In a shot in the arm for labour rights, the Maharashtra Commissioner of Labour has issued a circular directing all public as well as private sector organisations not to terminate services of employees and workers due to their inability to report to work at the workplace due to the Covid-19 outbreak related quarantine measures. The circular also forbids reduction in wages and salaries due to the same.
The social distancing measures put in place to check the spread of the Corona Virus epidemic also included suspension of construction projects in many areas. Most construction workers are daily wagers who depend on cash ever day to put food on the table. They are largely migrant workers who move from one project site to another and live in makeshift shanties nearby. In the absence of daily wages starvation is a stark possibility for them.
Then there are of course middle-class, white-collar workers from IT, finance and other service sectors. They are all working from home. Some are permanent employees, others work on contract. They all have fixed expenses as well as EMIs, that require a monthly influx of fresh funds in the bank via their salaries. By addressing both the public sector as well as the private sector, the Labour Commissioner has attempted to allay the fears of workers and employees from various socio-economic groups.
On Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also passed similar orders while announcing a statewide lockdown. Kejriwal said, “Private offices will remain shut, but employees, both permanent and contract workers, are to be considered on duty and should be paid.”
The circular issued by Maharashtra Labour Commissioner Dr. Mahendra Kalyankar may be read here:
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