HC orders stay on new health insurance scheme

Chennai, June 30 (UNI) Madras High Court today stayed the order of the State Transport Corporations implementing the new health insurance scheme introduced by the state government for its staff.

Admitting the writ petition filed by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation, Mr Justice N Paul Vasantha Kumar ordered notices to the Secretary of the Transport Department,Managing Directors of State Express Transport Corporation and seven transport corporations and directed them to file counters while posting the case to July four for further hearing.

In his petition, Federation General Secretary A P Anbazhagan submitted the transport corporation employees were contributing Rs five every month towards the existing medical insurance scheme which covered even their parents and family.

Under the new scheme, every worker should pay Rs 25 per month.

Also, parents were not entitled to the benefits if the employees were married,he claimed.

The government had made the new scheme applicable not only to government servants but also to workmen employed in public sector undertakings besides making it compulsory.

''The government has no power to do away with the existing scheme framed under the 12 (3) settlement in the case of Industrial Workmen.

''If they bring a new scheme for the government servants also,based on their request,we could have no objection.

''We are concerned with the deprivation of the benefits available to us under the settlement between the workers union and the coporations,'' he submitted.

The petitioner sought to quash a impugned orders of the corporations for compulsory contribution of Rs 25 every month from each workman towards the new scheme in the place of the old one.

''This is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and Section 9A of Industrial Disputes Act.'' UNI XR GM RL VC2004