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COIMBATORE, Sept. 20

MAJOR textile trade unions in Tamil Nadu fighting for revision in the wages for the organised textile industry in the State have raised objection to wage settlements filed by 34 textile mill managements before the special industrial tribunal hearing the wage dispute.

The eight trade unions constituting the joint action committee (JAC) of the Tamil Nadu textile trade unions, have objected to these settlements worked out by the managements at individual unit-level on the ground.

They allege that the memos of these settlements were filed before the tribunal without the knowledge of the central textile workers unions, which are the prime parties in the wages disputes, and whose instance the wage dispute was referred to the tribunal by the Tamil Nadu Government.

As such, the managements could not seek any orders behind the back of the petitioner-unions and these settlements could not be passed as an award by the Tribunal without hearing their views, the JAC members contend. As per the objections raised by the JAC before the Tribunal, the subject matter of reference to the Tribunal is an industry-wise industrial dispute and not concerned with the service conditions of workers of individual textile mill.

The dispute is for standarisation of wages and other conditions of service of 2.5 lakh textile workers in the State.

The JAC is of the opnion that the submissions made by the managements relate to the unit-level conditions of service, which are not the subject for reference in the Tribunal, and the managements, therefore, cannot invite an award of the Tribunal on an issue that is not the subject matter.

The JAC affiliates maintain that whether the settlement has been reached on an issue or whether the terms of settlement is fair and satisfactory to the workers were to be established by evidence. Managements cannot call the Tribunal to pass an order without any such adjudication.

The unions have further pointed out that in the absence of the copies of the settlements filed by the managements, they were unable to make any submission on the merit of the contents of the settlements.

Confirming the objections raised by them in the tribunal, the JAC sources told Business Line that the trade unions have maintained that their district-level affiliates, as also the central trade unions, were alone authorised to negotiate and sign any wage disputes and no mill-level trade unions were authorised by their central trade unions to settle wages with the managements. This stand of the unions was ratified by the JAC.

As per the relevant provisions in the Industrial Disputes (ID) Act, any settlement reached without the knowledge of the parties involved in the dispute would be violative, the JAC sources here said.

The Tribunal too has taken on record the JAC's written objection and the tribunal too is reported to have called upon the textile mill managements to file their counters to the trade unions objection.

In the meantime, the special tribunal hearing the textile workers wages has asked the textile trade unions to file claims on their demands before the tribunal by October 3.

The tribunal has also called upon the textile mill managements to file their counter by October 10.

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