Everyone is trying to do their best, says SC; refuses to order govt to pay wages to migrant workers

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 21

Maintaining that everyone was trying to do their best during the COVID-19 crisis, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order the government to pay wages to lakhs of stranded migrant workers in various parts of the country.

“Who knows the task better than the government? We may say this…we may say that… but what if government is not able to provide that. It’s an unusual situation. Someone may say something is working well or something may not be working well. Everybody is trying to do their best,” a Bench headed by Justice NV Ramana said.

Petitioners Harsh Mander and Anjali Bhardwaj had sought a direction to the Centre and states to ensure payments of minimum wages to all the migrant workers within a week.

The court’s comments came after petitioners’ advocate Prashant Bhushan said the government itself has recognised the need for payment to these workers by asking private employers to pay full wages to them during the lockdown.

“But most of the private employers don’t have money to pay. Eighty nine per cent of those surveyed say they have not been paid any wages since the lockdown,” Bhushan said.

The government said it will pay Rs 5000 to construction workers. But construction workers constituted a very small minority of the population, he pointed out.

Thousands of migrant workers still didn’t have access to food and shelter, he said, adding

“They have created a mockery of the system.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta questioned Bhushan’s submission and said there were active and vigilant helplines across the country to ensure food reached those who needed it.

He also questioned the authenticity of the survey mentioned by Bhushan.

The Bench disposed of the PIL after asking the government “to  look  into  such material  and  take  such  steps  as  it  finds  fit  to  resolve  the  issues raised in the petition”.