The Supreme Court on Friday directed that no coercive action should be taken till July last week against private companies, which have failed to pay full wages to their employees during the coronavirus-induced lockdown period.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah said industries and employees need each other and they should sit together to arrive at a settlement on the issue of payment of wages.
"Let private establishments and workers sit together to negotiate to settle disputes relating to wages," the court said, adding that workers who are willing to work should be allowed to work notwithstanding disputes regarding wages.
The bench asked the state governments to facilitate such settlement process and file its report with the labour commissioners concerned.
It also asked the Centre to file an additional affidavit within four weeks with regard to the legality of Ministry of Home Affairs' March 29 circular which had mandated payment of full wages during the lockdown period.
The bench posted the petitions filed by various companies against the March 29 circular, for further hearing in last week of July.
In an affidavit last week, the Centre had submitted in the Supreme Court that its March 29 notification on payment of full wages to workers by their employers during the lockdown was legally valid and was aimed at reducing the financial hardship of lower strata of society, labourers and salaries employees.
The government said that the March 29 order was never a permanent measure and has now been withdrawn. It also said the companies and firms that have cited financial incapacity to pay their workers for the 54 days when the order was in operation should first be directed to place on record their audited account books.
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