SC grants relief to daily wagers and casual workers of MSRTC

New Delhi, Mar 4 (UNI) In a major relief to the daily wagers of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), the Supreme Court has directed that all the daily wagers and casual workers of MSRTC, who had joined after August 31, 1978, will be entitled to the benefits given to regular employees of the Corporation working on time scale of pay.

While dismissing the appeal of MSRTC, a bench comprising Justices S H Kapadia and B Sudershan Reddy ruled, ''In the circumstances, notwithstanding cancellation of clause 49 of 1956 Settlement, the workmen herein would be entitled to all benefits admissible to regular employees working in the Corporation on time scale of pay provided they satisfy the eligibility criteria of having worked for aggregate service of 180 days subject to their satisfying all the conditions prescribed for their entitlement in terms of the above resolution number 8856 read with clause 19 of 1985 Settlement.'' The court also noted that in the present case, workmen were notseeking absorption and they had reserved their right to seek adjudication in that regard in a separate forum.

The controversy started when one of the workers filed a complaint in Industrial Court at Nagpur alleging that he was appointed as daily wager getting Rs 11.76 per day and had not been regularised to deprive him of the benefits of the regular employees working on time scale of pay despite working continuously without a break.

The Industrial court directed the Corporation to regularise the complainant from the day he had filed the complaint.

UNI