Over 1,300 MeECL casual and contractual workers to gain from HC order on equal pay for equal work

SHILLONG, July 19: More than 1,300 casual and contractual workers of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) are expected to benefit from a recent order of the High Court of Meghalaya for the implementation of “equal pay for equal work”.
Cleaners, peons, lower divisional assistants, meter readers, bill clerks, linemen, junior divisional assistants will be among those who will benefit.
After hearing a petition filed by the MeECL Progressive Workers Union (MPWU), the Justice Wanlura Diengdoh-headed single bench of the High Court had on July 15 passed an order directing the MeECL to take necessary action for ensuing that the members of the petitioner/union, whose names can be found at Annexure- A/3, are paid equal pay for equal work.
“The same to be completed preferably within a period of 2(two) months from the date of receipt of the certified copy of this judgment and order,” Justice Diengdoh had stated in the order.
Meanwhile, the members of the MPWU on Friday submitted the certified copy of the court’s order to the MeECL management.
Mantiphrang Lyngdoh Kiri, president of the union, handed over the certified copy to the PA of MeECL CMD, Sanjay Goyal.
“We are thankful to the High Court which has given this judgment to implement equal pay for equal work,” the MPWU president told reporters.
Describing the judgment as “historic”, he said this entitles the longstanding casual workers of MeECL to the same basic salary structure and accompanying entitlements as permanent workers doing the work of similar nature.
Highlighting the journey of the union, he said they had formed it in 2017. He said the union’s formation has benefitted them given that the management has initiated steps to fulfil some of the points they highlighted in the charter of demands.
The MPWU president said they started getting the benefits of earned leave, casual leave, overtime allowance, maternity leave and increment of the minimum wage which is 5%, 10% and 15% for those who completed 5 years, 10 years and 15 years of service respectively.
Kiri said a major benefit they got is the introduction of EPF. He said the credit for this should go to social activist Angela Rangad who had suggested including this point in the charter of demands.
He said the management was reluctant to accede to the demand of regularisation of their services by citing financial difficulties.
“But we now don’t see that there should be a problem since the financial position of the MeECL has improved. Even Power Minister AT Mondal has claimed about improvement in revenue generation. Revenue loss, which was at 25%, has now been reduced to 9%,” the MPWU president said.  To a query, he said there are employees who have competed 20 to 25 years of service but are yet to be regularised. He said several such employees either died or retired without getting the EPF benefit.
Rangad, who had helped the union to file the petition in the High Court in 2021, said this legal victory for the casual workers doing work of regular nature has come as part of a seven-year-old struggle of the union.
She said till the workers formed themselves into a union in 2017 and decided to struggle for their legal entitlements, they were paid a daily wage that was never properly revised and they had no other constitutionally-guaranteed rights.
“This victory gives hope to the other struggling workers of Meghalaya. They should claim their rights,” Rangad said.
She added that it is very important for the state to respect the workforce and ensure that they get the pay package which will allow their family members to be able to lead a respectable life.
“If you have a management which will always want to exploit, then there will be no growth and productivity. The government is spending on unnecessary things since their priority is wrong. It is futile to invest in infrastructure development like development of parking (spaces) or construction of drainage if we cannot take care of our workforce which is our biggest asset,” she said.