Four
Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) drivers and conductors who were
declared "unfit" and discharged from service, only to be later
appointed afresh on a lower pay, are all set to get back their
seniority, back wages and protection of salary, thanks to an order of
the Madras high court.
Justice M Venugopal, allowing the pleas of four persons, said the crew who suffered disabilities in the course of their employment could not be removed from service or subjected to a reduction in rank on the ground of disability. He said the authorities should pay all mandatory benefits to the affected employees within two months.
In their petitions, drivers V Palani, B V Lakshmanan and G Visweswaran and conductor M Elumalai said they were rendered medically "unfit" for their respective jobs under different circumstances, and the medical board passed relevant orders. After being discharged from service, they were later allowed to join as non-ITI helper, which carries a much lower payscale than a driver or a conductor. Also, they were shown as fresh recruits. Noting that they were losing several thousand rupees every month as salary, they said they have already lost their seniority in service and backwages. Two of them did not receive any salary for the period between their discharge and re-appointment.
The MTC said all the four employees accepted the offer of lower post and payscale without any complaint and that they had also given in writing that they accepted so on their own volition. They had not challenged the discharge orders and hence their petitions should be dismissed, it said.
Justice Venugopal, rejecting MTC's contention, referred to various United Nations treatises and conventions, besides Section 47 of the Persons with Disabilities (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, 1995, which mandated that no employer could remove from service or reduce rank and pay of employees who had acquired disabilities.
Source : TOI , 8th June 2014
Justice M Venugopal, allowing the pleas of four persons, said the crew who suffered disabilities in the course of their employment could not be removed from service or subjected to a reduction in rank on the ground of disability. He said the authorities should pay all mandatory benefits to the affected employees within two months.
In their petitions, drivers V Palani, B V Lakshmanan and G Visweswaran and conductor M Elumalai said they were rendered medically "unfit" for their respective jobs under different circumstances, and the medical board passed relevant orders. After being discharged from service, they were later allowed to join as non-ITI helper, which carries a much lower payscale than a driver or a conductor. Also, they were shown as fresh recruits. Noting that they were losing several thousand rupees every month as salary, they said they have already lost their seniority in service and backwages. Two of them did not receive any salary for the period between their discharge and re-appointment.
The MTC said all the four employees accepted the offer of lower post and payscale without any complaint and that they had also given in writing that they accepted so on their own volition. They had not challenged the discharge orders and hence their petitions should be dismissed, it said.
Justice Venugopal, rejecting MTC's contention, referred to various United Nations treatises and conventions, besides Section 47 of the Persons with Disabilities (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, 1995, which mandated that no employer could remove from service or reduce rank and pay of employees who had acquired disabilities.
Source : TOI , 8th June 2014
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