Centre preps for Bharat Bandh tomorrow with a stern warning to employees
The Centre on Tuesday ordered public sector undertakings including state-run banks to decline casual leave to employees on January 8, Wednesday to discourage employees from participating in the Bharat Bandh. If they do, the government cited Supreme Court verdicts that had backed action against employees for the “grave misconduct”.
“Any employee going on strike in any form would face the consequences which, besides deduction of wages, may also include appropriate disciplinary action,” the department of personnel and training, which acts as the government’s human resource manager, said in a directive to all government offices.
The Central Industrial Security Force, which guards central government offices and firms, has also been told to raise deployment of their personnel through the day to ensure that employees who come to work do not face any problems.
Ten central trade unions have said around 25 crore people will participate in the nationwide strike to protest against the government’s “anti-people” policies.
The DoPT order said the nation-wide bandh had been mainly called to protest labour reforms, FDI, disinvestment, corporatisation and privatisation policies and press for a 12-point common demands of the working class relating to minimum wage and social security among others.
The instructions issued by the Department of Personnel & Training prohibit the government servants from participating in any form of strike, including mass casual leave, go-slow and sit-down, or any action that abet any form of strike. Besides, pay and allowances are not admissible to an employee for his absence from duty without any authority.
The DoPT directive to departments and PSUs, or Public Sector Undertakings, said instructions issued in 2008 that explicitly prohibit government servants from participating in any form of strike including mass casual leave, go slow etc or any action that abets any form of strike, protest in violation of conduct rules.
The letter also underlined that “the right to form an association did not include any guaranteed right to strike/protest. There is no statutory provision empowering the employees to go on strike”.
