NE LEGAL BUREAU
CHENNAI, APR 27
The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and state government to consider a plea to provide economic stimulus packages for employees of private and unorganised sectors who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy gave a direction to this effect while disposing of a PIL petition from advocate S Kalimuthu Mylavan.
The PIL prayed for a direction to the State and central governments to consider petitioner’s April 16 representation to constitute high-level committees at state and national levels to sanction stimulus packages to workers in the private and unorganised sectors, who have lost jobs and suffered pay cuts, as was being done in the UK and US.
The petitioner submitted that it is the fundamental right of the citizens to work and the national lockdown announced by the governments was a restriction imposed on them, curbing their right to work and right to livelihood guaranteed under the Constitution.
The monetary loss suffered by employees in private and unorganised sectors and in private educational institutions and industrial establishments due to the partial or complete lock down under the Disaster Management Act will have to be compensated by the governments by framing and implementing a scheme in the form of economic stimulus packages.
The details of such employees will be available with the Employees” Provident Fund Organisation, the petitioner added and prayed that the governments constitute high-level committees at state and national levels to save the citizens.
