ISSUE:
Whether a trade union can be held liable for damages caused by an illegal strike?
Whether the High Court was justified in rejecting the portion of the award that directed compensation payment by the workers to the management?
RULE:
A trade union cannot be held liable for damages caused by an illegal strike as it is a collective body, and individual members cannot be made accountable for the actions of a few.
Employers are not entitled to compensation for losses incurred during a strike, and such claims fall outside the scope of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Compensation claims by employers against workers are not industrial disputes under the Industrial Disputes Act, and cannot be settled through arbitration unless the claim is specifically part of an industrial dispute.
The right to strike is fundamental and any employer's right to claim compensation for losses must be balanced against this right.