Law: Industrial Relations Ordinance, (XXIII of 1969)

Section: 22(8)(a)

(a) Industrial Relations Ordinance (XXIII of 1969) S. 22(8)(a) (before amendment by Ordinance XIX of 1970]-Expression ". and who are not members of a Trade Union. shall be excluded from these lists"-Word "and"-Intended to connect two clauses or qualifications and to be construed conjunctively unless context Indicates to contrary-Registrar, Trade Unions including in list of voters' names of (i) all workmen who were members of a Trade Union although their period of employment less than 3 months and (ii) workmen who were not members of a Trade Union but whose period of employment was more than 3 months-Registrar, Trade Unions, held, acted within law. (b) Interpretation of statutes Punctuation-Not an essential part of statute and does not control its meaning. Date of hearing: 27th September 1971.   JUDGMENT ANWARUL HAQ, C. J.--This petition under Article 98 of the Constitution seeks to challenge the validity of the inclusion of certain names in the list of voters prepared by the Registrar of Trade Unions for the purpose of holding a secret ballot under section 22 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, so as to determine and declare the collective bargaining agent as between the two rival Unions, namely, the P. D. H. Laboratories Employees and Workers' Union and the P. D. H. Laboratories Employees and Labourers' Union. The secret ballot was to be held on the 23rd of June 1970, By an interim order made by this Court on the 22nd of June 1970, it was directed that the election may be held but the result would not be declared during the pendency of this petition. As a consequence it is not known as to which of the two contending Unions has obtained a majority of votes. 2. The grievance of the petitioner-Union is that the respondent-Union is a pocket Union registered for the sole purpose of depriving the petitioner fro A being declared the collective bargaining agent for the Industrial Establishment concerned, and that for this purpose at least seventy-two persons were specially employed and made members of the respondent Union, and on that basis included in the voters' list although their period of employment in the…