KOCHI: Marking an end to over 20 years of legal wrangling, the Kerala High Court last month ordered that all arrears due to retired officers, in accordance with the 1997 Pay Revision Regulations, must be paid in full.
At a meeting of the FACT Retired Officers’ Welfare Association, held here at the PWD Rest House, Pathadipalam on Thursday, FACT retirees expressed hope the state government will act on the court order and release funds as early as possible.
The High Court directed the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers to issue ‘appropriate order/proceedings’ permitting the company to honour commitments to employees under wage revision. “We hope the ministry does not approach the Supreme Court with an appeal. We have reached so far in our fight for justice, and we will not back off for any reason,” said K Kuttykrishnan, president of the FACT Retired Officers’ Welfare Association. If the state government does not act within the four-month time frame, as stipulated by the court, the Association would progress with proceedings against it for contempt of court.
The meeting appreciated the untiring efforts of Kuttykrishnan and team. “Many of us are over 75 years and are battling several health issues. We have arrived here to celebrate a victory that has come after 21 years of battle. In this old age, while it is very difficult for us to fight such a prolonged legal battle, it is only the strong resolution of some of us that paved the path for our unrelenting fight, and is the reason behind the verdict,” said Ramakrishnan Nair, a retired FACT officer. Over 200 FACT officers and their families from all over Kerala took part in the meeting. T T Thomas, former chairman and managing director of FACT and P Santhalingam, Senior Advocate, were also present.