Panaji: The Supreme Court (SC) has directed the state government to regularise the services of workers employed through the Public Works Department (PWD) Labour Supply Society, holding that the state cannot deny regularisation after taking the benefit of their long years of service.
The Court observed that a welfare state cannot benefit from decades of continuous service by workers and then discard them on the basis of technical or internal procedural flaws.
Setting aside the July 2023 order of the High Court, the Supreme Court held that the workers, who were granted temporary status in 2014 after years of service, are entitled to regularisation in their respective categories.
The Court directed the state to frame a scheme within four months to implement the regularisation.
It further ordered that if sufficient sanctioned vacant posts are unavailable, the government must create one-to-one supernumerary posts. These personal posts will automatically cease to exist upon the employee’s retirement, resignation, death or cessation of service.
The Court clarified that regularisation will take effect from February 9, 2021, the date on which the individual writ petition was filed, for the purpose of seniority and pensionary and retiral benefits.
However, it ruled that no monetary arrears of pay would be payable for any period before August 4, 2026.
The benefit will apply only to workers who were members of the PWD Labour Supply Society as of February 9, 2021, and the judgment cannot be relied upon as a precedent by persons who were not parties to the case.
