A section of the employees of the Government of Kerala has declared an indefinite strike from 08 Jan 2013. Their cause is genuine but means totally unjustified. So here is a petition I have sent to the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court to declare the strike illegal and ensure that the rights of the citizens to get the services due to them from the government are not hampered or delayed.
The Chief Justice Through
e mail at hckerala@nic.in
P M Ravindran
2/18, 'Aathira',
Sivapuri, Kalpathy-678003
Tele: 0491-2576042; E-mail: pmravindran@gmail.com
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File: Petn/kerhc-strike080113-040113 04 Jan 2013
The Chief Justice Through
e mail at hckerala@nic.in
High Court of Kerala
Kochi
PETITION TO DECLARE STRIKE BY GOVERNEMNT EMPLOYEES
ILLEGAL
1.
It is understood from reports in the media that a section
of the government employees will be on an indefinte strike from 08 Jan 2013.
The reason for the strike is learnt to be their opposition to introduction of
contributory pension.
2.
The Supreme Court of India has held that pension is a
right because it is deferred wages. However, the court has not laid down any
guidelines on the quantum or modus of payment of this pension. Hence the legality
or otherwise of the government decision to introduce contributory pension is
left for the judiciary to decide. But there is no gainsaying the fact that the
principle has to be applied universally. It just cannot be limited to
government employees. Strictly speaking the government would have done better
to have introduced this scheme for the ministers, MPs and MLAs before forcing
it upon the employees.
3.
More importantly, the services to be delivered by the
government to the citizens are amoung the most essential services. It can even
be termed the most essential service
because there is no alternate source for such services. So while democracy
admits the right to protest, government employees cannot protest by striking
work, or in other words by refusing to deliver the services due to the
citizens. Amoung the many means to protest available to them are working beyond
working hours or even working indefinitley or staging protest through dharnas
out of office hours.
4.
While the government has declared dias non (no work, no
pay) for the striking employees this is practically a fraud being perpetrated
on the gullible citizens because invariabley as
a condition for terminating the strike the government always gives in to
the demand for withdrawing all cases against the striking employees as well as
waiving the dias non condition.
5.
For reasons given above, you are requested to declare
strikes by government employees illegal and protect the rights of ordinary
citizens to the services due from the government without interruption or delay.
Yours truly,
(P M Ravindran)
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