The Supreme Court has canceled the notification issued by the Gujarat government regarding the workers. In fact, the notification issued by the state government stated that the workers would have to do additional work without paying overtime wages. The Supreme Court ruled that the Corona epidemic has worsened the state of the economy, in such a way that laborers are not given fair wages. Also, the apex court also ordered payment of overtime from 19 April to 20 July.
A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, hearing the matter, said that the workers faced severe economic challenges during the Corona lockdown. The workers had to lose their livelihood. The bench said that the law cannot be used against the right to life and forced labor.
In fact, the 17 April notification issued by the state government stated that industries are exempted from certain conditions mandated under the Factory Act during the period of lockdown. In this, workers will be given a 30-minute break after an interval of 6 hours and further work will be done for 6 hours. That is, the laborer will have to work for 12 hours.
The notification stated that he would be paid normal wages only for the overtime work done by the laborer. This notification was issued under Section 5 of the Factory Act, which allows the government to exempt factories from the purview of the Factory Act during the event of a public emergency.
According to this section, a public emergency means a serious emergency situation that endangers India's security whether it is war or external aggression or internal disturbances.
The court said that the government cannot exempt industries under Section 5, as the epidemic cannot be considered a public emergency. Also, the court directed that during the period of April 20 to July 19, all laborers should be paid overtime wages paid by them.