Competency and maintainability

Under S.58 of Industrial Relations Act, 2012, appeal was provided to the Full Bench of the Commission only against an order, decision etc. passed by a Member of the Commission and no appeal could be preferred to the Commission against an order passed by the Authority under Payment of Wages Act, 1936 within the purview of S.17 of the said Act

Remedy by way of appeal against an award or decision given or a sentence or order determining and certifying a collective bargaining unit passed by any Bench of the Commission was available before the Commission under subsection (1) and to be disposed of under subsection (2) of S.58 of the Industrial Relations Act, 2012

Subsection (2) of S.56 of the Industrial Relations Act, 2012 provided that an award or decision given or a sentence or order determining and certifying a collective bargaining unit by any Bench of the Commission in accordance with the Act shall be deemed to be order passed, award given, sentence passed, powers exercised or proceedings commenced as the case may be, by the Commission

Under S.58 appeal lay to the Full Bench of the Commission only against an award, decision given or sentence or order passed by any Bench of the Commission, therefore, no appeal lies against the order of the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

Appellant challenged the orders of the authorized officer whereby election schedule in respect of the internal election of the National Bank of Pakistan Employees Front (Head Office CBU) had been announced and provisional list of candidates had been issued by the authorized officer

Appellant disputed the change of office bearers of the trade union and had questioned the validity and legality of the candidature of respondents, whose names had not appeared in the list of voters issued by the authorized officer yet declared as unopposed elect Vice Presidents of the union, which could be conveniently raised by the appellants, who were the members of the union by filing application/objections before the Registrar of Trade Unions, who had been invested with the powers by subsection (6) of S.9 of the Industrial Relations Act, 2012 to direct for holding of fresh election, in case there was a dispute in relation to the change of office-bearers and could also accord approval of the change of the officers of the trade union as a consequence of the internal election of the union

After the poll for the office of the Chairman of the union, the election result along with all other papers and documents were yet to be submitted to the learned Registrar Trade Union to accord approval of the change of the officers of the union or to direct for holding fresh election as the case may be, therefore, the Commission had not pre-empted the jurisdiction vesting in the Registrar Trade Union at that stage of the election process being reached to its final peak after a long litigation between the parties in respect of the internal election of the union, inasmuch as the candidates who were contesting for the office of the Chairman of the union had not even been impleaded as respondents in the appeal or in application for interim relief

Appeal was dismissed in limine.