Labour Min asks states, concerned ministries to ensure no job or pay cut by employers amid lock down

PTI, Mar 23, 2020, 9:28 PM IST

New Delhi: The Labour Ministry has asked states and central ministries concerned to ensure that employers do not fire their employees, particularly casual or contractual workers, or reduce their wages amid COVID-19 outbreak as it would deepen the crisis.

The ministry has also asked the state and ministries that all employees going on leave during the lockdown period, they should be deemed on duty without any consequential pay cut.

“In the backdrop of such challenging situation, all the employers of public or private establishments may be advised to extend their coordination by not terminating their employees, particularly casual or contractual workers from the job or reduce their wages,” Labour Secretary H K Smariya said in a letter to all chief secretaries and concerned ministries.

“If any worker takes leave, he should be deemed to be on duty without any consequential deduction in wages for this period. Further, if the place of employment is to be made non-operational due to COVID-19, the employee of such units will be deemed to be on duty.”

Samariya is of the view of that the termination of employees from the job or reduction in wages in this scenario would further deepen the crises and will not only weaken the financial condition of the employee but also hamper their morale to combat their fight with this epidemic.

He has asked the chief secretaries and concerned ministries to issue a necessary advisory to employers/owners of all establishment under their purview.

The Labour Secretary noted that the world is facing a catastrophic situation due to outbreak of COVID-19 and in order to combat this challenge, coordinated joint efforts of all sections of society are required.

In view of COVID-19, there may be incidences that employee’s/worker’s services are dispensed with on this pretext or the employee/worker are forced to go on leave without wage/salaries, said Samariya expressing his apprehensions.

He has written to the secretaries of house & urban affairs and public enterprises. Besides he has also written a similar letter to all employers’ and workers’ organisations (trade unions).