LAW FOR ALL

Labour laws - newspaper called “Mangalam” - Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 - Bachawat Wage Board’- “Manisana’ Wage Board,= Merely because the parties in their compromise chose to term the payments as “ex gratia payments” does not mean that those payments cease to be wages if they were otherwise wages. As stated above, they were wages at the time that they were paid. They did not cease to be wages after the award merely because the terms of compromise termed them as “ex gratia payments”. We are therefore unable to accept the reasoning of the judgments of the High Court. The judgment of the Division Bench as well as that of the Single Judge accordingly stands set aside. It is held that the amounts paid are wages and contribution will have to be made on those amounts also. We, however, make it clear that payments of the interest will be as per the statutory provisions.”= The interim relief paid by the respondent to its employees is not a “gift” or “inam”, but is a part of wages, as defined under Section 2(22) of the ESI Act. In view of the above, we hold that the payment made by way of interim relief to the employees by the respondent for the period from 1.04.1996 to 31.03.2000 comes within the definition of “wages”, as contained in Section 2(22) of the ESI Act, and hence the respondent is liable to pay ESI contribution.