Special Correspondent
In Chennai and Dindigul divisions of transport corporations
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has restrained the transport authorities from terminating the services of 519 drivers and conductors, who are working on daily wage basis in Chennai and Dindigul divisions of transport corporations.
Granting an order of status quo ante as on July 7, a Division Bench comprising Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla and Justice S. Tamilvanan, adjourned the matter by a week for further proceedings. The State Transport Employees’ Union, which had filed the writ petition, submitted that the Transport Department and the respective transport corporations were resorting to unfair labour practice by denying employment to workmen. R. Vaigai, counsel for the petitioner-association, said when members of the union were in service for years the Corporations could not go in for direct recruitment of drivers and conductors without first granting permanency of service to these workmen. A Division Bench had passed an order to this effect on December 18, 1997, she contended. The petitioner- union said, “any action of the respondent-Corporation to appoint drivers and conductors from the open market without first permanently absorbing the petitioner-workmen would be illegal, unfair, unreasonable and violative of fundamental rights of the members.”
The union maintained that the Corporations were deliberately denying works to its members.
