ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has held that the services of a workman may not be terminated, nor may a workman be discharged, discharged, laid off, or discharged, except by order in writing, which shall expressly state the reason for the action taken.
A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazahar, while upholding the Sindh High Court order, observed that as per the classification of workmen in Standing Order 1 of the Ordinance 1968, a “permanent workman” is a workman who has been engaged in work of nine months’ nature and is likely to have had a permanent period for more than a period likely to last for more than nine months. three months in the same or another occupation, in the industrial or commercial enterprise, including breaks due to illness, accident, leave, lock-out, strike (not an illegal lockout or strike) or involuntary closure of the enterprise; and a “temporary worker” is a worker who has been engaged for work which is essentially of a temporary nature and which is expected to be completed within a period not exceeding nine months.
“Whereas Standing Order 12 of Order 1968 emphasizes that for the termination of a permanent worker for any reason other than misconduct, one month’s notice must be given either by the employer or the worker, and one month’s salary calculated on the basis of average wages earned by the worker during the last three months of the termination.
“Furthermore, no temporary worker, whether monthly rated, weekly rated, daily rated or piece rate, and no probationary employee or badli, shall be entitled to any notice if his services are terminated by the employer, nor shall such worker be required to give any notice or pay wages in lieu thereof to the employer,” says Ali Mazhar on his own, if he leaves his employment. judgement.
The judgment notes that the procedure for dismissal is explained in Standing Order 13 of the Industrial and Commercial Employment Ordinance, 1968, which stipulates that where a worker is to be dismissed and he belongs to a particular category of workers, the employer shall dismiss the worker who is the last person employed in that category.
“Furthermore, Standing Order 14 relating to Re-Employment of Retrenched Workers contains the rider that when any number of workers are retrenched and the employer intends to re-employ any person within a period of one year from the date of such retrenchment, he shall give the re-trenched workers belonging to that category an opportunity by post to post a person last known to post that category, to himself issue a notice.
reinstatement, and they shall have priority over other persons, each having priority in proportion to the length of his service with the employer.
“The proviso attached to the Standing Order explains that in the case of a seasonal factory under Section 4 of the Factories Act, 1934, a worker who is laid off for a season and reports for duty within ten days of the resumption of work in the factory in the immediately following season shall be given preference for employment by the employer.
“It is further stipulated that for such a seasonal factory, the employer may, by sending a notice by registered mail to the last known address of a worker who has been laid off for a season, with a requirement that he report on a day specified in the notice, however no earlier than 10 days before resuming work at such a factory, and if the worker reports this, he must have full priority for the day of employment and be given full pay from that day.”
