MAZHAR HUSSAIN Versus III SINDH LABOUR COURT, KARACHI

DECISION

The circumstances in which this Application has been filed briefly put are as follows:‑

The informant was working with the Telephone Industries Department and was arraigned on a charge of misconduct. An enquiry was held and he was dismissed.

2. While the matter was under dispute there was a settlement arrived between the parties, by virtue of which he was reinstated. It was thereafter that he had given the due notice and filed a petition before the Payment of Wages Authority. The demand was in respect of increment and 5% Workers Participation Fund.

3. The respondents raised objections to the demand and the maintainability of the petition itself. The learned Authority under the Payment of Wages Act allowed certain parts of the demand but refused to accept the demand for the increment. This led to an appeal from the respondents and the learned Presiding Officer upheld the objections on the ground that the Payment of Wages Authority had no jurisdiction in the matter.

4. i have been referred to subsection (4) of section 1 of the Payment of Wages Act and the definition of the Factory as to be found in section 2(J) of the Factories Act. Admittedly there is no process of manufacture being done at Karachi. The factory is at Haripur. The petitioner install the instruments or does sundry jobs connected therewith.

5. The jurisdiction of the learned Authority is to be found u/s 15 of the Payment of Wages Act and pertains to the disputes relating to the deduction of Wages under the Payment of Wages Act. Section 1, subsection (4) of the said Act, applies to persons employed in any factory and the petitioner is not working in the factory. There are obvious difficulties in the way of the informant and hardly any occasion for me to interfere.

In these circumstances the Application is dismissed.

H.B.T./2111/Lb.S. Application dismissed.