CHANDIGARH, FEB 21 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside a 2017 order that denied regularization to casual workers at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) Punjab Region Office. Justice Sandeep Moudgil ruled that failing to regularize staff who have served for decades in perennial roles constitutes an “unfair labour practice.”
The court declared the previous rejection of the workers’ claims to be both arbitrary and unconstitutional. Under the new directive, the Corporation must execute a one-time regularization exercise for the petitioners and other similarly situated casual employees within a four-month period.
The workers involved in the petition have been employed by the FCI as casual staff since 1986-87. They sought formal absorption into the workforce based on Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) instructions dating back to 1993, along with all associated service benefits.
Justice Moudgil maintained that the petitioners have provided uninterrupted service for over thirty years. He noted that the nature of their work had been repeatedly characterized as perennial by the Corporation itself, making their continued casual status legally untenable.
The court further ordered the FCI to consider these employees for absorption into Category-IV or equivalent posts. This process is to be retrospective, starting from the date each worker first met the eligibility criteria.
Additionally, the Corporation was directed to release all consequential benefits. These include pay fixation and arrears, with an interest rate of 6 percent per annum applied from the date the benefits were initially due until the time of payment.
