The Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to let the court know on April 7 if they will allow all protesting workers to join the organisation by April 15. It also asked employees on strike to resume duty.
The Bombay High Court said that it only wants to ensure that the workers do not lose their livelihood because of the ongoing strike.Thousands of employees of the MSRTC have been on strike since last November demanding that they be treated on par with state government employees and that the cash-strapped transport corporation be merged with the government.
The bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik heard a contempt petition filed by the MSRTC on Wednesday. In the plea, the corporation had demanded action to be initiated against striking workers for not resuming duty despite court orders.
The Bombay High Court asked the corporation to take back its decision to initiate disciplinary action against the errant workers.
“We would request the corporation to review their decision and take them back...Do not terminate services. Do not take away their livelihood,” the chief justice said.
Advocate Aspi Chinoy, appearing for the MSRTC, said that he would have to take instructions from the corporation to know if it can be done for those who resorted to violence and against whom there are FIRs.
“I cannot take my discretion in these matters. There are criminal cases pending… I cannot say I will withdraw them without seeing their nature…,” Chinoy said.
The court, however, requested the organisation to give the “last chance” to their employees.
“You give a date when they have to come back. If they do not come back, then you have the liberty to take action according to law. You are a model employer. During the testing times of Covid, people may not have acted according to their senses. Give them one chance because, after all, you will have to appreciate that when all this was happening it was not normal,” the bench said.
The bench requested Chinoy to advise his client to grant time till April 15 to all the employees, including those who had been punished, to join the organisation back.
The court also told Gunratan Sadavarte, the advocate for the employees on strike, to convey their message to the employees. It also asked Sadavarte to request employees to resume their duty.
“Resume duty. It is unfortunate what has happened, and what happened. But do not lose your livelihood because of this. Let the workers come back to work. Let them not miss their livelihood and, in the broader picture, let the public not suffer,” the chief justice said.
The MSRTC employees went on a strike at midnight on November 3 last year. The corporation had at first approached the high court asking that all employees be directed to refrain from the strike. However, despite many efforts, nothing worked out. Following this, the court appointed a high-level expert panel.
Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bombay-hc-protesting-maharashtra-road-transport-employees-resume-duty-1934546-2022-04-07
