India: temporary Workers must be paid equal wage for equal work as regulars, rules the Supreme Court

The Indian Supreme Court declared in a significant verdict on 27th October, 2016 that daily wagers, casual and contractual employees have the right to be paid equally with regular workers if they are engaged in similar work. Though there is currently no provision to ensure this, the ministry of labour and employment has been discussing a proposal to effect equal pay for equal work and is looking to make it part of the proposed wage code.
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The verdict came on a petition by some temporary employees of the Punjab state government, who had earlier approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the matter of income disparity. The High Court held that temporary employees were not eligible for regular pay scale simply because they perform the same duties as regular workers. The Supreme Court turned this judgment on its head and directed the Punjab government to pay the petitioners at par with the pay scale of regular employees perform

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