HC stays Punjab board’s order terminating services of 87 workers

Chandigarh, April 6

A week after the Punjab School Education Board terminated the services of 87 daily wagers working for past six to eight years, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday stayed the operation of the order.
The direction by Justice Jitendra Chauhan came on a petition filed against Punjab and other respondents by Mangat Singh and 14 other petitioners through counsel Kapil Kakkar and Hema Kakkar.
Appearing before Justice Chauhan’s Bench, Kapil Kakkar contended that the school board passed the order on March 28 in case of daily wagers, who had not filed court cases, or were not having stay or interim relief orders in their favour.
Dubbing the order as discriminatory, Kakkar contended that the same was liable to be set aside. The case will now come up for hearing after the summer break on July 11.
The services were terminated following a decision by the Board of Directors purportedly as a part of the ongoing restructuring exercise in the school board.
The board has already decided to abolish 748 posts of regular employees. Fresh recruitments would, in fact, not be made after the present incumbents retire.
Available information suggests that the services of at least 500 daily wagers were in the line of the board’s fire after the original decision. Cases of at least 400 daily wagers were pending in the courts, so the department did not touch them. The remaining were being ordered to leave.