[MSRTC Employees strike] In a fight between lamb and lion, lamb has to be protected: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Friday passed a detailed order protecting the employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) who have been on strike for over 5 months. .A Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik was disposing of a contempt petition filed by the MSRTC, seeking action to be initiated against its striking workers for not resuming their duty despite Court orders.Before reserving the matter for orders, CJ Datta remarked that “in a fight between the lion and the lamb, it is the lamb which is to be protected”..Nearly 90,000 employees of one of the largest inter-city bus systems in the country have been on strike since October 2021 demanding that they be treated at par with the State government employees and that the MSRTC be merged with the State government.The Court had earlier called upon the corporation to show compassion towards its workers and ensure they do not lose their livelihood because of the ongoing strike.In the 26-page order passed on Friday, the Court held that it need not delve deep to find out who is at fault in the present situation, as humans have acted in ways different than it would have been during pandemic. The present petition came to be filed after employees refused to return to work until their demands were met. "It is in such a volatile situation that we are tasked to endeavour to find out a just and proper solution to end the impasse," the order stated. .With that in mind, the Bench passed the following directions:Employees on strike will be permitted to join duties on or before April 22, 2022;MSRTC shall not take any disciplinary action against such employees on the ground that they have participated in the strike;Any action, if already initiated against such employees, shall stand withdrawn including cases of those employees against whom show cause notices have been issued for showing why their services should not be terminated;Casual temporary employees will be permitted to join their duties;Employees who have been dismissed from services: those who have filed appeals, those appeals have to be decided within 4 weeks. Those who have not filed appeals, will file those appeals in 3 weeks and those will be decided in subsequent 4 weeks;The orders of dismissal shall then stand revoked;If no appeal is filed then it shall be presumed that the concerned employee is not interested to join duty and the order of termination shall have full effect;Those who join and report for duty will not be entitled to back wages;Insofar as the retired employees of MSRTC are concerned, it is expected that the employer's share of contribution towards the provident fund dues deposited shall be paid to the employees without any delay;Criminal prosecution launched against the employees will not be pursued by MSRTC..[Read order]