Holding

The retirement age for the clerical staff of the refinery division must be fixed at 60 years.

Summary

The workmen of Bharat Petroleum's refinery division sought to raise the retirement age for clerical staff from 55 to 60 years, relying on a perceived trend in the Bombay region. The Industrial Tribunal raised it only to 58 years, noting wage scales, the existence of a pension scheme for the marketing division, and the need for industrial harmony. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the factors relevant under the Industrial Disputes Act, emphasizing that the most important factor is the regional trend, but that trend must be considered alongside wage structure, retirement benefits, nature of work, and comparable industries. The Court found that the tribunal erred by ignoring the absence of a pension scheme for refinery clerks and that the regional trend, coupled with improved health standards, justified a retirement age of 60 years. Consequently, the Court set the retirement age at 60 years, overturning the tribunal's award of 58 years.

Issues considered

The appropriate factors to consider when fixing the retirement age of workmen under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Whether the trend in the Bombay region to fix retirement age at 60 years is determinative in this case.
Whether the absence of a pension scheme for the refinery‑division clerical staff warrants a higher retirement age.
Whether the Industrial Tribunal's award of 58 years should be upheld or modified.

Legislation cited

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947s. 19(2)

Subjects

retirement ageindustrial disputetrendindustry-cum-region formulapension schemewage scalesBharat PetroleumIndustrial TribunalSupreme Court

Judgment

•
251

WORKMEN 01' THE BHARAT PETROLEUM
CORPORATION LTD. (REFINING A
'DIVISION) BOMBAY
.f v•
• BHARAT PETROLEUM <;ORPORATION
. LTD, AND AN6THER
B

October 6, 1983

(D.A. DESAI, 0. CHJNNAPPA REDDY AND A. VARADARAJAN, JJ.]
c
lndustriat'Disputes Act-:-lndustria/ dispute regarding raisinz of retirenzent
'"""' . age-Different factors for detern1ining retirement age-Trend in a particular
area-Most important factor-Trend need not be static-Modern conditions and.
zeneral trend in favour of raising ~etirement age-Trend in Bombay region in
favour of raising retirement age. For applying industry.cum regional formula-
lfno comparable industries in the region-Regional aspect to be given precedence.
D
An industrial dlspiite with regard to the raising of the age of retirement
of the clerical staff empJoyed ip the Refinery Division of the respondent oil
Company at Bombay from 55 to 60 years was referred to thC InduStrial
Tribunal. Th"e workmen contended that there was a trend in the Bombay
region to fix the age of retirement of clerical employees at 60 years and in the
comparable concerns as well as in the Marketing Division of the Company E

-
·itself the age of the clerical employees was above 55 years. The Company
coutended that the wage scales of their clerical employees were far better than
those of similar categories of empl('lyees in comparable concerns an'd that the
company took a generous view in tbe settlement dated 31-10-1973 ant;!. arrived
at a package deal and revised the benefits of t~e employees taking into con..
sideration the agreen1ent of the employees to continue the age of retirement
of the' Clerical employees of the Refinery Division at 55 years. .Neither party
11
led any oral evidence but filed their respective comparative statements. The
Tribunal found as a fact that the wage sciiles of the Company were not much
better than the wage scales of other comparable concerns. The Tribunal also
I noticed that the age of retirement of the clerical staff of the Company in its

•• . Marketing.Division both at Bombay and other p13ces was fixed at 58 years,
But the Tribunal found that the Company's contention regarding the settlement
being a package deal in regard even to .the age of retirement after taking other
G
benefits into consideration was not without substance and observed that it was,
however, not sufficient to reject the workmC:n's demand in toto and that it had
to be taken into acrount while eonsi~ering the extent to which the age of
retirement Should be raised. Having regard to the circumstances of the case
and in the interest of industrial harmony, the Tribunal raised the aee of H.
retirement to 58 years only. In appeal to this Court the workmen relied On the
'trend' in the Bombay re~ion while the Company relied on the position in other
oil Companies. , · · ·
'
SUPRllME COuRT REPORTS [1984] l s.c.R.
Allowfug the appeal and fixing the age of retirement at 60 years, b7
A majority.

HELD• (Per Desai and Chinnappa Reddy, JJ.)

In fixing the age of superannuation, the most important factor that has
to be taken into consideration is the trelld in a particular area. From the
various decisions rendered by this Court and by the Tribuna1s, it is obvious
-· B that in the early sixties 'the trend in the Bombay region .was to ralse the age
.of superannuation to 60 years. Industrial and labour conditions do not
remain stagnant des.pite tho passage of time. Industrial Iabour relations need
4

revision frotll tin1e to tii:ne to fit and suit changing conditions. That there was
an upward trend-to raise the age of retirement to 60 in the early sixties may not
necessarily mean that the same trend has continued till today.
[259 H; 260 D-E; 260 G-H]
c Guest, Keen; Willianis Private Ltd, l's. P. 1. Sterling & Ors. [1960] 1 ·
S .C.R. 3481 Dunlop Rubber Company Limited v. Workmen & Ors. [1960) 2
S.C.R. 51; Imperial Chemical Industries (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Workmen,'[1961) 2
S.C.R. 349; British Paints (India) "Ltd. v. Its workmen [1966] 2 S.C.R. 523;
G.M. Ta/ang v. Shaw Wallace & Co. [1964) 7 S.C.R. 4_26; Burmah Shell Oil ·
Storage & Distributing Company of India Ltd. v. Their Workmen [1970) I LLJ
.D J63, re/erred to.

Iµ the. instant ,,-case, the: Company did not plead that there was any
,rever~l of the trend nor· did the Company. urge that there was any such
reverial of the trend. On the other hand, it may very well be said that there
has been much progress in the last two decades in the matter of better Jiving
conditions and availability of medical and health facilities and,, therefore, a
E further raise of the age of'retirement may be Considered neceEsary and justified.
. ~~™~
In _the instant case while raising the retirement age of the cledi:al staff
of the Refinery Divis:ion to 58 years instead of 60 years since the retifement
age 9f the clerical staff of the Marketing Division of the Con1pany had been
fixed at 58 years, the Tribunal fell into a serious eiror in failing to notice the
F releVant and outstanding fact that the clerical staff of the Marketing Division
have a pension scheme while the clerical staff of the Refinery Division have no

.. such scheme. The general terminaJ benefits on attaining the age of super-
annuation are pension, gratuity and provident fund. It 11 not in dispute that
while the clerical staff of the Marketing Division. have all th.e three ben~fits,
\
•
the clerical staff of the Refinery Division are not entitled to any pensio1,1. This
m~si necessarily have an impact on the raising of their retirement age. On the
G material available the Court thinks that the retirement age in the case of clerical
•taff of the Refinery Division should be fixed at 60 years. [262 E-H]

In ~pplying the region.cum-industry formul~ the emphasis. to be placed
on region or industry depends upon varying factors. Where there ar" no
comparable industries in· the ~gion,- the regional aspect of _the region-cum-
H industry fommla must be given precedence. [263 F; 265 G]

Greares Cotton and Co. Lid. v. Their Workmen 1964 (I) L.L.J. 342;
Workmen of Hindustan Motors, v. Hindustan Mqtors 1962 "(ll) L.L.1. 352;
''

WORKMEN. V, BHARAT PBTROLIUM 253

Frenc~ Motor Car Company v, Their Workmen 1962 (JI) L.L.J. 744; Workmen
of Orient Paper Mills Ltd. •· Orient Paper Milla Ltd, 1969 (II) L.L.J. 39S &
referre~ to : ~

. It is observed that nowadays, because of better conditions of living and
f availability· of medical and health facilities, the average span of life has incre..

• ased and a person betWeen 55 and 60 years of age is alert, active, hale and
healthy may be said to be at the prime of his fife. That is also the time whc,n
he has to meet several financial commitments and demands. To retire ~im at .e
that age may mean virtually throwing him to the wolves. Can the nation
afford toihrow away the knowledge and experience of these people by retirina

- them when they are still capable of turniqg out some years of good work and
have on its hand Several families unable to fully support themselves? On the
otJier hand, can the nation afford to have an army of unemployed youngmen
necessarilY leading bitter and frustrated lives by allowing them to fritter away·
their energies in unhealthy pursuits to which tliey may be tempted ? But then·
c
arises the broader question, is the retirement of men of experience at an age
when they are still useful to'the tomn1bnity the proper solution to the problem
of unemployment among the young? Is not the solution the creation of greater
employment opportunities, by increasing production and its modes 'l All
these questions are difficult to answer and require O.eep investiaation, ·research
an'1 •tudy. (261 D-HJ D
(Per JfaradOrajan, J.

Though the trend in ·a particular area is the most important factor to· be
taken into account for fixing the age of retirement of employee;, it is only one
of the several fa.ctors 1.ike the nature of '-Work assigned to the employees, the
wage structure of the employees, the retiren1ent benefits and other amenities E
available t~ the employees. the .nature of climate where the employees work

- and the age of superannuatio°: fixed in Comparable industrieS -in the region:
Moreover, the trend n1ust undoubtedly be in comparable industries.
(272 D-E; FJ

Guest Keim Williams Private Ltd. v. Sterling and Ors. 195~ (II) L.L.J. 405;
JJurmah Shell (Delhi region) (1971) (I) L.L.J. 363 referred to. •'
·

F

Jn the preSent case, the . employees have not placed any material On
those factors before the Tribunal apart from relying upon the trend in the
I Bombay region. They haVe also not placed any material on record to show that

• ,th~ is any trend in the Refinery Division of any other oil company in tne
Bombay region to fix the age of retirement of clerical employees at 60 years.
They have relied upon the t!el_1d generally and not in any comparable irldustry.
There is no evidence to show that_there is any other Refinery in the Bombay
region than that of th: Co~pany. From tl1e comparative-statemerits filed by the
G

Company, it appears that the trend in the_ Refinery Division of the COmpany ·
throughout the coun.try is to fi~ the age o\ retirement of the clerical employees
at 58 years. There is nothing Jn the award of the Tribunal tp show that the B
employees contended l:efore it that the "trend in the Bombay region" heavily
relied ~p~n by .th~m, could be general in nature an4 not in comparabl~
industries IQ the rp~1on. [272 F; G; 273 B-Cj ·
• 254 (198ll) I s.c.11..
Unfortunately, vei'y limited material is available o~ record for arriving
A at a decision in this case. The ~mparative statements filed by the· Company
sh.o~ .that the pay scales_ of junior grade 1clerical employees in the' Refinery
D1v1s1on of the respondent company are better than those in another oil
. _ company. Thb pay-scales of junior grade clerical· employees and. senior -grade
clerical employees of the coffipany in the Refinery DivisiOn at Bombay com- ·
pare favourably with pay scales of junior grade~ clerical employees and senior

B
grade clerical employees in the Marketing DiviSion·ar the Company at Bombay
Therefore, in considering the absence of a pension scheme for the clerical
•
employees of the Company in the Refinery Division one has to take note of the
fact that the pay scales of those employees· are more advantageous and
compare favourably with the pay scales of clerical employees of the company
in tbe Marketing Division at Bombay. There is no material on record to
show the quentum of disadvantage to which the employees in question are
c subjectOO. by the absence of a pension Scheme compared with the section or
clerical employees of the Company's Marketin.g Division at Bombay who have
'the benefit of a p_ension scheme-in addition to gratuity and provident fund
benefits to which alone the employees.concerned in this appeal are entitled as
. retirement ben~fits. In those circurnstanCes, there is no satisfactory rea~on
for interfering with-the Tribunal's award raising the age of retiren1ent of the
clerical emplo)iees of the Company's Refinery Division at Bombay from 55
D years tb 58 years. (270 A; 271 A; E-F;.272 B-C; 273 H; 274 A-BJ

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1396 of
19~. ~

Appeal by Special leave from the Award dated the 26th July,
E 1980 of Shri A.K. Thora!, Industrial Tribunal, Maharashtra, Bombay

-
passed in Reference (IT) No. 54 of 1980,

M.K. Ramamurthi, P. Gaur, Jitendra Sharma for the
'
F
Appellants.
\
G.B. Pai, O.C. Mathur, S. Kumqran, Ms. Meera Mathur,
D.N. Misra for the Respondents.

The followfug Judgments were delivered by
' \
G CH!NNAPPA REDDY, J. : The workmen of the Bharat Petroleum
Corporation •Limited, Bombay raised an Industrial dispute with
regard to the retirement age of the clerical staff employed in the
•
Refinery Division of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited al
Bombay. The demand of the workmen was that the retirement age
H of the clerical staff of the Refinery Division at Bo~bay must be
raised from 55 years to 60,years in keeping with the 'trend' in the
Bombay region. The Company resisted the demand on the ground
that in all similar oi(companies,'.the re~jrement age of th~ derical
WORKMEN v. BHARAT PETROLEUM (Chinn/Jppa keddy, J.) 255
A
staff engaged in the Refinery .Division had never been fixed at 60
years. Before the Industrial Tribunal, Maharashtra at Bombay to
. whom the dispute was referred for adjudication, neither party led any
oral evidence. The workmen relied upon several decisions of this
court to establish that the trend of industry in Bombay was to fix the
• retirement age of the clerical staff at 60 years, while the company
contented itself by filing a statement showing the age of retirement B
of clerical ~taff employed in ·various oil companies.. The Industrial
. Tribunal
- '
found as a fact that the wage scales of the company were
not much better than the wage scales of other comparable concerns.
The Industrial Tribunal also noticed that the age of retirement of
the clerical staff of the company in its Marketing Division both at
Bombay and other places was fixed at 58 years. The · Industrial c
Tribunal, therefore, held that there was no valid reason why the
· retireme~t age of the clerical staff employed in the· Refinery Division
should not be raised at least to 58 years. But having regard to the
circumstance that the clerical staff employed in the Refinery· Division
had already been granted, under a settlement, the benefits of
D
Provident Fund and Gratuity and having further regard to the fact ·
that while the number of members of the clerical staff employed in
the Refine"y Division was 148 only, there were as many as 1095
workme'n in the non-clerical category, who would also surely raise
a dispute to revise their retirefnent age, the Industrial Tribunal
thought that in the interest of industrial harmony, it would be proper E

- \
to raise the retirement age of the clerical staff to 58 ·years only and
not. to 60 years. The workmen have preferred this appeal under
Art. 136 of the Constitution. As before the Industrial Tribunal, so
too before us, the workmen relied on the 'trend' in the Bombay
. regfon while the .-company relied on the position 'in other oil
companies. F

In fixing the age of retirement, several f~ctors have to be taken
.,..
j into consideration. These factors have been explained at length in
Guest, Keen, Williams Private Ltd. v. P.J. Sterling & Ors.( 1),
- Dunlop Rubber Company Limited v. Workmen & Others('),
Imperial Chemical. Industries (India)· Pvt. Ltd. v. Workmen('),
G

British Paints (India) Ltd. v. Its Workmen('), G.M. Talang

{I) [196011 S.C.R. 348. H
(2) [19601 2 S.C.R. 51.
(3) [1961] 2 S.C.R. 349.
(4) (1966] 2 S.C.R. 523.
SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1984) i s.c.li..

v. Shaw Wallace, & Co.(1)' and Burmah Shell Oil Stora11
A. - ' cl Distributing Company of1ndia Ltd. v. Their Workmen.(')
Guest, Keen Williams Private Ltd. v. P. J,. Sterling &
Others(') was a case from Calcutta and it may npt be useful to

B
discover the trend in the Bombay region'. However, some of the
relevant factors to be taken into account in fixing the age of
•
..
' superannuation have been stated and we may usefully extract the
observations maqe . by the learned judges in that case. It was
said:

"In fixing the. age of superannuation industrial
c tribunals have to, take into account several relevant
factors. What is the nature of the work assignee\ ·.to the
employees in the course of their employme~t ? What is
the nature of the \'1age• structure paid to them ? What are
the retfrement benefits and ·other amenities available to
them ? What is the character of the climate where the
n· employees work and what is the age of superannuation.
fixed in comparable industries ·In the same region ? What
is generally tile practice prevailing in the industry in the·
past in the matter of retiring its employees ? These and
other relevant facts have to be weighed by the tribunal in ·
E ·every case when it is called upon . to fi~ an age of
superannuation in an industrial dispute."

The 'trend' of industry in the Bombay region to raise the age
of retirement from 55 to 60 years was noticed by this court in
Dunlop Rubber Company v. workmen & Others('), Imperial Chemical
F Industries (India). Pvt. Ltd. v. Workmen('), British Paints (India) Ltd.
v. Its Workmen('), G.M. Talang v. Shaw Wallace & Co.(') and
Burmah Shell Oil Storage & Distributing Company of India Ltd. v.
Their Workmen(').
i
'
G
· In the Dunlop Rubber Company case, the Tribunal noticed
that the trend in the Bombay region was to raise the age of
~'
retirement to sixty years for clerical staff and, accordingly, raised the
age of the clerical staff of the company to sixty years_,, notwithstan-
ding the fact that i11 the previous agreement, the retirement age was
...
H
(5) [1964) 7 S.C.R. 426.
(6) [1970) I L.L.J. 363.
\

/

WOl\KMBW v. BHARAT PETROLEUM (Chinnappa Reddy, J.) 257
,
fixed at 55 years. The Supreme Court upheld the award as it
accorded with the prevailing conditions in many concerns in that
region. One of the si;bmissions made to the . Supreme Court was
that the clerical staff of the company employed in Bombay was a
small minority of the total clerical staff employed by the company
•
'f.
through out India, that in the case of the large majority employed
·outside Bombay, the age of retirement ·was· 55 and, therefore, the
B
retirement age of the small minority of workmen employed in

-
Bombay should not be raised from 55 to 60 years. , It was argued
that the.company was an All-India concern and occupied a special
position, and it was, therefore, desirable and proper that no change
•hol!ld be made to benefit a small minority of workmen employed in
Bombay. The submission was repelled by the Supreme Court and c
it was observed :- ,

"There is no doubt that in the case of an all~India
concern it would be advisable to have uniform condition.s
of service through out Ind.ia and if· uniform conditions· D
prevail in any such concern they should· not be Jightcy
. changed. At the same time, it cannot be forgotten that
industrial adjudication is based, 'in this country at least,.
on what is.known as industry-cum-region basis and cases
, may arise where it may be necessary in following this
.principle to make changes even where the conditions of E
aervice of an· all-India concern are uniform. Besides,
however, desirable uniformity may be in the case of a!J-
India concerns, the Tribunal cannot abstain from s~eing
that fair conditions of service prevail in the industry with
which it is concerned. If, therefore, any scheme, which p
may be uniformally in force through out India in the case
of an all-India ,conc9rn, appears to be unfair and not in
accord with the prevailing conditions in such matters, it
I would be the duty of the tribunal to make changes in the
scheme to make it fair and bring it into line with the
~- prevailing conditions in such matters, particularly in the G
region in which the tribunal is functioning_ irrespective of
the fact that the demand is made by only a small minority
of the workmen employed in one place out of the many
where the all-India concern carries on business."
H
It will be seen that great emphasis was laid" on the conditions
prevailing in the region ev.en to the extent· of overriding the conditions
sili>REME COURT REPORTS [i984) 1 s.c.~.
of service of other workmen in'the employment of the very company
A elsewhere. ·

In Imperial Chemical Industries (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. The
.Workmen, Gafendragadkar, J observed·:

"It is generally recognised in industrial adjudication
•
8 that where an employer a<!opts a fair and resonable
pension scheme that would play an important part in

-
fixing the age of retirement at a comparatively earlier
stage.. Ha retired employee can legitimately look for-
ward to the prospect of earning a pension then the hard-
c ship resulting from early compulsory retjrement is
considerably mitigated; that is why cases where there is a
fair and reasonable scheme of pension in vogue would not
be comparable or even relevant in dealing with the age of·
retirement in a concern where there is so mueh pension
scheme".
D '
In that. case it was submitted by the Attorney General who
appeared for the company that the company ·was an All-India concern .,.,
and it was of great importance that the terms and conditions of
servioo prevailing in several branches of the company all over the
country should be sta6le and uniform and that in the matter of
E retirement'the company had uniformly fixed the age of retirement at
55 since 1950 and this artangement should not be disturbed because
it would inevitably upset the age of retirement in all other branches.
It was also ·submitted that the Tribunal had raised the age of
.
\
\
retirement from 55 to 58 and that ,the Supreme Court should not
ll' interfere with the decision of the Tribunal and further raised it to 60.
It was also urged that ihe general terms and conditions provided >
by the company to its employees were very liberal and that the
indnstrial'concerns in Bombay where the age of retirement had been
fixed at 60 were not comparable to the company and, therefo.re, no
impgrtance should be l!ttached to the trend disclosed by those
G companies. All these submissions were rejected by the court on the
primary consideration that the recent trend in the Bombay area
clearly appeared to be to fix the age of retirement at 60.

In ·British Paints India Limited v. Its Workmen, this court
ff
expressed the view that there had been a general improvement in the
standard of health in the country and that longevity had increased
11nd therefore, fixation .of age of retirement at 60 years appeared to·
·- ' WORKMEN v. BHARAT Pl!TROLEUM (Chi1111appa Reddy, i.) 259
be quite reasonable in the circumstance. The court, further observed
that the age of retirement at 55 years was fixed in the last century m A
Government service and had become the pattern for fixing the age of
retirement every where •. The court then said:

"But time in our opinion has now come considering
the improvement in the ·standard of health and increase in B
longvity in this country during the last fifty years that the
age of retirement should be fixed at a higher level, and we
consider that generally speaking in th.e present circums-
tances fixing'the age of retirement at 6~J years would be
fair and proper, unless there are special circumstances
justifying fixation of a lower age of retirement". c
In G.M. Talang ·v. ·Shaw Wallace & Co. reference was also
.
made to the report of the Second Pay .Commission which had '

referred to the age of retirement in 48 countries of the world and to
the report of the Norms Committee, a Committee on which both
employers and employees of .ihe Bombay region were represented 0· D
which had said :- '·

"After taking into consideration the views of the
earlier Committees and Commissions includillg these of
the Second Pay Commission, the report of which has been
released recently, we.feel that the retirement age for work·· E
men, in all industries, should be fixed at 60 years.
Accordingly the norm for retirement age is fixed at 60". ·

The commen~ of the court on the report of the Norms Committee
was:-
F
"This considered .opinion of a Committee on which
both employers and employees were represented emphasi·
I, sed t,he fact that in the Bombay region, at least there is a
I general agreement that the ~ge of retirement should be
~ fixed at 60.'.' G
In tbe Burmah Shell Oil Company case, this ~ourt observed .-

"In fixing the age of superannuation the most
important factor that has to be taken into consideration is B
the trend in a particular area. That position is made
clear by this court in· Talang (G. M) and Other~ v.
Shaw Wallace & Co. Ltd. There is no denying the fact
SUPRilMB COURT REPORTS [!984} l s.c.a.
that life cxi:>ectation has greatly increased in recent years
A due to healthier living conditions, better food and impro-
ved medical facilities though we have still a long way to
go in that regard. Under modern conditions; speaking
generally, the efficiency of workmen is not impaired
till about 60 yeats. The-·needs of a workman are
likely to be greater between the age. of 50 to 60 yeil:rs.
as durfrtg that period he has to educate his children,
marry his daughters, in addition to maintaining
his family. If one looks at the word trend ii · is obvious
that .the age of superannuation is gradually pushed up
.......... .............................................................
....;,

c .~ ......... ~ ... ,,As we said earller, in the matter of fixing the
age of superannuation, the trend in a par.tjcular area,is the
most important factor, though in the matter of determin-
ing. the other conditions of .service. of workmen, the
principle of region-cum-industry is by and large the
determinatiwe factor ..................... ~........................ .
D .......................................................................... "
· "From the various decisions rendered by this court
and by the tribunals, it is obvious· that the trend is to
raise the age· of superannuation. It is also clear from
those decisions that so far as Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi
E areas are concerned, the trend appears to raise the age of
superannuation to 60 years.'.'

· · On the facts of the case, however, the court noticillg that in the
appellant company, there was a fair pension scheme for the clerical
staff, fixed the age of superannuation in their case at 5S years, while
. fil leaving untouched the decision of the Tribunal fixing the retirement
.age of other workmen at 60 years.

It is io be noticed that the four cases which related to the
B~mbay region were all of the early sixties. Two decades have passed,
Industrial and Jabour conditions do not remain stagnant despite the
G passage of time. Industrial-labour relations need revisiOn from time
to .time to fit and suit chaµging conditions. That there was an
upward trend to raise the age of retirement to sixty in the early
sixties may not necessarily rriean that the same trend has continued
tl!I today. But, in the present case, the company did not plead that
H there was any reversal -0fthe trend nor did Shri G.B. Pai, learned
counsel for tlfe company, urge oefore us that there. was any such
reversal of the trend. On the other hand, it· may very well be ·said
. . ~

woii.KMEN Y. BllARAT PETROLEUM (Chinnappli Reddy; J.) 26-i
j
that there· has been much progress in the last two decades in. the
matter of better living conditions and availability of medical and A
health facilities and, therefore, a further raise of the age of retirement
may be considered necessary and justified. Shri Pai rightly did not
urge before us that there was any reversal of the trend in the Bombay
region and we are, therefore spared from going into that question.

In the Dunlop Rubber Company Case and in the Imperial B
Chemical Industries ,Case, the Supreme Court primarily relied on
the trend in the region and in the Burma~ Shell Oil Company
case, the Court observed that the trend in a particular area was the
most important factor In the matter offix/11g the age of superannuation.
Another factor which appears. to be receiving .import'ance in certain
circles is the rising· rate of unemployment amongst the yoµnger
c
generation. The effect of increasing or decreasing the age of retire-
ment on the rate of unemployment in the younger generation and
on the household economics of the older generation is a Jl1atter for
deep study and investigation. There is no evidence before us on
these points. Nowadays, as pointed out· in the Bµrmah Shell Oil D
Company's case and other ca•eS, because of better conditions of
livino0 and availability of medical and· health facilities,
•
the average
span of life has increased and a person between 55 and 60 years of
age is alert, active, hale and healthy and may be said to ·be at the

,
• prime of his life. That is also the time when he has to 'meet several' E
financial commitments and demands. To retire him at that age may
mean virtually to throw liim to the wolves. Can the nation afford to
have on its hand several families unable to· fully support themselves.?
Can the nation afford to throw away the knowledge· ~nd experience
of these people by retiring them when they are still capable of turning
- out some years of good work? On the other hand, can the nation F
afford to have an army of unemployed, youngmen, ne9essarily
leading bitter and frustrated lives ? Can the nation afford to allow
them to fritter away their energies in unhealthy . pursuits to which
they may be tempted ? But th~n arises the broader question, is the
· retirement of.men of experience at an-age when they are still useful
to the community the proper solution to' the problem of unemploy- G
ment among the young? ·is it not. an unimaginative solution ? Is
not the solution the creation of greater employment opport~nities,
by increasing production ,and its modes ? All these are questions
which are difficult to answer though everypne has an opinion, often
ad hoc. These questions require deep investigation, research· and
B
' study. We cannot properly answer them nor is there any evidence
on these points. The co~nsel, we must say _in fairness, refrained
SUPREMS COURT REPOtl.rS fl984) i S.C.R.
. from arguing that the retirement age should not be raised .because ,\
A of the rising rate of unemployment and we also refrain from
expressing any opinion. The workmen were content to rely on the
undoubted trend·as revealed by the decisions of this court and the.
company was content to rely oy the comparative statement of retire·
ment age of clerical staff in other oil companies. We are compelled
to decide this case on the limited matterial available to us and we,
8 therefore, confine the decision to the facts of the case .
•
The Tribunal noticed that the age of retirement of the· clerical
staff-of the company in its Marketing Division was 58 years and
observed:-
c "Similarly, it is apparent that-the company has fixed
the age of retirement of the clerical staff in its Marketing
Division, both in Bombay and other places at 58 years.
I do not find any valid reason while the concerned work·
men should be denied a raise in the age of their retirement
D at least to the extent of 58 years."

So according to the Tribunal, the retirement age of the clerical
staff of the Refinery Division had to be increased at least to 58 years,
since the retirment ·age of the clerical staff of the Marketing Division
of the Company had been fixed at years. The relevant and outstand· •
E ing fact which the Tribunal failed to notice here -was that the clerical
staff of the Marketing Division have a pension scheme while the
Clerical staff of the Refinery Division have no such scheme. The

F
eeneral terminal benefits on attaining the age of superannuation are
pension, gratuity and provident fund. It is no,t in dispute that
while the clerical staff of the Marketing Division have all three
terminal benefits, the clerical staff of the Refinery Division are ·not
entitled to any pension. This must necessarily have an impact on
the raising of their retirement age. Therefore, without travelling
'
outside the very c6mpany; we think that the Industrial Tribunal fell
into a serious error in failing to notice that there was' no pension
G scheme in the case of clerical staff of the Refinery Division while
there was such a scheme in the case of a clerical staff of the
Marketing Division. On the material available to us, we think that
the retirement age in the case of clerical staff of the Division should
H be fixed at 60 years.
>
~1
Shri G.B. Pai, learned counsel for the· Respondent·Corporation
drew our attention to the circumstances that the new scales of pay
WORKMEN v. BHARAT PETROLEUM (Chinnoppa Reddy, J.) 263
) of the clerical staff of the Refinery Division of the Respondent-
Corporation compared favourably with the scales of pay of the A
clerical staff of other refineries elsewhere in Indian and were .higher
. 'than the scales of pay of the clerical staff of the· Marketing Division
of the Respondcnt·Corporation its,lf. Shri Pai, however would not

••r go so far as to say' that the scales of pay were so designed taking
into account the provision for pensionary benefits or the lack of
it. fre could not do so for the obvious reason that it would he an B
irrelevant .consideration unless he could assert that the wage struc-
ture took into account the 'capacity for savings' factor. Again,
obviously, he could not so assert as that was neve_r the company's
case . and also in view· of the rising universal inflationary trend of
which we are bound to take judicial notice. The differing nature c
·and conditions of work may well be the reason for the different scales
of pay. We assume nothing and so we make no comment one way
or the _other in the absence of evidence. It is enough for the pres-
ent purpose to say that the Tribunal did not base its conclusion on
this circumstance.
D
Shri Pai invited our attention to the circumstance that in other
refineries elsewhere in India, the retirement, age of clerical staff has
generally been fixed at 58. But we are · primarily concerned .wit]?
the trend in the.Bombay region. In matters of this nature, greater
importance must naturally he given to the regional factor That
was why in the Dunlop° case, emphasis was laid on the "prevaling
E
conditions, particularly in the region", in the· Imperial Chemical
Industries case, the trend in the Bombay region was considered

'
the most vital factor and in the Burmah Shell case, it was stressed
that in fixing the age of superannuation, the most important
factor that· had to be taken into consideration was the trend F
.in the particular area. We may add here that in applying the
region-cum-industry formula, the emphasis to be placed on region
or industry depends upon varying factors. In Greaves Cotton and
.. Co. Ltd. v. Their workmen (1) , this Court observed that where the
number of industries of the same kind in a particular region was
small, it was the regin aspect of the industry-cum-region formula G
which assumed importance particularly in the case of clerical and
subordinate staff. Reference was made to Workmen of Hindustan
Motor's v. Hindustan Motors (2) and French Motor Car Company v.
their Workmen(") and it was said :
H
(1) [1964] I L.L.J. 34J.
(2) [1962111 L.L J. 352.
(3) [1962] II L.L.J. 744.
,

- 264 SUl'ltBMB COURT REPORTS. ' (1984] 1 8.C.R,

"Where there are a large number of industrial con•
cerns of the same kind in the same region, it :would be
proper to put greater emphasis on the industry part of the_
industry-cum-region principle as that would put all
concerns on a more or less equal footing in the matter of
production co~ts and therefore, in the matter of compe·
B tition in the market and this will equally apply to clerical
and subordinate staff whose wages and 'dearness allowance
also go into calculation of production costs. · But where

c
the number of comparable concerns is small in a parti·
cular region and therefore, the competition aspect is not
of the same importance, the region part of the industry ·
cum-region formula assumes greatel" importance particu-
larly with reference to clerical and subordinate staff
-
and this :was what was emphasised in the French
Motor . Car Company case where the company was
already _paying the highes~ wages in the particular -
· line of business and therefore comparison had to be· made
D with as similar concerns as possible in different lines of
business for the purp.ose of fixing wage scales and
dearness allowance. The principle therefore which
emerges from these .two decisions in that in .applying
the industry-cum-region formula for fixing wage .scales
the tribunal should Jay stress on the industry part of
formula if there are a large number of concerns in the
same region carrying on . the same ·industry; in such a
case in order that production cost may not be unequal
and there may be equal cotppetition, wages should genera·
lly be fixed on the basis of the comparable industries,
1
F namely, industries of the same kind. But where the
, . number of industries of the same kind in a particular
• region is small, It is. the region part of the industry-cum·
region formula ·which assumes importance particularly ill
the case of clerical and subordinate staff, for as pointed
G out in the French Motor Car Company case there is not
much differencein the work of this class of emplyees in
different industries."
,
In French Motor Car Co. v. Their workmen, an argument was
H
adYanced that the appellant company was paying the highest wage
1cales in a particular line of business in whi~h it was engaged· and
there was, therefore, no justification for increasing the wage scales
. WORll:l.llJN '· BHA.RAT PllTROLEUM (Chinnoppa Rediy, I,) , !65

I by comparison with wage •Cales in other lines of bu•ineH.. Thil
argument was rejected with the following obaervation• :- .A

"We are of opinion that thi•. argument cannot be

-
·...-
accepted, for it would then mean that if a concern i•
paying the highest wages in a particul~r line of business,
there can be no increase in wages in that concern what-
ever may be· the economic conditions prevailing at the
time of dispute. It seems to us, therefore, that where a
concern is paying the highest wages in a particular line
B

of business, there should be greater emphasii . on the
region part of the industry-cum-region. principle, though
it would be the duty-of the industrial c·ourt to see that c
for purposes of comparison such oiher industries in the
region are taken into account as are as nearly similar to
the concern before it as possible. 7hough, therefore, in
a case where a' particular concern is already paying the
highest wages in its own line .'of business, the industrial D
courts would be justified in looking at wages paid ill' that
region in other lines of business, it should take care to
see that the concerns from other Jines of business taken
into account. -are .such as are as nearly similar as possible,
to the line of business carried on by the concern before
it."

- In Workmen of Orient Paper Mills Ltd. v. Orient Paper Mill•
Ltd.(1}, this Court relying on the French Motor Car Company case
held that where two other paper industries in the region l\fe . of
recent origin and their. profits were smaller, it was the duty of the
Industrial _Tribunal not to compare the appellant-company with those_
companies, but to compare the same with other industries in the '
region, three of which were collieries, two ,ement co_mpanies, one a
steel plant and.one aluminium factory.

These decisions make it clear that where there are no G
comparable industries in the region, the regional aspect of the region~
cum-industry formula must be given precedence. That was what
was done in the Dunlop Rubber Co., the Imperial Chemical Industries
and the Burmah Shell Oil Co. cases. Rightly, therefore~ the
Tribun.al did not rest its conclusion on this factor, u
(I) (1969j II L.L.J. 398.
SUPREME CotJllT REPORTS (1984) 1 S.C.R,

Shri Pai informed us that eveu in the case of the clerical stafl' \
A of the Marketing Division, there, is no longer any pesion schem~ for
those that have joined .the Corporatio.n after nationalisation. This
again was not one of the grounds on which the Tribunal rested its
conclusion and we wish to say no. more about it, as we do not want
to jeopardise any claim that the workmen may have on that basis or
any answer that the Management may have in that regard.
B
In the result the appeal is allo\\ed and the retirement age of
the clerical staff of the Refinery Division of the company is fixed at
60 years, . There will be no order as to costs. ,,_

c· VARADARAJAN, ). This appeal by special leave is directed
. against the award dated 1.7.1980 made by the Industrial Tribunal,
Bombay in I. T. No. 84 of 1980 raising the age of retirement of the
clerical employees of the Refineries Division of the respondent from
55 years to 58 years in so far as it rejected the claim of the appellants
/
to the age of retirement being raised to 60 years.
D
The dispute referred to the Industrial_ Tribunal, 'Bombay was
between the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bombay (for
short "Company") and their Workmen represented by the Burmah
Shell Refineries Clerical Staff Union (for short "first union':) and '
·~
E the Petroleum Workmen's Union (for short "second union''). The·
Company has a marketing division and a refinery division at Bombay.
The age of retirement of the clerical employees of the Company is
58 years in the marketing division and 55 years in the refinery
division: The question for consideration by the Tribunal . was
•
whether ·the age of retirement of the clerical employees of the
Company's refinery division should be raised to 60 years from 55
years. The retirement age of the clerical employees of the refinery
•• division had been fixed at 55 years by a settlement dated 31.10.1973
which was to be in force for a period of four years and thereafter
until it is terminated in accordance with the provisions of s.19(2) of
G the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The period of four years fixed
in that settlement expired on 3°1.10.1977 and the first union termi·
nated that settlement in so far as it related to' the age of retirement.
' of the clericaf employees of the refinery division by a notice .dated
6.4.1979 after making a demand by a notice dated 15.1.1979 ·on the
H Company to raise the age of retirement of these clerical employees
to 60 years. The first union's contention according to its claim
statement was that the model standing orders provide for the age of
retirement of the clericai emp!Oyees being 60 years and there is a
'
WORKMEN v. BHARAT PETROLEUM (Varadarajan, J.) 761
t trend in the .)Jombay region to fix the age of retirement of clerical .
employees at 60 years and in the comparable concerns as well as in A
the marketing division of the Company· itself the age of retirement
of the clerical employees is above 55 years and, therefore, the present
age ofretirement of the clerical employees of the refinery division. is
low and should be raised from 55 years to 60 ye11rs with effect from
the dl!te of the reference. The second union put forward almost B
similar gr9imds in its claim statement filed in support of the demand
of the. clerical employees of the refinery di.vision.

.
The Company denied in its statement of defence that. the model
standing orders framed by the Central Government provide for the
age of retirement being 60 years and contended that the setticm.ent c
dated 31.l 0.1971 was a package deal arrived at in consideration of
the uni~n· agreeing inter a/ia to the age of retirement being. fixed .at.
55 years and the Company revised certain benefits which would not
have been revised otherwise. The. Company disputed tik correctness
of the grounds relied upon by the unions in; support of. their claim D
for raising the age of retirement .'of the clerical employees of the
refinery division to 60 years.

The Tribunal rejected the Company's contention that the
reference itself is not competent in view of the said settlement daied
31.10.1973 as bei~g untenabl11: That question is not in dispute in E
this appeal.
•
The·-parties filed a joint statement before the Tribunal· saying
that they do not want to let in any . oral evidence. "The Company
and the first ·union produced their respective comparative state- F
ments. In addition to· the comparative statement, stroqg reliance
was placed by the unions on what is called the trend in the ·Bombay
region to fix the age of retirement at 60 years. The Company's
comparative statement showed that ·on 1.4.1980 th.ere \v.ere 148.
clerical employees and 1095 non-cierical employee~ in the Company
and provided information in·regard to wage scales and other benefitil G
such.as provident fun4 and gratuity and admitted tilat the age of
retirement of the clerical employees in the Company's marketing
division at Bombay is 58 years while that of the. clerical employees
of the Company's refinery divisiot1 at that place is only 55 years ..
It was contended for the Company before the Tribunal. that the wage
scales of the clerical employees ~overed by this r.eference are far
. better than those of similar categories of emvloyees··tn • i:omparabl~
..
268 suPREMll COU)lT Jt)::PORTS [)984) 1 s.c.i

concerns and that the Company took ;i geperous viev; in !he· settle-
A ment dated 31.10.1973 _and arrived ·at a package deal· and reyised.
the benefits of the employees taking foto consideration the agreement . ·
of the employee~ to continue the age of retirement of the clerical .
employees of the refinery division at 55 years. The Tribunal found -
that the contention regardil)g the settlement being a package deal in
regard even to the age of retirement after taking - other benefits· foto.
consideration was ·not without substance and observed that it is;
however, not sufficient to reject the demand of the cleri9~i employees
of the refinery division for raising the age; of retirement in . toto and .
that it ·has to be taken into account while considering the extent to
whicli the ag~ of retiremen_t sho'!ld be raised: · .

· The following observation made by this 'court in Guest "Keen ·
Williams hivate Ltd. v.
Sterling and others(1) was noticed the bY
Tribunal : - · · · · · ·
,
' '.'In fixfog the age of >Uperannuation the Industrial
D ··Tribunals have to take into account several relevani
factor. , What Is th~ nature of the work as~igned: to · thi ':
employees in the course of their employment ?· What is
the nature of the wage' structure paid to them ? • What
are the retirement benefits and other amenities available.
'· to .theni · 1 What is tlie - character or the ·climate - ·
E
where the employees work 'and what is- the age ·of
superannuatfon fixed in comparable industries in the same·
'region 1 What is generally the practice prevailing in the
industry_ in the past in the matter of. retiring its
employees ?·_ These and other relevant facts have to be ·
F • weighed by the ~ribuna_l jn every case, ·when it .is called ·
.upon to fix· an age pf superannuation in an Industrial
dispute." ·,

· The Tribunal noticed.also the_ following observation ·made in a·
G -later decision of this Court In the case of Burmah Shell (Delhi.
Region)(') :

"In fixing ·the age of superannuation the. most
important factor that has to be taken: into consideration
H is the tre'.1d in a particular ;irea. That ·position is ma<14

. (1) [1959] Il L.L.L 40S.
pl [1971) I L.I.1. 3~.
WORKMEN v. BHARAT PETROLEUM (Vaiadarajan, J.) 269

t clear by this Court. There is no denying the fact that
life expectation has greatly increased in recent years due A
to healthier living conditions, better fqod and improved
medical facilities though we have still a long way to go
in that regard. Under modern conditions, speaking
. generally, the efficiency of workmen is not impaired till
about 60 years. The needs of a workman are likely to be
greater between the age of 50 and 60 years, as during B'
that period, he has to ,educate his children, marry his
daughters, in addition to maintaining his family. If one
looks at the word trend, .it is obvious that the age of
superannuation is gradually pushed .up."

.The Tribunal commented upon the lack of evidence relating to
c
._.... the various factor; indicated in the above passage in the present case
and has arrived at its decision as follows :
"The only material placed before me pertains to the
wage scales in existence in the industries in the region D
and more so comparable fndustiies. The wage . scales of
the Company and those of other comparable concerns do
not show that the wage scales of the Comp~ny are much
better. Similarly, it is apparant that the Company has
fixed the age of retirement of the clerical staff ·in its
Marketing Division, both in Bombay and other places 58 E

-
years. I do not find any valid reason why the concerned
workmen should be denied a raise in the age of their
retirement at least to the extent of 58 years. I have
/
already observed that the concerned workmen have been
granted benefits of retirement by way of provident fund F
and gratuity under the Settlement, It is also to be
borne in mind that there are about 1095 workmen in the
non-clerical category. They may also raise a dispute
a bout the revision of their retirement age. Here, neither
party has placed on the record the extent of additional
financial burden consequent upon the grant of the demand G
in terms it is made. To keep harmony amongst the
workmen of ·the Company employed in its Marketing
Division and Refinery, it is proper to rais'l, the age of
retirement of the concerned workinen to 58 years, and
not to 60 years in terms of the demand. For the aforesaid H
reasons, the ag~ (>f r~tirement ·or the clerical staff is fixe<!
. at 58 years."

I
•
SUPRJiMI C0111lT REPORTS (1984] 1 s.c.a.
Unfortunately, very limited materialis available oil record for
arriving at a decision in this case. Before the Tribunal comparative
\
A
statements regarding the wage scales and other benefits such as
gratuity and provident fund and age_ of retirement were produced
by the Company and the first union and the unions relied _upon the
trend in the Bombay regiOn to fix the age of retirement of employees
at 60 years. In this Court Mr. M.K. Rainamurthi, Senior Counsel
.B appearing for the appellants invited this Court's attention to and
heavily relied up()n some decisions of this Court in which that trend
has been noticed. The Tribunal also noticed the decision of this
Court in' the Burmah Shell (Delhi region)' s case (supra) in which
also reference has· been made to the tr~nd as seen from the passage
c in thatjudgment extracted earlier. Mr. G.B. Pai, Senior Counsel
appearing for the Company admitted before this Court as had been
done even before the Tribunal that there is no pension scheme for
the clerical employees of the refinery division of the Company with
whom ~e are concerned in this case. He also admitted that there
is a pension scheme in regard to cle;ical empl~yees of the Company's
marketing division at Bombay. But he _submitted that that scheme
is restrited to only employees who h!ld joined service before the
date of nationalisation of the oil companies.and does not relate to
thos~ who joined service after that date. The fact that the pension
sch~me relating' to the marketing division applie; to ·only employees
E who had joined service jn the ·company before the date of· natfona-
lisat'ion is not disputed by Mr. R·amamurthi. . It is true that the

F
Tribunal has not noticed the fact . that there is such a· pension
1cheme for some of the Company's employees in the marketing
division at Bombay. Mr. Pai drew this Court's attention to· com-
' parative statements produ~ed by the Company as exhibits 'A' and 'B'
. with the counter-affidavit filed in the special leave petition in this
Court. They are· referred to in paras 15 and 17 of that counter-
-
affidavit. · No objection was raised by Mr Ramamurthi to Mr. Pai >
drawing thisCourt's attention to those comparative statements. One
of those statements •hows the salaries of junior and senior clerical
G employees in all the oil companies (corporations) in this couniry.
It is seen from that statement that there are four oil .companies in
this country, namely, Hindustan· Petrolenm. Corporation Limited
(Calt11x), Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Cor-
poration Limited 'and )3harat Petroleum Corporation Liniited. The
H pay scales of· junior Clerical employees of the Hindustan Petroleum
Corporation Limited are Rs. ?90.50 ·~Rs. 1498.50 in the marketina'
division and ri.s: 995:25 -- Rs: 1348.60 in the refinery division. Those
~cales compare favourably with the pay scales of similar· .employess
'
WORKMEN v. BHARAT i>E'.I'RouiUM (VoraJarajan, J.) 27i
in the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (Caltex) apd Indian
Oil Corporation Limited. But the pay scales of junior ·grade A
clerical•· employees of the respondent company Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Limited are better in the refinery division with which
we are concerned in this appeal then those in the Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited, for the pay scales in the respondent
Company are Rs. 924.23 - Rs. 1597.17 in the marketing division as
B
on 1.3.1980 and Rs. 1093.92 - Rs. 1809.96 in the refinery division ai
Bombay as on 1.4.1980. In the comparative statement there is a
note that the grade of Rs.· 1093.92 - Rs. 1809.96 is the lowest grade
in the clerical cadre as per the subsisti~g 'settlement and that.
individuals have, however, not. yet been fitted the! grade because of
various dispute;;. There can be no doubt that once the .individuals c
are fitted in that grade tliey will be entitl~.d to payment according to
that scale as from 1.4.1980. So far as senior grade clerical employees·
11re concerned the scales of pay are Rs. 1012.50 - Rs.1727.50 in the
marketing division and Rs. 1359. 56 - · Rs. 2040.20 in the refinery
division of the Hindustan Petroleum .Corporation . Limited and
Rs. 1215 - Rs. 2200 in the marketing division and Rs. 1212 (for D
those who joined service after 8.8.19?g - Rs. 2126 (tor those who
joined service prior to 8.8.1978). These scales of pay compare
favourably with the scales of. pay .in the Indian Oil Corporation
Limited But the sales of pay of the respondent company. are much
better as they are Rs. 1171.9'1-Rs. 1960.59 in the marketing division 'E

- as on 1.3.1980 and Rs. 1352-.30-Rs.2510.46 in the refinery division
at Bombay as on 1.4.1980. ·Thus it is seen that the pay scales of
junior grade clerical employees and senior gr;ide clerical employees
of the Company in the refinery division at Bombay, mmely, Rs. 1093,
92 -- Rs. 1809.96 as on J.3.1980 and Rs. 1352.30 - Rs. 2510.46 as
on 1.4.19.80 compare favourably with 'the pay scales of junior grade
clerical employees in the marketing division of the Company at
Bombay, namely, Rs. 924.23-Rs. 1597.17 and Rs. 1171.91 -Rs.
1960.59 as on !.'3.1980 ·respectively, Therefore, the Cqmpany's
contention before the Tribunal that higher pay scales were fixed for
the clerical employees in the refi·nery· division at Bombay in the
G
settlement dated 31.10. 1973 in view of their agreement to continue
the age of retirement at 55 years is not without substance as stated
by the Tribunal in its judgment. In this Court also Mr. Paj submi-
..... tted that higher pay scales have been.fixed for the clerical employees
in the refinery divisipn of the Company at Bombay taking into consi- .H
deration that there is no pension sheme for them and their argeement
to continue the age of retirement .as 58 whereas the retirement age
for the clerical employees of the marketing division at Bombay for
t1984l l s.¢.a.
-\ .
A
whom there is a pension sheme in regard to those who entered service
prior to the date of nationalisat\on is 58. The learned counsel fairly
conceded that it could' not be stated with certainty that the difference
\
in the pay scales of the clerical employees in the refinery division and
marketing division at Bombay fully takes care of the absence of a

n
. pension sheme for the clerical employees of the refinery division. It
was not contended by Mr. Ramainurthi that the workload of the
clerical employees in the refinery division is greater than that of the
J
clerical employees in the marketing divtsion of.the Company at
Bombay. Therefore, in considering the absenc~ of a pension scheme
for the clerical employees. of the Company in the refinery division
one has to take note of the fact that the pay scales of those emplo 7 ·
c yees are more advantageous and compare favourably with the pay
scales of clerical employees of the Company in the marketing divi-
sion at Bombay. ·

.The trend strongly relied upon by Mr. · Ramamurthi has no
doubt to be taken into account for fixing the age of retirement of the
D employees. But according to the decfsion in Burmah shell (Delhi

•-
regian) case (supra) referred to above, it is only one of the factors
which have to be taken into account in fixing. the age of retirement
though in that decision it has been stated to b.e the most important
factor, (Several other factors) are mentioned in this Court's judgment
E in Guest.Keen Williams Private Limited v. Sterling and· others (supra)

-
and they are the nat.ure of work assigned to the employees, the wage
structure of the employees, the retirement benefit and other amenities
available to the employees, the nature of climate where the employees
work and the age of superannuation fixed in comprable industries in the \
region. The employees in this case should have placed the other mate•
F rials also before the Tribunal for justifying their claim for raising the
age of retirement from 55' years to 60years. They have not placed any >
of those factors before the Tribunal apart from relying upon the
trend mentioned above. The trend must, undoubtedly, be in compa- . ~·
rable industries. The employees in this case have not placed any
G material on record to. show that there is any trend in the
refinery division of any other oil company in the Bombay region to
lix the age of retirement of clerical employees at 60 years. They
have relied upon the trend generally and · not in any comprable
industry. There is no evidence to show that there is any other
H refinery in the Bombay region than that of.the company. On· the
other hand, the Company has placed before this Court a com para·
tive statement regarding the age, of retirement of clerical employees
jo all the refineries in this country. 'J;hat statement produced with
•
WORKMEN v. BH~kAT ;ii;fio~~~; (Varadarajan, J.) ~73
}
the ~ounter-afld;vit filed in the Spe~ial Leav~ P~titloti° shows that
the age of reti;e~e"nt. i~ 6o yea~s only in , the . marketing division of A
the. Indian Oi.l Corporation Limited, that it is 58 years hi the refi-
nery division of that Corporation and that in all the other Corpora-
tions inciuding th~ respond~nt Company after the age of retirement
was .raised to 58. years from· 55 years by the Tribunal it is 58 years
• both ill the marketing division,and the refinery <l,ivision. Thus, the
trend in the refinery divisions of the Corporation 'throughout the B
country is to Ii< the age of retirement .of the clerical employees at"
58 years. It is not possible to accept the appellants' contention that
the age of retirement should have been raised by the Tribunal to 60
years on the basis solely of the "trend in the Bombay region".
There is nothing in the award of the Tribunal to .show that the
employees contended before it tlpt the "trend In .the Bombay region"
c
heavily relied upon by them, could be general in nature and not in
comparable industries in the region. No such argument was.advanced
evm in this Court by Mr. Ramamurthi, on behalf of the appellants.
Consequently the Company did not have any opportunity of meet.ing
any such.contention that the trend in the region need not be in D
comparable industries (not necessarily similar industries) but may be
general and is yet binding on the Company. It is significant to note
that the clerical employees in the marketing division of the Company
at Bombay have till now not raised any demand for raising their age
of retirement to 60 years from .58 years. Therefore, on the question
E
of trend also it is seen. that the employees concerned have not
placed any material on record to hold that in their case the trend
.. should be taken as being towards fixing the age of retirement at 60
years. The Tribunal has taken all factors.into consideration including
the absence of a pension scheme for the employees in quest.ion.
except the fact that there is a pension scheme for. the clerical F
employees in the marketing division of the Compapy at Bombay
who had joined service prior to the date of nationalisation in raising
the age of retirement of the Company's clerical employees in the refi·
nery division at Bombay to 58 years from 55 years at par with the age
of retirement of the clerical employees in the Company's marketing G
division at Bombay. Even under the Tribunal's. award challenged
in this appeal.the employees concerned are better placed than tl;J.eir
counter-parts in the marketing division who have joined service
·after the date of nationalisation of oil companies in regard to wage
scales. There is no material on record to show the quantum ·of H
disadvantage to which the employees in question are subjected by
the absence of a pension scheme compared with the section of
clerical employees of the Company's marketillg division· at Bombay
SUP!U!MI! COURT REi'ORTs ii98411 s.c.t.
_who have the benefit of a pension scheme in addition ·to gratuity \'
A . and-provident 'fund benefits
'
to which alone the
.. empioyees
.
concerned
in this appeal are en~itled as retirement benefits. In these.1 circums•
tances, there :is 'no satisfactory reason for interfering with· the
Tribunal's award raisin~ the age of retirement of the clerical
employees of the Company's refinery division at Bombay from 55
years to SS years at par with the age . of retirenient ·of the clerical
B
employees of the Company's marketing division at Bombay and
·declining to raise it to 60 years as 1iemaned by the employees, The ·
appeal ~cordingly fails and is dismissed but without costs. •

H.S.K. Appeal allowed.

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