Chennai, Jan 24 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Greater Chennai Corporation to formulate a comprehensive scheme for bringing the persons working under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) scheme, who are employed continuously for considerable length of time without any break, on a regular scale of pay or wages which is rationale, reasonable and equitable.

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While formulating the scheme, the authorities shall take into account the work that is being extracted from these workers and also the time scale of pay that is being paid to the regular employees for doing the same work, Justice V Pathiban said.

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The Corporation shall pass appropriate orders formulating a viable scheme within 12 weeks. It shall also ensure that the inconsiderate and frugal wages paid to them as on date are revised suitably towards their alleviation, the judge added and directed it to pay the minimum wages fixed by the government in respect of conservancy/sanitary workers and on such fixation continue to pay to the NULM workers, who are members of the petitioner-union, in the interregnum.

The judge was disposing of a writ petition from the Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam by its president K Bharathy today. The members of the petitioner-union have been employed continuously for several years in NULM and work has been extracted from them continuously and without any break or interruption as their work is of perennial nature and not seasonal or temporary.

According to the petitioner-union, the NULM workers have been employed for years together, but unfortunately, they have not been paid the minimum wage that is made applicable to such conservancy/sanitary workers employed on regular basis by the State government. As of April 1, 2019, the NULM workers have been paid only Rs 391 per day by the Corporation whereas the same conservancy/sanitary worker in the permanent establishment is being paid basic pay of Rs 13,000- plus the DA of Rs 4,023 totaling Rs 17,023 per month. The judge observed the civic body, as a model employer, is expected to protect the weakest sections while employing them and it cannot exploit their labour. When the Corporation is involved in engaging contract or scheme workers, such workers cannot be meted out stepmotherly treatment in the matter of payment of wages to them. The court cited what Mahatma Gandhi had said: 'A nation's greatness must be measured by how it treats its weakest members.'

The Corporation is duty-bound to address the legitimate grievances of the workers with all earnestness and empathy in regard to their entitlement of wages and conferment of minimum monetary benefits on them. It cannot throw up its hands contending they form a different class of workers and it has no responsibility at all to heed to their cry.

Such stereotype, callous stand of the Corporation is opposed to a fair play, good conscience and justice. The State and its Corporations are constitutionally bound to adopt fair method and means to treat its last grade servants and must ensure that within the available resources, those workers are to be adequately compensated. The Corporation ought not to lose sight of the fact that these workers are integral and essential part of the maintenance of the City. Their day-to-day invaluable contribution for the upkeep of the city is indispensable for every citizen of this burgeoning city to lead a robust lifestyle in a wholesome environment, the judge said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)