1. The petitioners have preferred the present petition under Article 226 of Constitution of India seeking directions to restrain respondent No.1 from disengaging the petitioners from their services till the decision/ disposal of the petition under Section 10(2) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as „CLRA Act‟) filed by the petitioners, which is pending before respondent No.3, Central Advisory Contract Labour Board, New Delhi.
2. Succinctly stating, the facts as borne out from the petition are that the petitioners are working as workers with the respondent No.1 without any break for a long period of time. Respondent No.1 keeps on changing the nomenclature of the petitioners. The contractors of respondent No.1 are appointed on the basis of license of surveyors. The petitioners, though, are working for respondent No.1, the contractors who actually do not have the license for keeping the petitioners are being used by respondent No.1 to show that the petitioners are employees of those contractors. For the period 2002- 2003, „Unique Marine Services‟ was the contractor for respondent No.1 for allegedly engaging the petitioners for the work of respondent No.1. During the period 2003-2008 the work of surveyor was given to the contractor namely „Master Marine Company‟. The work of equipment operators was given to the contractor namely „Computec Ltd.‟. After 2008 till 2010 the petitioners were managed by the contractor by the name of „Metcalfe & Hodgkinson Pvt. Ltd.‟, which has the license of surveyor and not for equipment operators. Further, from the period 2010-2011, a company by the name of „Concept Marine Pvt. Ltd.‟ which had a license of surveyor was used for employing the petitioners by the respondent No.1. However, the said company had abandoned respondent No.1. For the period for which the petitioners worked for respondent No.1, it paid the salaries directly to the workers. Further, in the year 2011 a company by the name of „Icon Marine‟ was kept by respondent No.1 for sometime, which was essentially a sham company and did not have requisite legal existence. From 2011 till 2015 the contract has been given to „Metcalfe & Hodgkinson Pvt. Ltd.‟ which has the license of surveyor. The respondent No.1 is using the said company for the workers, although the said company has been essentially kept for the purposes of the surveyor. The petitioners are working with respondent No.1 since 2002-2003.