Can’t pay HC staff more for working long hours: govt.
‘Wages on a par with SC staff will cost exchequer ₹15.56 cr.’
10/08/2019, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI
The 3,800 odd employees of the Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench cannot seek a much higher scale of pay than that of Tamil Nadu Secretariat staff and other government employees just because they end up working way beyond the official working hours on most days, the State government has told the court.
Filing a counter affidavit to a writ petition filed by the Madras High Court and Madurai Bench Officers and Staff Association, represented by its secretary A. Raman, the government said, “It is the bounden duty of the staff to work with care and dedication... Hence, the nature of work rendered by them cannot be compared with others.” The counter filed by T. Vaidegi, Deputy Secretary, Home department and served on the counsel for the petitioner association J. Nagarajan on Thursday, also stated that it would cost the exchequer ₹15.56 crore per annum if the salary of Madras High Court staff was increased on par with what was paid to the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court staff.
Further, since the High Court staff as well as the Secretariat staff were now receiving a similar pay, which was higher than that of other government employees in the State, any increase in the salary of court staff would lead to a similar demand by the Secretariat staff followed by the other government employees, the Deputy Secretary said. She also claimed that a reading of a communication received from the Registrar General of the High Court, with respect to enhancing the pay of the court staff, on February 10, 2017 only shows that the Staff Grievance Committee (comprising the High Court judges) had only directed the Registry to address the government for consideration of the proposal.
Further, the then Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (now a Supreme Court judge) had only approved the committee’s direction to forward the proposal to the government. The petitioner association was not right in stating that the Chief Justice had approved the decision to enhance the pay, the State claimed.
On the other hand, after the receipt of the proposal from the R-G, the government on February 22, 2017 constituted an official committee to examine and make recommendations on revision of pay scale and allowances for employees of the State government and local bodies on the basis of the recommendations made by the seventh Central Pay Commission.
The official committee’s recommendations were accepted on October 11, 2017 and a government order was issued revising the pay and allowances of government staff.
Simultaneously, the Chief Justice of the High Court, with the approval of the Governor, revised the pay scale for around 3,810 employees. Since the revision, as per the latest Pay Commission, had been done after the receipt of the proposal on February 10, 2017, the government decided not accept that proposal.
‘Wages on a par with SC staff will cost exchequer ₹15.56 cr.’
10/08/2019, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI
The 3,800 odd employees of the Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench cannot seek a much higher scale of pay than that of Tamil Nadu Secretariat staff and other government employees just because they end up working way beyond the official working hours on most days, the State government has told the court.
Filing a counter affidavit to a writ petition filed by the Madras High Court and Madurai Bench Officers and Staff Association, represented by its secretary A. Raman, the government said, “It is the bounden duty of the staff to work with care and dedication... Hence, the nature of work rendered by them cannot be compared with others.” The counter filed by T. Vaidegi, Deputy Secretary, Home department and served on the counsel for the petitioner association J. Nagarajan on Thursday, also stated that it would cost the exchequer ₹15.56 crore per annum if the salary of Madras High Court staff was increased on par with what was paid to the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court staff.
Further, since the High Court staff as well as the Secretariat staff were now receiving a similar pay, which was higher than that of other government employees in the State, any increase in the salary of court staff would lead to a similar demand by the Secretariat staff followed by the other government employees, the Deputy Secretary said. She also claimed that a reading of a communication received from the Registrar General of the High Court, with respect to enhancing the pay of the court staff, on February 10, 2017 only shows that the Staff Grievance Committee (comprising the High Court judges) had only directed the Registry to address the government for consideration of the proposal.
Further, the then Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (now a Supreme Court judge) had only approved the committee’s direction to forward the proposal to the government. The petitioner association was not right in stating that the Chief Justice had approved the decision to enhance the pay, the State claimed.
On the other hand, after the receipt of the proposal from the R-G, the government on February 22, 2017 constituted an official committee to examine and make recommendations on revision of pay scale and allowances for employees of the State government and local bodies on the basis of the recommendations made by the seventh Central Pay Commission.
The official committee’s recommendations were accepted on October 11, 2017 and a government order was issued revising the pay and allowances of government staff.
Simultaneously, the Chief Justice of the High Court, with the approval of the Governor, revised the pay scale for around 3,810 employees. Since the revision, as per the latest Pay Commission, had been done after the receipt of the proposal on February 10, 2017, the government decided not accept that proposal.
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