The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed a Gujarat government notification exempting factories from paying overtime wages to workers, saying the coronavirus pandemic cannot be a reason to remove statutory provisions of labour laws, Live Law reported.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, KM Joseph and Indu Malhotra said pandemic cannot be a reason to do away with the requirements of the law that provide dignity and rights to workers. The court said the coronavirus crisis is not a public emergency that is threatening the security of the country under the Factories Act. It said the entire burden of economic slowdown cannot be imposed on the workers alone, according to News18.
During the nationwide lockdown, the Gujarat government in April exempted factories from the provisions of the Factories Act. A notification was passed by the state after exercising its powers under Section 5…