Countless employees laid off amid COVID in violation of legal procedures: Madras High Court seeks report

The Madras High Court on Wednesday expressed concerns that there were many cases of employees or workers who were laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic and who were not subsequently reinstated despite the relaxation of lockdown regulations and resumption of business and economic activity (Labour Liberation Front and ors v. State of Tamil Nadu)..Justice MS Ramesh observed that there is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic was a disaster that affected the conditions of workers and employees as well as the activities of industries, factories and other labour establishments. .However, non-reinstatement of employees despite improvement in the pandemic situation led the Court to voice concern over whether employers exploited the situation to disengage their workers without following the applicable labour laws.."Though the Covid-19 pandemic situation could be termed as a misfortune, the employers cannot be permitted to make a fortune out of this misfortune. This Court has not come across any Government Orders or notifications addressing this crisis, whereby countless numbers of workers/employees have been retrenched/laid off by violating the legal procedures for such retrenchment/lay off," the Court said. .It, therefore, directed the Secretary of the Labour Welfare and Skill Development Employment, Tamil Nadu to file a detailed report with particulars of the conditions of service and non-employment of workers or employees in Tamil Nadu. The said report is to contain comparative information on the situation before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic situation and the post-lockdown situation. .The Court suggested that information on the situation prevailing on January 1, 2019 could be compared to the situation as on October 27, 2021. ."As an illustration and for the sake of convenience, the number of workers on the rolls of any industrial establishment as on 01.01.2019 could be compared with the numbers that exists as on date (i.e.) 27.10.2021 in that particular industrial establishment, together with explanation of that industrial establishment for the reduced number of workers/employees, if any," the order stated.An interim report is to be filed before the Court by November 29, when the matter would be heard next..The interim order was passed by the Court in a petition filed by a union named the Labour Liberation Front, which told the Court that some of its members were also not reinstated despite the relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown..[Read Order]