Big relief for over 4.5 lakh contract and outsourced workers:HC orders state to classify employees to extend pay and service benefits

In a major relief to nearly 4,50,000–5,00,000 contract and outsourced employees in Madhya Pradesh, the High Court in Jabalpur has directed the state government to classify these workers and extend appropriate pay scales and service-related benefits. A bench led by Justice Vishal Dhagat, in its ruling delivered on Tuesday, stated that employees who have been in service for over 10 years must be granted the benefits of the October 7, 2016 policy—regardless of whether they are employed on a contractual basis or through outsourcing arrangements. ‘Irrational to deny benefits after years of service’ The court observed that it is unreasonable to deny benefits to employees after extracting work from them for such long durations. It stressed that such workers cannot be deprived of economic justice. Policy benefits earlier limited to daily wage workers The High Court also noted that the 2016 policy aligns with the principles of social and economic justice outlined in Articles 38, 39, and 43 of the Constitution. Until now, the benefits of this policy were limited to daily wage workers. Under the policy, wages are determined based on skill categories—skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled. The court has now directed that contract and outsourced employees also be included under the same classification framework. Case involves workers serving for over 16 years The case pertains to employees appointed on a contractual basis in 2009, many of whom have been continuously serving for around 16 years without receiving benefits equivalent to permanent employees. Violation of right to equality In their petition, the employees argued that despite performing work similar to that of permanent staff, they were paid significantly less. They claimed this amounted to a violation of their constitutional rights, including the right to equality and the right to live with dignity. Government’s argument rejected During the hearing, the state government contended that the 2016 policy does not apply to contract and outsourced workers. However, the court rejected this argument and directed the government to ensure proper classification of such employees and grant them due pay scales and service benefits accordingly.