Interim relief a part of wages

Interim relief granted to employees under a wage board award is part of their wages and the establishment is bound to contribute the statutory share on it to the Employees’ State Insurance Fund, the Supreme Court stated while over ruling the Kerala High Court. In this case, ESI Corporation vs Man gal am Publications, the high court had ruled that the interim relief at the rate of 20 percent on the basic wages awarded to press workers was ex- gratia and not part of the wages. Therefore, the establishment was not obliged to contribute to the fund from that amount. The corporation appealed to the Supreme Court against that view and succeeded. The judgment asserted that according to the definition of wages in the ESI Act, the interim relief was part of the wages. It was not a gift or inam. The Act is welfare legislation and it should be interpreted liberal ly .“In cases where there maybe two or more ways to interpret a statutory provision, the spirit of this legislation warrants a construction that benefits the working class,” the court said.