Srinagar, Oct 1: High Court of J&K and Ladakh has closed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking implementation of labour laws with respect to payment of wages and allowances to all construction labourers working in J&K.
A division bench of Chief Justice PankajMithal and Justice VinodChatterjiKoul closed the PIL observing that the petition was highly vague and devoid of any specific instances where the wages had not been paid and the facilities not provided to the workers in accordance with the law.
“The Court cannot be expected to make a roving enquiry and find out the workers who have not been paid proper wages,” the Bench said, adding it did not deem it necessary to devote any further time on the matter.
The court however gave liberty to any individual person or association of the labourers, if any, to take up their cause, if necessary, before the competent authority.
In 2018, the PIL was filed by one Sheikh GhulamRasool.
It was seeking direction upon the Ministry of labour Government of India as well as Jammu and Kashmir Government for ensuring strict compliance of labour laws.
The PIL was seeking compliance with respect to payment of wages and allowances to all the construction labourers working in J&K from the date of their joining the construction work with the infrastructure companies in accordance with the Building and other Constructions Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996 and Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 and notification issued on April 3, 2018, by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to provide all the other facilities and benefits which were otherwise available to them.
A further prayer had been made for implementation of provisions of Interstate Migrant Workman (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services) Act 1979 and to direct the Welfare Board to educate the masses and the general public about the rights of the construction workers.