The Supreme Court deserves praise for its interventions in setting social injustices right. Its recent order to reinstate a set of municipal workers in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh came after these “malis” engaged in gardening work in the horticulture department failed to get justice in lower courts. The daily-wagers’ grievance was that they had worked for seven years and were sacked in 2005 when they sought regularization. As is the case elsewhere too, they had neither got an appointment order or a termination letter. The court, in a landmark ruling, termed the action illegal and reinforced their labour rights.
True, the rights of the poor are more often violated even at government levels than protected or promoted. Successive administrations and the bureaucracy have demonstrated a vested interest in denying the poor their basic rights. The poor generally bear with such situations rather than challenging it. They have no means to approach courts and spend huge amounts in lawyers’ fees. The malis in Ghaziabad, not far from New Delhi, deserve praise for their resolute pursuit of the case. The argument advanced by the Ghaziabad municipal corporation was that casual workers “cannot be regularised” as they were not recruited through a normal selection process. The apex court dismissed this argument by noting that these workers had been engaged in essential municipal duties for years. Today, it is a common sight that casual/temporary workers or daily wagers do most of the difficult tasks in several government departments. Such personnel are herded in to handle dangerous situations, while the “regular” staff and officers stand at a distance and “oversee” the work. Police officers, for instance, would sit on chairs in sheltered spaces and daily wagers or scouts or volunteers in casual uniforms do the policing in streets under the hot sun. Most “strenuous works” are outsourced. Huge money is thus siphoned off. A sense of laziness is prevalent across the staff manning government departments. The politicians who run governments for five-year-terms show no conviction to discipline the system. The wayward styles as we see today are in stark contrast to the way officials with a sense of patriotism and dedication to public causes behaved in the initial phase of the post-Independence era. Corruption at the bureaucratic level today is at its worst. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power at the Centre in 2014 with a promise to end corruption. Rather, the scenario at the bureaucratic level has worsened terribly under his watch.
There is no justification for keeping people engaged in governmental work for several years without confirming them in regular service. Their very continuation in one or another work for years is a guarantee that they are capable of performing the task they have been assigned to. Hence, their regularization as permanent employees is a must. This order should now be pursued and made applicable across the country.
