker who has remedy under the Act, 2012 to raise his own grievance in respect of right guaranteed to him under the law, in this regard 2015 SCMR 434 relied upon. In view of the above preliminary objections of the respondents I have come to conclusion that this petition is not maintainable before this Commission, is hereby dismissed.
6. The petitioner have also filed an application for initiating contempt procee dings against the respondents captioned above' for that respondents/accused may be punished and dealt in accordance with law for violating the order of this Commission dated 19.02.2 019. Learned counsel for the responde nts contends that no adversely affecting employment of any worker and no one has been terminated, dism issed or retrenched and that respondents have applied for terms of standing orders 15 for permission to retrench over 50% workers and enclosed of Kotery Sindh Factory neither factory has been closed nor any workers has been terminated yet, even and the company has applied under Standing order for closure of the Kotery Factory and workers were sent on special leave with full pay with immediate effect on 19.03.2019 and the individual has been communicated as such no adverse consequence on the employment has occurred and there is no ill will or malice or discrimination on the part of the respondent and this contempt application has been filed while stating the facts with mala fide intention only to pressurize the respondent, the present contempt on this ground also merits to be dismissed as the individual intend to avail recourse of remedies available under the law. Since I have already observed that unregistered trade union cannot sue or be sued by its own name as such his application for initiating on basis of a petition which was not competently filed also fails, for the reason that individual workers has been 'sent on special leave and no dismissal or termination has taken place and permission for closure of the Kotery Factory is awaited and this application for initiating contempt proceedings is also dismissed, no order as cost, file be consigned to the record room after its due completion.