Kerala HC Stays State Govt Order on Salary Cut of Employees Amid COVID-19 Crisis
According to a tweet by ANI, the Court stayed the order given by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan for two months. Kerala government had ordered the deduction of 6 days' salary of all government employees for 5 months from April 2020.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 28: Much to the relief of state government employees in Kerala, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed the state government's order regarding deferment of 6 days' salary each month. According to a tweet by ANI, the Court stayed the order given by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan for two months. Kerala government had ordered the deduction of 6 days' salary of all government employees for 5 months from April 2020.
According to a report by TOI, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the stay order for two months while hearing the argument that the government’s order is not backed by any authority of law. The argument also stated that no provision of law, including Disaster Management Act or Epidemic Diseases Act, can be utilized to take such an action in the state. Kerala Announces 30% Deduction in Monthly Salary For All Government Staff & Honorarium For 1 Year to Tide Over COVID-19 Induced Financial Crisis.
Here's the tweet:
In the order, the court said that payment of salary to an employee is certainly not a matter of charity and it is a right vested in every individual to receive a salary. “Article 300A, which confers right to property, will include within its purview salary also as a property, at least prima facie,” the order said.
The decision comes four days after the Kerala Government issued an order to deduct the salary of government employees for six days every month for the next five months. This was done as part of raising funds for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. The order made it clear that there will be no salary cut for those staff who earn less than Rs 20,000 per month.
The state government order also stated that the ministers, MLAs, various Board members, Local body institution members, members of various commissions would receive 30 per cent less salary for one year. Moreover, the order is not applicable for those who had already contributed their one month salary to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 28, 2020 04:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).