Law: Industrial Relations Act, 2012

Section: 33(1), 33(2), 33(3), 33(4), 33(5)

Law: Constitution of Pakistan 1973

Section: 199

Precise Summary The petitioner, a long-serving employee of United Bank Limited (UBL), was compulsorily retired on September 29, 2021. Following his retirement, he submitted a grievance application in the form of a departmental appeal to the President of the Bank. When the grievance remained unaddressed, he filed a grievance petition before the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC). However, both the Single Bench and the Appellate Bench of the NIRC dismissed his petition summarily on technical grounds. The NIRC held that an appeal addressed to the President of the Bank did not constitute a valid "grievance notice" under Section 33 of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA), 2012, and asserted that the notice should have been directed specifically to the "Appointing Authority." The Peshawar High Court, exercising its constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199, set aside the NIRC’s orders and remanded the case. The Court held that Section 33 of the IRA, 2012 does not prescribe a specific form or proforma for a grievance notice; it can be validly submitted as an appeal, representation, or review. The Court emphasized that labor laws are beneficial statutes intended to protect workers who may not be well-versed in legal technicalities. Furthermore, the Court ruled that since the President of the Bank is the primary employer, a notice served within that hierarchy is sufficient. If a notice is sent to the "wrong" authority within the same organization, that authority is duty-bound to forward it to the correct forum rather than dismissing the worker's claim on a technicality. Tagline Technicalities cannot override substantive justice; a departmental appeal addressed to the head of an institution constitutes a valid grievance notice under Section 33 of the Industrial Relations Act, 2012, and the department is duty-bound to redirect it to the appropriate internal forum. ORDER; IJAZ ANWAR, J. This Writ petition has been filed under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, with the following prayer:- “It is therefore, most humbly prayed that on acceptance of this Writ Petition, the…