Section 5 (2) of the Journalists Act reads as under : - Any dispute whether a workingjournalist has voluntarily resigned, from service in any newspaper establishment on the ground of conscience shall bs deemed to be an industrial dispute within the meaning of the Industrial Dispates Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), or any corresponding law relating to investigation and settlement of industrial disputes in force in any State." Section 14 of Act reads as follows :-
working journalist as employed in, or in relation to, any establishment for the production or publication of a newspaper or in, or in relation to, any news agency. Section 3 of this Act reads : "The provisions of Industrial Disputes Act 1947. shall apply to. or in relation to, workingjournalists as they apply to, or in relation to workman within the meaning of that Act. This Actwas repealed by The Working Journalists (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous ProvisionsAct 45 of 1955. Section 3 of this Act has maintained the provisions of Section 3 of Act I of 1955. The result is that by a fiction of law, the provisions of Industrial Disputes Act have been extended to and applied to, or in relation to the working journatists, in the same manner and to the same extent as they apply to, or in relation to, workman defined in Industrial Disputes Act." Consequently the working journalists are fully entitled to take advantage of the provisions 'of the Industrial Disputes Act like any other workman without their being labelled workman as such. The modification of the Industrial Disputes Act in its application to working journalists is indicated by Sub-section
raises a dispute which cannot he settled by the Wage Board or by the Government under the Act. Mr. Pai. learned counsel for the petitioner was asked to point out any machinery contained in theAct for of the dispute raised in the instant case, but he was unable to lay his hands on any provision except Section 17. Section 17 deals with the recovery of the amount due by coercive measures as well as the decision of some questions in dispute by Labour Court under the Industrial DisputesAct. This provision again points to the fact that the dispute between the parties is to be determined under the provisions of the 'Industrial Dispates Act and there is nothing contained in Section 17 or any other provision of the Act to debar the reference of the dispute between the parties for adjudication by an Industrial Tribunal or Labour Court as the case may be. Again if the contentions of of Mr. Par were accepted, the provisions of Section 3 of the Act applying the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act to the Working Journalists as it applies to the workman would become redundant. Both the provisions must harmoniously be construed
possibly arisen as between the employers in a particular news. appear establishment and its ownworking journalists. What was contemplated by the provisions of the impugned Act however, was a general fixation of rates of wages .of working journalists which would ameliorate the conditions of their service and the constitution of a wage board for this purpose." The Supreme Court considered the contention that the Working Journalists Act was discrimininatory and void on the ground that there was a special legislation for its benefit for fixing the rates of wage different from the machinary arid approach other workman in the industrial Disputes Act. This contention was rejected. It was also observed in this case that the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, which was a general Act, had been made applicable to the Working Journalists, there would have been no quarrel with the same. Mr. Pai has cited MIs- Sarighvi Jeevral GhewarChand v. Secretary. Madras - Chillies, Grains and Kirana Chand Merchants Workers Union. Vegoils Private Ltd. v. Workmen. Sarat Chatterjee & Co. (Private) Ltd. v -Central Government Industrial Tribunal. G. M. Telang v. Shaw Wallacs and Co. Ltd . Mr. Pai cites them to show where a statue be a complete
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