The Hindu : Strike an invaluable right: Sorabjee

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 11, 2003

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Strike an invaluable right: Sorabjee

New Delhi Aug. 10. The Attorney-General, Soli J. Sorabjee, today came out strongly against the Supreme Court's ruling on the right to strike, saying its observations that Government employees have ``no moral or equitable right to go on strike'' were ``uncalled for'' and ``beyond comprehension''.

He said the right of collective bargaining and ancillary right to strike was an invaluable right of employees. ``It was secured after years of toil and effort.''

Taking an overall view of the working conditions in India, the Attorney-General said, ``there can be horrendous situations in which the employees have no effective mechanism for redressal of their grievances and are left with no option but to resort to strike.''

But Mr. Sorabjee was in agreement with the view of the court that strikes caused grave inconvenience to public.

``It is undeniable that strikes cause grave inconvenience to public and also damage smooth functioning of administration,'' he told PTI when his views on the recent judgment were sought.

When it was pointed out that the apex court as far back as 1962 had held employees or trade unions have no fundamental right to go on strike, the Attorney-General said workers comprise a considerable section of society and the means of redressing their grievances and hardships must also be kept in mind.

``One must not forget that employers can be unreasonable at time and are also intransient and insensitive to fair demands of employees,'' he said.

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