The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the enforcement of union home ministry's order asking employers to pay full
wages to their workers during the
lockdown over the
COVID-19 pandemic
An apex court bench of Justices N V Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai ordered that no coercive action should be taken against any private company till next week, after the Centre sought some more time to file its reply to pleas challenging it
The bench was hearing a batch of petitions filed last month-end by the three private firms, including
Nagreeka Exports Limited and Ficus
Pax Private Ltd, against the order by the
Ministry of Home Affairs saying they suffered losses worth crores due to the closing down of factories.
The plea had challenged the constitutional validity of the Government Order issued on March 29, 2020 - four days after the nation wide lockdown came into effect - saying it violated Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.
"All the employers, be it in the industry or in the shops and commercial establishments, shall make payment of wages of their workers, at their workplaces, on the due date, without any deduction, for the period their establishments are under closure during lockdown period, " the
MHA order had said.