In a major victory for worker rights, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that daily wage workers who were later regularised are entitled to receive pension and other post-retirement benefits.
The case involved several workers (Anand Prakash Mani Tripathi and others) who had been employed as daily wage earners for 30 to 40 years by the Uttar Pradesh government. Despite their long service, the High Court of Allahabad initially denied them pension benefits because they weren’t initially regular employees.
The Supreme Court overturned this decision, recognising the significant length of service these workers had provided. The Court emphasised that denying them pension benefits would be ‘unreasonable and unfair’. The Court’s order restores the earlier decision by a single judge, which had ruled in favour of the workers. This means they will be regularised from 1991 and receive all benefits associated with that status, including pension upon retirement.
The Court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure these benefits are paid within two months of the order.
This landmark ruling is a significant win for workers’ rights in India and sets a precedent for similar cases in the future.
