Don’t cut salaries or fire workers during lockdown — Modi govt issues advisory
India

Don’t cut salaries or fire workers during lockdown — Modi govt issues advisory

Advisory says public and private enterprises should try not to terminate the services or reduce the wages of their employees, particularly casual or contractual workers.

   
Marketplaces in Kalaburagi are deserted due to the COVID-19 lockdown | Photo: By special arrangement

Marketplaces in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, are deserted due to the COVID-19 lockdown | Photo: By special arrangement

New Delhi: The Modi government has asked all public and private companies to ensure that they do not cut salaries of their staff or resort to layoffs of their employees amid the lockdowns imposed to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

Secretary of the Labour Ministry, Heeralal Samariya, sent out an advisory, in the form of a letter, in this regard Monday. “The world is facing a catastrophic situation due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and in order to combat this challenge, coordinated joint efforts of all sections of the society is required,” the letter reads.

“In view of the above, there may be incidence(s) that employees’/workers’ services are dispensed with on this pretext or the employee/worker is forced to go on leave without wage/salaries,” it adds.

The government has advised public and private enterprises to not terminate the services or reduce the wages of their employees, particularly casual or contractual workers.

Bid to tackle crisis

As cases of COVID-19 rise in the country, several states have imposed lockdowns, restricting the movement of people even to their workplaces.

The advisory says that if any worker takes a leave, they should be deemed to be on duty without any deduction in wages. Doing so, the government has warned, would deepen the crisis.

“The termination of an employee from the job or reduction in wages in this scenario would further deepen the crises and will not only weaken the financial condition of the employee but also hamper their morale to combat their fight with this epidemic,” Samariya’s letter reads.

“In view of this, you are requested to issue necessary advisory to the employers/owners of all the establishments in the state.”


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