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TMI Blog1975 (10) TMI 109X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to interfere with the order of the Industrial Tribunal passed under section 73B of the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 (briefly the Act). The respondent is a public limited company having its registered office at Bombay and its factory at Jamshedpur in the State of Bihar. The Act is applicable to the company s factory. Besides regular employees in the company, there are two sets of apprentices, namely, graduate apprentices for a period of two years and trade apprentices for the duration of three years. The graduate apprentices receive stipend of ₹ 250.00 per month in the first year and ₹ 300.00 per month during the second year. The trade apprentices receive stipend at the rate of ₹ 2.00, ₹ 2.50 and ₹ 3.00 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ly covenant with the company as follows:- (i) That the apprentice will during the whole of the said term of three years of training diligently and faithfully serve the company and to the utmost power and skill attend to the company s business at such places and times as the company or its representatives shall direct. * * * * * (v) The apprentice shall immediately on the satisfactory completion of his training for the full term of three years serve the company for a period of five years, if so required by the company on such conditions as the company may offer having regard to his personal qualifications or acquirements and complying with the Rules Regulations as are contained in the Works Standing Orders of the company . With ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng . While dealing with the nature of the relationship of master and servant in comparison with other relationships in Halsbury s Laws of England, Third edition, Volume 25, the following passage appears at para 877, pages 451-452: By a contract of apprenticeship a person is bound to another for the purpose of learning a trade or calling, the apprentice undertaking to serve the master for the purpose of being taught, and the master undertaking to teach the apprentice. Where teaching on the part of master or learning on the part of the other person is not the primary but only an incidental object, the contract is one of service rather than of apprenticeship; but, if the right of receiving instruction exists, a contract does not become ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .. . Learning of craft or trade was the essence of the said legislation. This Act was repealed by section 38 of the Apprentices Act, 1961. The object of 1961 Act is to provide for the regulation and control of training of Apprentices in trades and for matters connected therewith. By the definition clause under this Act, namely, section 2(a) apprentice means a person who is undergoing apprenticeship training in a designated trade in pursuance of a contract of apprenticeship . It is, therefore, inherent in the word apprentice that there is no element of employment as such in a trade or industry but only an adequate well-guarded provision for training to enable the trainee after completion of his course to be suitably absorbed in earni ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ppellants claim for charging the company with liability for payment of special contribution under Chapter VA of the Act in respect of the apprentice will be justified. We may, therefore, turn to the definition of employee under section 2(9) of the Act. So far as is material, section 2(9) reads as follows:- employee means any person employed for wages in or in connection with the work of a factory or establishment to which this Act applies and- (i) who is directly employed by the principal employer in any work of, or incidental or preliminary to or connected with the work of, the factory or establishment, whether such work is done by the employee in the factory or establishment or elsewhere..... It is clear that in order ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... apprentice is an employee within the meaning of section 2(9) of the Act. Incidentally we may note that section 18 of the Apprentices Act, 1961, provides that- save as otherwise provided in this Act, every apprentice undergoing apprenticeship training in a designated trade in an establishment shall be a trainee and not a worker.... The concept of apprenticeship is, therefore, fairly known and has now been clearly recognised in the Apprentices Act. Apart from that, as we have noticed earlier, the terms and conditions under which these apprentices are engaged or not give any scope for holding that they are employed in the work of the company or in connection with its work for wages within the meaning of section 2(9) of the Act. The app ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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