Court orders for workers’ reinstatement flouted

The GST, Central Excise and Customs Chief Commissioner has allegedly illegally terminated the services of 104 workers, who had served the department continuously for 15 to 20 years as casual labourers.

Though the Central Government Industrial Tribunal and Labour Court, Bhubaneswar directed for reinstatement of the retrenched workers within one month of its order, the department preferred appeal against it in the Orissa High Court, which again directed the department to pay the workers the old dues and submit an affidavit in the court. But the authorities are defying the court orders and dragging their feet on the issue for the last five years and planning to move the Supreme Court to buy time and harass the workers.

However, in similar cases several recent judgments of the Supreme Court had come in the workers’ favour. Even, the apex court has clearly directed the lower courts to deal matters not having enough merit on point of law themselves without wasting resources of the apex court.

The retrenched workers belong to all classes and categories of the society. While 31 belong to the General category, 33 to OBC, 28 to SC, nine to ST and three belong to the minority community.

All of them are poor as far as their financial status is concerned.

They were getting daily wages of Rs 265 per day for average 20 to 22 working days a month, earning around Rs 5,500 per month to manage their families.

It is pertinent to mention that the GST authorities are bent on proving the retrenched workers as ‘Contractual Labour’ in place of ‘Casual Labour’ and has engaged more than 100 persons for the same job through a contractor. As per the direction of the High Court, the department has to pay the workers one day or other, meaning that the department will have to make double payment for the same work which is against national interest.

In the meantime, three of the retrenched workers have died due to poverty, other sufferings and ailments. In a welfare state, guardians of justice should not act against the interest of the poor deprived sections and justice should be availed from the system itself, not through the judiciary, opine the workers.