Illegal For Govt Employees To Participate In Bharat Bandh: Kerala HC

Kochi: In a setback to the two-day Bharat Bandh called by CITU and other trade unions, the Kerala High Court on Monday barred government employees from participating in the 48-hour strike on Monday and Tuesday.

The court directed the government to issue an order to this effect immediately.

A division bench of Chief Justice S Mani Kumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly, which was hearing a petition filed by activist Chandrachoodan Nair, said that government employees’ participation in the strike is illegal. They will not be eligible for pay for the days they abstain from work, the court further said, directing the government to declare ‘no work, no pay’.

Earlier, employees who didn’t turn up for work on days of strike were considered to be on leave and given full pay.

Nair had sought direction from the court to declare participation of government employees in the bandh as unconstitutional. Accusing the state government of encouraging employees to stay away from work, he stated that it would tweak norms to ensure full salaries for absentees.

The state government is likely to move Supreme Court against the High Court’s order.

Normal life was disrupted on the first day of the bandh in Kerala, with most government offices and businesses remaining shut. Just 32 out of 4,824 employees reported to work at the state secretariat, Hindustan Times reported, quoting people aware of the matter.