1. AWARD This is an application under section 34 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 filed by the collective bargaining agent-Eastern Rubber Workers' Union.
2. The case of the first party is that 3 darwans Sikander Ali, Abdur Rahim and Fazlur Rahman who were employed under the second party and members of the first party were deprived of payment of overtime allowance, festival holidays and weekly rest in spite of demands from the authorities.
3. They later made a complaint to the collective bargaining agent which took up the cause, but to no effect. Hence this application in this Court.
4. Section 34 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 has been amended under the Amending Ordinance of 1970, and most of the objections of the second party have been met. The applica-- tion has also been amended and the name of the collective bargaining agent now appears as the first party. The second party has denied that these privileges were denied to the said 3 darwans.' It was stated that the petition was vexatious and fabricated.
5. Point for determination is whether the first party workers are entitled to weekly rest, overtime allowance and festival holidays as claimed by them.
6. FINDINGS AND DECISION It appears that under sections 51, 58 and 79 of the East Pakistan Factories Act, 1965 the workers employed in a factory are entitled to full weekly rest either or Sunday or on Friday as the case may be. Similarly, a worker is also entitled to overtime allowance beyond 9 hours a day or 48 hours a week at the rate of twice of his ordinary rate of wages which shall not include any bonus or additional payment in lieu of bonus. A worker is also entitled to at least ten days' festival holidays with wages in a year. I take the advantage of quoting these 3 sections of the East Pakistan Factories Act, 1965 for knowledge of the parties for ready reference " 51.-(1) No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory on a Sunday or a Friday as the case may be, unless-
(a) he has had or will have a holiday for a whole day, on one of the throe days immediately before or after that Sunday or Friday, as the case may be; and
(b) the manager of the factory has, before that Sunday or, Friday, or the substituted day, whichever is earliest'-
(i) given a notice to the Inspector of his intention to require the worker to work on the Sunday or Friday, as the case may be, and of the day which is to be substituted; and,
(ii) displayed a notice to that effect in the factory: Provided that no substitution shall be, made which will result in any worker working for more than ten days consecutively without a holiday for a whole day.
(2) Notice given under subsection (1) may be cancelled by a notice given to the Inspector and a notice displayed in the factory not later than the day before the Sunday or Friday, or the substituted do to be cancelled, whichever is earlier.
(3) Where, in accordance with the provision of subsection (1) any worker works, on a Sunday or Friday and has had a holiday on one of the three days immediately before it, that Sunday or Friday, as the case may be, shall for the purpose of calculating his weekly hours of work, be included in the preceding week."
7. "58.-(1) Where a worker works in a factory for more than nine hours in any day or more than forty- eight hours in any week, he shall in respect of overtime work, be entitled to allowance at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages: Provided that the ordinary rate of wages for calculating allowance for overtime work under this subsection shall not include any bonus or any other additional payment in lieu of bonus.
(2) Where any workers in a factory are paid on a piece--rate basis the Provincial Government, in consultation with the employer concerned and the representatives of the workers, may for the purposes of this section fix time rates as nearly as possible equivalent to the average rates of earnings of those workers, and the rates so fixed shall be deemed to be the ordinary rates of wages of those workers.
(3) The Provincial Government may prescribe the registers to be maintained in a factory for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of this section."
8. "79. (1) Every worker shall be allowed at least ten days' festival holidays with wages in a year. The days and dates for such festivals shall be fixed by the occupier or manager in such manner as may be, prescribed.
(2) A worker may be required to work on any festival holiday but two days' additional compensatory holidays with full pay and a substitute holiday shall be provided for him in accordance with the provisions of section 51."
9. Now though the second party has denied that they deprived the 3 workers of these rights as ensured to them under the East Pakistan Factories Act, 1965, they could not make out a strong case in Court in support of their such contention. So I feel that a directive should be passed upon the second party t the effect that they enforce these 3 sections of the said Act respect of the 3 workers in question immediately.
10. Hence my award is that the application should be allowed on contest and the second party be directed to allow weekly rest to the workers on either Sunday or Friday as the custom of the second party establishment. The second party be directed to give them annual festival holidays for 10 days with full wages and they are further directed to pay them overtime allowance at twice the rate of ordinary wages as per provision of section 58 of the said Act is excess of 9 hours a day or in excess of 48 hones a week. This award shall come into effect at once.
11. I have consulted the opinion of the Members while giving this award.