HC rules out pay parity between regular & contractual workers | Business Standard

HC rules out pay parity between regular & contractual workers | Business Standard

Online comments published on May 27, 2013:



M G WARRIER
We cannot expect a human approach from court whose core function is ensuring ‘rule of law’ and blame the bench of justices for interpreting ‘law’ and observing asunder: "There cannot be complete parity between contractual employees and those who undergo selection process and are appointed as regular employees. On the principle of 'same work same pay', if there is complete identity of work between contractual employees and regular employees a court can direct same basic salary and allowances to be paid. "But with reference to one set of persons not having undertaken the selection process and the second set having undertaken the selection process, the court could deny the benefit of increments." But those who are responsible for policy formulation should take note of the disparity in prices, wages and income which are relevant for a class which is rich and powerful and therefore has hold over decisions and options and an entirely different set of parameters for arriving at the prices, wages and income applicable to another class which comprises the majority and have no control over their destiny. Delay in doing this is already resulting in eruptive symptoms. Katherine Boo in her Pulitzer Prize winning book “Behind the beautiful forevers” (Penguin Books) makes this observation: “In places where government priorities and market imperatives create a world so capricious that to help a neighbor is to risk your ability to feed your family, and sometimes even your own liberty, the idea of the mutually supportive poor community is demolished. The poor blame one another for the choices of governments and markets, and we who have means are ready to blame the poor just as harshly.” Remembered this in the context that hairsplitting arguments or lament over ‘legal position’ cannot be a substitute for a human approach to poverty, hunger and deprivation. M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram

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