Who Should Compensate The Workers?

Direction to private employers to pay full wages during the lockdown does not fall under any law on relief or workers’ rights

- Anand Gopalan

The Government of India and State governments have called upon employers to pay wages for the lockdown period not only to the permanent workmen of an industrial establishment but also to contract workmen and inter-State migrant workers. On humanitarian grounds, there can be no two opinions about the need to pay wages to employees. However, whether such an obligation should be that of private employers or that of the State needs to be considered.

The Central government, invoking the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA, 2005), has declared a lockdown until April 14. The State governments, invoking the provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (EDA), have framed certain regulations and issued certain directions/guidelines/communications. The directions issued by the governments to employers to pay wages to all the workmen neither comes within the framework of the DMA/EDA, nor is backed by a statutory law.

Legal provisions

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 was enacted for setting up the National Disaster Management Authority and State Disaster Management Authority respectively, and to have a unified command over disaster management. The powers of the National Executive Committee and the State Executive Committee have been listed in the Act. A reading of the provisions of the Act would show that powers have not been vested with either the State or the Central government to direct private employers to pay wages during a disaster, despite the employees not working. The scope of the Act empowers committees to frame plans to meet disasters.