Image Courtesy:livelaw.in
The Delhi High Court has issued bailable warrants against the President and Secretary of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)’s Swachhta Karamchari Union for failing to appear before the court in an application filed by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation against strikes and garbage dumping on roads by sanitation workers to protest the non-payment of salaries, reported LiveLaw.
The Division Bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said that while the sanitation workers have allegedly not been paid salaries, bonus, pensions and other grievances, it would not tolerate any “indiscipline”.
Previously, the High Court had directed the Presidents of two Municipal Corporation of Delhi unions- the MCD Swachhta Karamchari Union and the All Municipal Corporations Staff Union – to present themselves before the court.
While the President for the All-Municipal Corporations Staff Union appeared before the court, the other party failed to present themself, compelling the court to issue bailable warrants for their production, as per some media reports.
LiveLaw reported that Advocate Manu Chaturvedi (appearing for the municipal corporations), submitted that the demands of the workers were already being considered by the Delhi High Court and orders had also been passed in the same regard by Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva. However, despite such orders, the workers have been threatening to go on a strike again.
Manu Chaturvedi claimed that the corporations had already filed their status report, and it stated that EDMC had already paid salaries till the month of January, 2021. Chaturvedi said, “This is not even their grievance.”
LiveLaw quoted Justice Vipin Sanghi surprisingly asking, “This is very funny. Non-payment of salaries is not a grievance?” The Delhi High Court then asked the President of the All-Municipal Corporations Staff Union, as to why they wanted to go on strike if the salaries had already been paid till January.
Refuting Chaturvedi’s claims, the President informed the Division Bench that he had not received his salary for three months, contrary to the EDMC’s claims and that the supervisors, pensioners had also not been paid elucidating the plight of senior citizens who have been suffering.
Justice Sanghi said to the President, “This is absolutely wrong, your salaries and pensions must go. We are looking into it, we will assure that. But if you go on strike again and again and harass the public, is that right? This kind of anarchy, is it right? If required, we will attach their property. The work you’re doing for the city is very important.
We will take action against you all as well, if you take law into your own hands. If the matter was not before court, and then you’d gone on strike, it would be a different matter. But the matter is now before court, so do not take law into your hands. You are providing an essential service, you cannot behave in this manner, you must understand your responsibility”, reported LiveLaw.
The President reportedly assured the court verbally that they would not go on a strike and follow the court’s directions.
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