In an important decision, the High Court of Bombay has ordered L.G. Balakrishnan & Bros Ltd. to give jobs back to workers who were fired for being part of a union. The court found the company guilty of treating workers unfairly.
The case involves L.G. Balakrishnan & Bros Ltd., a company making chain kits for Bajaj Auto, and the Aurangabad Mazdoor Union. The disagreement started when workers, who had permanent jobs, formed a union and asked for better pay.
The conflict got worse when the company supposedly threatened to fire union members. An incident with a worker named Sachin Pawar and a cafeteria contractor led to management demanding an apology from Pawar, which he refused to give. This resulted in workers being idle and asked to sign a good behavior agreement, which they refused.
"The management threatened to fire us for joining the union," said the workers.
The Industrial Court first stepped in and told the company to keep the workers' job conditions the same. However, the company later fired 29 workers on January 31, 2020, and 8 more on February 1, 2020, saying they used fake educational certificates.
L.G. Balakrishnan & Bros Ltd. said the workers used fake ITI certificates, making them lose trust in the workers. The company claimed the firings were allowed under the job contract, which said workers could be fired if their qualifications were fake.
Judge Arun R. Pedneker found the firings were not because of fake documents but were actions against union activities. The court pointed out that only union members were targeted, and no formal investigation was done.
"The management used ITI qualifications as an excuse against union members," the court noted.
The court ordered the company to give the workers their jobs back and pay them 50% of the wages they missed since being fired. The judgment emphasized the right to join a union without being scared of losing one's job.
The court decided that the workers should be rehired and compensated for half of the wages they lost. This decision supports workers' rights to form unions and warns employers against firing employees for being part of union activities.
"The wrongdoer is the employer, and the sufferer is the employee," the court noted, highlighting the unfairness faced by the workers.
The case shows the importance of fair treatment at work and the court's role in protecting workers' rights.
