Unions must be heard in labour disputes: SC
AI pilots to go on strike from midnight
Friday, September 25, 2009, New Delhi: Just days after Jet Airways pilots resumed work after going on a strike, about 300 pilots of Air India have decided to strike work from midnight tonight in protest against the decision of airlines to slash incentives by 50%.
Yesterday, Air India Board had approved up to 50 percent cut in the Productivity-Linked Incentives (PLIs) for the airline's officers and executives.
"Air India has to save Rs 800 crore in a year to get the financial package. Since PLI itself amounts to around Rs 1,500 crore per year by way of reducing it by up to 50 percent, the company will save around Rs 750 crore a year," sources said earlier in the day.
Air India is seeking a bailout package in the form of equity infusion and soft loan from the government.
Army Major killed in J&K cremated
Hyderabad, September 25, 2009: The mortal remains of Major J Suresh Suri, who was killed in a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir, were consigned to flames at Bansilalpet crematorium here today.
Major Suri (30), a native of Hyderabad, was killed in a fierce gunfighting with militants at Bandipora in north Kashmir on Wednesday.
Amid slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Major Suresh Suri Amar Rahe' a huge procession with Suri's photo on a flower-decked Army vehicle carrying his mortal remains in a coffin draped in tricolour was brought to Bansilalpet crematorium here.
The last rites were performed with full military honours at about 11.30 am.
Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy and senior Army officials placed wreaths on Suri's body and paid tributes at his house in Vani Nagar in Malkajgiri here this morning.
Scores of locals and Suri's friends, relatives and family members also bid a tearful adieu to the departed soul.
The Major's body was flown to Delhi from Srinagar after military honours and brought to city last night. Suri is survived by wife S Pallavi and mother Girija.
Indian accused of terror financing booked for hawala op
September 25, 2009, New Delhi: An Indian businessman accused of terror financing by Homeland Security of the US was today booked by Enforcement Directorate for running an alleged hawala operation to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore.
Jain's residence was searched by sleuths of Enforcement Directorate during which they claimed to have recovered an unaccounted cash of Rs 60 lakh from his residence in Pitampura of North Delhi, official sources said.
They said the searches were carried out on eight premises of Jain, who was accused of being a mastermind hawala dealer. His operations are believed to be spread over Nigeria, Italy, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Bolivia, Congo and Cooks Island among many other countries.
Jain, booked under Foreign Exchange Management Act, was arrested by Dubai police along with his associate in 2007 as part of their crackdown on money launderers following inputs from Homeland Security and UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency that he was allegedly involved in laundering drug money for various terror groups.
The ED also claimed that Jain along with his brothers Bimal and Satpal used to undertake hawala operations for underworld don and global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and even for Al-Qaeda.
Jain or his brothers was not immediately available for comment.
Besides the Rs 60 lakh, the ED also claimed to have found foreign currency worth a little over Rs three lakh, documents showing foreign bank accounts, unaccounted investment and hawala transactions worth several thousand crore of rupees.
Papers showing transactions of several crores of rupees with different Pakistan and Afghanistan based persons and entities were also found and seized, the ED said.
It was also alleged that Jain has been operating a worldwide network of money laundering for organised group of all ethnicities and a range of criminality including drug trafficking and fraud.
The ED claimed that that Jain was working in tandem with a large number of other hawala operators based in Delhi and other places in India and abroad.
It was also alleged that Jain was using certain companies and accounts in New York for depositing proceeds of crime (drug money) and transferring the funds so generated illegally to drug barons in locations such as Turkey.
The ED has already identified about 40 front companies used by Jain for his money laundering activities with more companies suspected to have being set up by him, sources said.
Jain, who also owns a copper mine in Congo, had moved to India six months ago. In his statement given to ED, Jain is alleged to have admitted to send telegraphic transactions for a large number of importers and exporters in India and abroad.
Earlier in 2006, Italian authorities in collaboration with US Drug Enforcement Administration and SOCA had first come to know about Jain's activities through a sting operation called "Operation Khyber Pass".
Unions must be heard in labour disputes: SC
September 25, 2009, New Delhi: In labour disputes, the aggrieved workmen/unions should be compulsorily heard by the courts, before any order is passed, as otherwise, it would be violation of the "principles of natural justice," the Supreme Court has ruled.
"Labour statutes are meant for the benefit of the workmen. Hence, ordinarily in all cases under labour statutes the workmen, or at least some of them in a representative capacity, or the trade-union representing the workmen concerned must be made a party," a bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and Asok Kumar Ganguly observed.
The apex court passed the ruling while directing the Employees State Insurance (ESI) Court in Travancore to implead (hear) certain workmen who had been refused medical insurance benefits by the Fertilizers Chemicals Travancore Ltd to decide the eligibility of the workmen under the scheme.
Earlier in this case, the ESI court did not pass any ruling in the dispute and the Kerala High Court subsequently directed the company to extend the ESI benefits to the workmen who were working as loading and unloading workers at the company's godown.
However, while deciding the issue, neither the ESI court nor the high court bothered to examine the aggrieved workmen and instead passed their respective orders after hearing ESI Corporation and the company.
