# [1984] 1 S.C.R. 251 - **Citation:** [1984] 1 S.C.R. 251 - **Court:** Supreme Court of India - **Decided:** 1983-10-06 - **Bench:** D.A. Desai, 0. Chjnnappa Reddy, A. Varadarajan - **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/1984-1-s-c-r-251-8436 - **Pages:** 24 ## Headnote 251 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 formulalfno comparable industries in the region-Regional aspect to be given precedence. 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 ·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 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 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 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 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. , · · · A B c D E 11 G H. A -· B c .D E F .. G H SUPRllME COuRT REPORTS [1984] l s.c.R. Allowfug the appeal and fixing the age of retirement at 60 years, b7 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 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 4 Iabour relations need 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] 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 J63, re/erred to. Iμ the. instant ,,-case, the: Company did not pl ## Text _Characters 0–39,818 of 61,275. This is a partial read: ask again with offset=39818 for what follows._ • .f • '"""' . - I •• WORKMEN 01' THE BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD. (REFINING 'DIVISION) BOMBAY v • BHARAT PETROLEUM <;ORPORATION . LTD, AND AN6THER October 6, 1983 (D.A. DESAI, 0. CHJNNAPPA REDDY AND A. VARADARAJAN, JJ.] 251 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 formulalfno comparable industries in the region-Regional aspect to be given precedence. 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 ·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 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 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 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 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. , · · · A B c D E 11 G H. A -· B c .D E F .. G H SUPRllME COuRT REPORTS [1984] l s.c.R. Allowfug the appeal and fixing the age of retirement at 60 years, b7 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 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 4 Iabour relations need 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] 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 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 further raise of the age of'retirement may be Considered neceEsary and justified. . ~~TM~ 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 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 superannuation 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 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-cumindustry 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; ' \ • - - • I • f 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 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 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· 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 (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 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 .e c D E Guest Keim Williams Private Ltd. v. Sterling and Ors. 195~ (II) L.L.J. 405; F JJurmah Shell (Delhi region) (1971) (I) L.L.J. 363 referred to. •' 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 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 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 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 · G B '' A B c D E F ' G H • 254 (198ll) I s.c.11.. Unfortunately, vei'y limited material is available o~ record for arriving 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 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 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 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, 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 ' Appellants. G.B. Pai, O.C. Mathur, S. Kumqran, Ms. Meera Mathur, D.N. Misra for the Respondents. The followfug Judgments were delivered by 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 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 \ • -\ A • - \ j ., .. - WORKMEN v. BHARAT PETROLEUM (Chinn/Jppa keddy, J.) 255 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 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 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 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 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. In fixing the age of retirement, several f~ctors have to be taken 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('), British Paints (India) Ltd. v. Its Workmen('), G.M. Talang {I) [196011 S.C.R. 348. (2) [19601 2 S.C.R. 51. (3) [1961] 2 S.C.R. 349. (4) (1966] 2 S.C.R. 523. B c D E F G H 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.(') B c n· E F G H Guest, Keen Williams Private Ltd. v. P. J,. Sterling & Others(') was a case from Calcutta and it may npt be useful to 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 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 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 · ·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 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('). · 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_,, notwithstanding the fact that i11 the previous agreement, the retirement age was ... (5) [1964) 7 S.C.R. 426. (6) [1970) I L.L.J. 363. • .. i ' ~' - • 'f. I ~- \ / 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 through out India, that in the case of the large majority employed ·outside Bombay, the age of retirement ·was· 55 and, therefore, the 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 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· 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 aervice of an· all-India concern are uniform. Besides, however, desirable uniformity may be in the case of a!JIndia 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 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 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 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." 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 B c D E p G H A 8 c D E ll' G ff sili>REME COURT REPORTS [i984) 1 s.c.~. of service of other workmen in'the employment of the very company elsewhere. · In Imperial Chemical Industries (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. The .Workmen, Gafendragadkar, J observed·: ' "It is generally recognised in industrial adjudication that where an employer a - .. \ \ ·- I , I ~ ' 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 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 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 circumstances 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". 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 A B c the report of the Norms Committee, a Committee on which both employers and employees of .ihe Bombay region were represented0· 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·· 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:- "This considered .opinion of a Committee on which both employers and employees were represented emphasi· sed t,he fact that in the Bombay region, at least there is a general agreement that the ~ge of retirement should be fixed at 60.'.' 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 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 E F G B A c D E . fil G H SUPRilMB COURT REPORTS [!984} l s.c.a. that life cxi:>ectation has greatly increased in recent years due to healthier living conditions, better food 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 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 .......... ....;, ............................................................ . . ~ ......... ~ ... ,,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 determining. the other conditions of .service. of workmen, the principle of region-cum-industry is by and large the determinatiwe factor ..................... ~ ........................ . " .......................................................................... · "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 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 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 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 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 j , . . ~ woii.KMEN Y. BllARAT PETROLEUM (Chinnappli Reddy; J.) 26-i that there· has been much progress in the last two decades in. the matter of better living conditions and availability of medical and 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 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 generation. The effect of increasing or decreasing the age of retirement 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 Company's case and other ca•eS, because of better conditions of livino and availability of medical and· health facilities, the average 0 • 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' 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 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 unemployment 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 ' study. We cannot properly answer them nor is there any evidence on these points. The co~nsel, we must say _in fairness, refrained A B c D E F G B A 8 • c D E F G H SUPREMS COURT REPOtl.rS fl984) i S.C.R. . from arguing that the retirement age should not be raised .because 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, 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:- "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 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· 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 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 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 be fixed at 60 years. > Shri G.B. Pai, learned counsel for the· Respondent·Corporation drew our attention to the circumstances that the new scales of pay \ , • ' ~1 ) •• r ' WORKMEN v. BHARAT PETROLEUM (Chinnoppa Reddy, J.) 263 of the clerical staff of the Refinery Division of the RespondentCorporation compared favourably with the scales of pay of the 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 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 irrelevant .consideration unless he could assert that the wage structure 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 ·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 present purpose to say that the Tribunal did not base its conclusion on this circumstance. 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 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 .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 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 : (1) [1964] I L.L.J. 34J. (2) [1962111 L.L J. 352. (3) [1962] II L.L.J. 744. A B c D E F G H B c D F G H , - 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· 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 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 particularly 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 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, 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 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 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 - 1 . 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 whatever 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 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 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 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 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, (I) (1969j II L.L.J. 398. B c D ' G u / •• A B SUPREME CotJllT REPORTS (1984) 1 S.C.R, Shri Pai informed us that eveu in the case of the clerical stafl' 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. 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 D E G H . against the award dated 1.7.1980 made by the Industrial Tribunal, Bombay in I. T. No.