CUTTACK: In a significant ruling, the Orissa High Court on Monday held that keeping workers on contract for years together despite the existence of sanctioned posts amounts to unfair labour practice.
Allowing a writ appeal, a division bench of Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad and Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra directed the state authorities to absorb two ECG technicians as regular employees within three months. The bench further directed the state authorities to absorb the appellants Ganesh Chandra Bhuyan and Deepak Kumar Nayak against the sanctioned vacant posts and extend all consequential service benefits within three months.
The appellants were engaged as ECG technicians at SCB medical college and hospital (SCBMCH) in 2011 pursuant to an open advertisement and regular selection process. Though their work was permanent and perennial in nature, they were appointed on a contractual basis as no sanctioned posts existed at the time.
The situation changed in May 2014 when, on the recommendation of the hospital authorities, the government created four posts of ECG technicians to absorb the contractual appointees. However, instead of regularising the appellants, the government issued an advertisement in December 2015 for open recruitment to those very posts.
Aggrieved, the appellants approached the Odisha Administrative Tribunal, which in October 2014 directed consideration of their representation. Despite subsequent directions of a single judge of the high court, their representation remained undecided, forcing them to continue on contract for over 15 years on meagre remuneration.
Modifying the single judge’s judgement dated November 15, 2023, the division bench observed, “Such conduct of the state authorities, styling the appellants as contractual employees for years together and debarring them from becoming permanent on such plea, amounts to unfair labour practice.”
Rejecting the state’s attempt to justify fresh recruitment, the court termed the 2015 advertisement unnecessary and concluded that the appellants were entitled to regularisation.