Modi Government Withdraws Directive to Give Full Salary During Lockdown

Now companies will not be obliged to give full salary to employees during lockdown. The move has brought relief to companies and industry, but the workers have suffered a setback. In the guidelines issued on 29 March, the central government had asked all the companies and other employers to give full salary to all the employees without any deduction on completion of the month even if the establishment is closed.

Earlier there was a directive that companies should pay full salary in lockdown

Now there is no mention of this in the new instructions of 17th May

This relief for the companies is a shock to the workers.

Modi government has withdrawn its old directive to give full salary to employees during lockdown. That is, now companies will not be obliged to give full salary to employees during lockdown. The move has brought relief to companies and industry, but the workers have suffered a setback.

What was the first government directive?

Significantly, in a guideline issued on March 29, just a few days after the lockdown was imposed, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla had told all the companies and other employers that they would get all employees without any deduction on completion of the month even if the establishment is closed. Pay full salary.

Lockdown is in force across the country from March 25 to prevent the Kovid-19 epidemic. Now the fourth phase of lockdown has come into force from May 18. The Home Ministry had also directed that action be taken against the landlords who vacate the house for non-paying students or migrant workers during the lockdown.

Supreme Court gave this order

The Supreme Court in one of its orders on Friday said that the government should not take any punitive action against companies who do not give full salary during the lockdown. This order of the government was challenged by Karnataka company Ficus Pax Pvt Ltd, on which the Supreme Court gave this order.

Private companies said that this order is arbitrary and violates Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution, in which they have been guaranteed to do business.

What was said in the new instructions?

Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued new guidelines on Sunday (May 17) regarding the fourth phase of lockdown. The new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday (17 May) mention six types of standard operating protocols. Most of them are related to the movement of people.

But this does not include the order issued by the Home Secretary on 29 March. In the said order, all the employers were instructed to pay wages to the workers on a fixed date without any deduction, even if their commercial unit is closed during the lockdown period.

The directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs states that, ‘As far as no other provision has been made in the Appendix issued under this order, the National Executive Committee under Section 10 (2) (1) of the Disaster Management Act 2005 Orders issued should not be implemented from May 18, 2020.