Is Tata Power Responsible for Unpaid Wages? Seeking Advice on Employer Duties

I am working for a security guard agency as an operations manager. We had a contract for supplying security guards with Tata Power Mumbai. However, our Managing Director failed to pay the salaries to the guards who worked at Tata Power, and Tata Power also did not pay the cheques to our company. As a result, our guards have not received wages for the last six months, and the contract has been discontinued. I humbly request you to provide me with some suggestions on how Tata Power is responsible for the guards' wages.

Regards,
Puneeth S Kumar
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Kindly see Section 21(4) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, which is reproduced as follows:

"In case the contractor fails to make payment of wages within the prescribed period or makes short payment, then the principal employer shall be liable to make payment of wages in full or unpaid balance due, as the case may be, to the contract labour employed by the contractor and recover the amount so paid from the contractor either by deduction from any amount payable to the contractor under any contract or as a debt payable by the contractor."

In view of the above, in my opinion, the principal employer to which the contractor employees were working is also equally responsible for payment of wages to the security contractor employees.

Section 3(2) of The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 is also helpful and relevant in the matter.

Perhaps the Manager of such Security Contract establishment may also be treated as the principal employer under section 2(g)(iv) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, as mentioned above, and responsible for payment of wages to the labour.