The Hindu : Tribunal stays cut in hospital workers' salary

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 28, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Tribunal stays cut in hospital workers' salary

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI JUNE 27. The Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal has stayed a GO, which seeks to privatise security, catering and sanitation services in government hospitals, and to limit the salaries of daily wage workers in Group D category at Rs. 2,000.

The Tribunal vice-chairman, Justice, I. David Christian, granted the interim injunction on Thursday, on a petition filed by 41 `badli workers' working in various government hospitals, pointing out that these workers were in employment on daily wages for the past more than 15 years.

"There has been a number of decisions by the High Court and the Supreme Court directing regularisation of daily rated workers who have been working continuously for five or 10 years. The present GO seems to be against the well-settled proposition. Therefore, interim stay is granted restraining the respondents from stopping the workers from their work." The judge then posted the matter for July 17.

The petitioners, in the `substitute workers' category, were scavengers, sweepers, gardeners, nursing assistants, etc., from 1988 onwards. Appointed through the employment exchanges, their salaries ranged from Rs. 2,550 to 3,550, and they were getting medical allowance and other benefits of government servants.

R. Shanmugasundaram, Rajya Sabha member and senior counsel, argued that they were in continuous service for more than 15 years, and despite a GO to regularise their services, and another specifying the modalities for regularisation, the government hospital managements had them as substitute workers.

"Instead of regularising the services, a new GO was issued on May 21, 2003 to outsource the services in various Group D posts." Consequently, the staff strength was brought down, the applicants said. They said they would lose more than Rs. 1,000 if the proposed cap on the consolidated salary was given effect.

They sought to set aside the impugned order, and prayed for a direction regularising their services in Group D posts available in various government hospitals.

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