New Delhi, May 15: Virtually staying the Centre’s direction mandating private companies to pay full salary and wages to their employees and workers during COVID-19 crisis, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered that no coercive action can be taken against employers not complying with the March 29 notification till next week.
The order came on petitions, including one filed by an association of companies from Punjab, challenging the validity of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification mandating payment of full wages to workers during COVID19 lockdown.
“How long can the government expect companies to pay?”a three-judge Bench headed by Justices L Nageswara Rao wondered.
It went on to pass the interim order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought further time to respond to the petition.
While hearing another petition filed by Ficus Pax Ltd, the top court had last month given two weeks to the Centre to place on record its policy on MHA notification directing payment of full salaries/wages to employees/workers during the lockdown.
On behalf of Ludhiana Hand Tools Manufacturer Association, senior advocate Jamshed Cama said companies were shut and they were were under threat of prosecution for non-payment of wages. No coercive action should be taken against the petitioner association for non-payment of wages, he demanded.
While restraining states from taking any coercive action against private companies and factories over non-payment of wages to workers, it asked the Centre to respond to the petitions within a week.
Ludhiana Hand Tools Association has also challenged the validity of Section 10(2)(i) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The provisions of this Act cannot “impinge upon express provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and take away the right to layoff workmen during times of natural calamity, it said.
Terming the MHA order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, as arbitrary, it said the order violated the private companies’ right to carry on any occupation, trade or business guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
“The government has not taken any steps for workforce instead put the burden on employers to pay full wages,” the petitioner said.
