HC order bans Govt staff from taking part in strike

 

KOCHI: Though the 48-hour long all-India agitation by trade unions affiliated to the Lefts against the anti-people policies of the Narendra Modi Government was total in Kerala, a division bench order of the Kerala High Court dampened the spirits of the agitators.

Within minutes of the trade union leaders making announcement that  only 32 out of the more than 4300 staff of the Government Secretariat at the capital city reported for duty on Monday, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court that included Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly ruled that government employees were barred from participating in the two-day nation wide strike against the policies of the Union Government and asked the State Government to declare ‘dies non’ on protest days.

The judges declared the strike as illegal and asked the State Government to issue directions prohibiting the same. “No Government servant should participate in such strikes,” said the judges.

Earlier, V Sajith Kumar had moved a petition asking a court directive to the Government to ensure compulsory attendance of government  servants on general strike days and initiate disciplinary proceedings against those employees who abstain from attending office.

As per Rule 14 (a) of Part I of Kerala Service Rules, the period of unauthorized absence of an officer on account of participation in a strike shall be treated as dies-non.

Such an officer shall not be eligible for pay and allowance for that period andshall not even be counted for admissibility of earned leave.

Elsewhere in  Kerala, the two-day long strike turned out to be a big success in the State barring some unpleasant incidents.

A gang of CPI-M activists put up chairs across the road  at Thiruvananthapuram and beat up auto rickshaw drivers who were transporting patients to Medical College Hospital. Workers of the CPI(M) deflated tyres of private vehicles ad warned the owners not to come out of their homes till Tuesday evening. 

Though KSRTC buses plied in the capital city initially, the services were withdrawn following demands made by the action council. The two-day agitation would conclude by Tuesday night.

V Shivankutty, the minister for labour, said at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening that the strike was total in the State and warned the media against  portraying  small incidents as major issues. (Agencies)