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Judgment
P.K. Misra, J.—The petitioner has filed this writ application seeking to quash the Government Order in G.O. Ms. 2D No. 19, Labour and
Employment Department dated August 21, 1990, wherein the minimum wages payable to the workmen engaged in footwear making industry was
included.
It is stated that though the Government Order is not applicable to the petitioner concerned as it is not engaged in footwear making industry and it
is only engaged in manufacturing leather garments, the authorities had frequently been calling upon the petitioner to comply with the order relating to
payment of minimum wages.
It is not necessary to decide the question relating to the validity of the Government Order as the petitioner''s industry is not covered by the
Government Order. In the Schedule to the Minimum Wages Act, by G.O. Ms. No. 2367, Labour, dated November 14, 1986, the, employment in
the footwear making industry was included and subsequently by G.O. Ms. No. 2545, dated November 25, 1986, the Schedule was again
amended and employment in leather goods manufacturing was included.
Thus, it is obvious that in the Schedule, two separate orders have been passed to cover the persons employed in footwear making industry and
the persons employed in leather goods manufacturing. Subsequently, under the 2 impugned Government Order, the employment in footwear
making industry was included in Part I of the Minimum Wages Act. It is admitted that the Government had constituted an Advisory Committee u/s
5(1)(a)2 of the Minimum Wages Act for considering the question of revising the minimum wages.
The impugned Government Order reads thus:
The Government have carefully considered the recommendations made in the report of the Committee in the light of the remarks of the
Commissioner of Labour and they have decided to fix minimum rates of wages for the employment in footwear making industry.
Since in the Schedule, the employment in the footwear making industry and the employment in leather goods manufacturing are considered
separately and the impugned Government Order dated August 21, 1990, specifically relates to the employment in footwear making industry, there
cannot be any doubt that the revised wages payable would not be applicable to the employment in other industries such as leather goods
manufacturing or leather garments manufacturing.
In such view of the matter, the writ petition is disposed of with an observation that as the petitioner is not engaged in footwear making industry,
the Government Order dated August 21, 1990, to revising the minimum wages payable to the employees in footwear making industry, would not
be applicable to the petitioner''s industry. It is made clear that the question of validity of the Government Order has not been considered and has
been left open.
Subject to the aforesaid revision, the writ petition is disposed of. No costs. Consequently, the connected W. M. P. is dismissed.