New Delhi: The Kerala high court on Monday, March 28 directed the LDF government to issue orders prohibiting its employees from participating in the 48-hour nationwide shutdown called by trade unions.
The court further said that the strike by the government employees was illegal as the same is prohibited under their service rules.
The interim direction was issued by a bench of Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chaly on a public interest litigation by activist Chandrachoodan Nair.
The petitioner has contended that the state was encouraging its employees to go on strike against the Union government by paying them salary for the days when they abstain from work.
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Therefore, the court has directed the state government to declare no work, no pay, the Hindustan Times reported. It said that the government cannot pay employees for remaining absent during the strike.
The two-day Bharat Bandh called by a joint forum of central trade unions with the alleged support of nearly 200 million workers in the country, began on Monday from 6 am. The strike is expected to impact the functioning of numerous sectors all over the country, including banking, power, transportation, and more.
The protest is against the “anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies” of the Union government, according to a statement issued by the joint platform.
(With inputs from PTI)