Mumbai, Feb 4 (UNI) The Supreme Court has strongly criticized the practice of hiring workers on daily wage contracts to evade providing permanent benefits, reaffirming that long-serving temporary workers in sanctioned positions cannot be denied regular employment solely due to their initial temporary appointments.
A bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale, was hearing an appeal by gardeners (Malis) employed by the Horticulture Department of Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam from 1998 to 1999.
The workers alleged they were denied appointment letters, minimum wages, statutory benefits, and job security despite years of continuous service. In 2005, their services were abruptly terminated without notice or compensation.
The Court set aside the High Court's decision, which had allowed only their re-engagement on daily wages.
Justice Nath, delivering the judgment, emphasized that the perennial nature of municipal work required regular employment and condemned the exploitation of workers through perpetual temporary classifications.
"Municipal work is by nature ongoing and essential. Denying long-serving workers regularization amounts to exploitation. Employers cannot justify such engagements by invoking Uma Devi," the Court observed.
The Court clarified that the 2006 State of Karnataka versu Uma Devi precedent, which restricted claims for permanent employment without sanctioned vacancies, cannot be used to shield exploitative practices.
"Uma Devi cannot serve as a shield to justify exploitative engagements persisting for years without the
employer undertaking legitimate recruitment," the bench remarked.
The judgment highlighted that the employer's failure to produce complete employment records despite directions justified an adverse inference in favour of the workmen.
The Court concluded that workers fulfilling ongoing municipal roles year after year must not be dismissed as dispensable, both morally and legally.
UNI SNG SS