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Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : B.S.A.SWAMY
ZILLA GRANDHALAYA SAMSTHA EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, CHITTOOR DISTRICT REP.BY PRESIDENT K.J.MADHAVUDU - Appellant
Versus
SECRETARY, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, Government Of A.P., HYDERABAD - Respondent
Decided On : 04-01-98
Held : Except the word used part-time in the appointment order, the proceeding of the Director dated 5-9-1986 is very clear that the library works for six hours a day and as long as the library functions, this Attender has to be in the library. Having accepted this appointment he cannot even think of any other appointment, as substantial portion of the day he has to spend in the library. Secondly, the librarians appointed in these libraries are treated as regular employees and they are also expected to work for six hours along with the part-time workers. But they are treated as regular employees and are being paid the time-scales of pay attached to the post. Further the g. O. , deals with only 565 employees functioning at the Mandal Headquarters. It is not the case of the respondents that libraries functioning elsewhere in the State are working for more than six hours and these Attenders are working beyond six hours or they are being paid on par with the petitioners.
Nextly, a look at G. O. Ms. No. 269 suggests that apart from these 565mandals for which administrative sanction was given by the Government, in other Mandals also libraries are functioning. But, the respondents did not try to justify their action on the ground that the employees working there, are also treated as part-time employees. Hence, it is preposterous to treat the attenders appointed under this G. O. are part-time workers. Except the nomenclature part time used in the appointment order, for all other purposes they are working on regular basis and they should be treated as regular employees. Time and again this Court and the Supreme Court repeatedly held that the language used in the appointment order is not conclusive to determine whether the appointment is temporary, ad hoc or regular, but the attendant circumstances have to be taken into consideration. Viewed from any angle, these persons were appointed in the posts created by the Government on regular basis and following the procedure for recruitment. Hence, the State cannot escape its obligation to pay living wages on par with persons similarly placed to these employees by taking shelter under the word part-time in their appointment order. Such an action is not only violative of the principle of equal pay for equal work enshrined in Article 39 (d) but also the equal protection of laws clause guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
In the light of the above observation, the fixation of a paultry sum asmonthly wage to a low paid worker is neither reasonable nor rational and it is nothing but arbitrary exercise of power on the part of the Officials of the Government.
For all these reasons, the Attenders working in the libraries appointedunder G. O. Ms. No. 269 should be treated as full time employees, but not as a part-time employees as contended by the State.
( 1 ) THE petitioner, Zilla Grandhalaya Samstha Employees Association, chittoor District represented by its President K. J. Madhavudu, filed this writ petition questioning the validity of Memo. No. l5/lib. 2/95 dated 3-6-1995 and memo. No. 909/lib. 2/95 dated 22-3-1996 issued by the 1st respondent- government.
( 2 ) THE sum and substance of the impugned Memos is that the proposalsent by the Director of Public Libraries (hereinafter referred to as the Director ) for absorption of the Attenders working in the libraries functioning at Mandal head Quarters in Chittoor District in the last grade service was negatived by the Government in its first Memo dated 3-6-1995 by stating that the A. P. (Regulation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalisation of Staff pattern and Pay Structure) Act 2 of 1994 (hereinafter referred to as act 2 of 1994) and the orders issued in G. O. Ms. No. 212, Finance and Planning department dated 22-4-1994 for regularisation of Daily Wage/ NMR/ consolidated pay employees who have put in five years of minimum service on the cut off date of 25-11-1993 are not applicable to part-time employees. After receipt of this Memo dated 3-6-1995, the proposal sent by the Director for extending the benefit under G. O. Ms. No. 212 to these employees, if necessary by relaxing the conditions, was rejected in the second Memo dated 23-3-1996 as the same is not feasible and as the regularisation of services have to be considered against clear vacancies. The petitioner-Association sought for a Writ of Certiorari to quash the two Memos and sought a consequential relief for regularisation of the services of the Attenders working in the libraries at Mandal Headquarters and also to pay the salaries in the time scale of pay applicable to Class-IV employees with attendant benefits.
( 3 ) THE undisputed facts of this case are that the Government, on a proposalsent by the Director pursuant to the meeting held on 22-3-1996 in the Chambers of the Hon ble Chief Minister where a decision was taken among other things to establish 566 branch libraries at Mandal Headquarters which are not provided with library services, the Government issued orders in G. O. Ms. No. 269 Education (Lib. I) Department dated 20-6-1986 for opening 566 libraries at the Mandal Headquarters which are not provided with library services and permitted the Director to sanction the necessary supporting staff i. e. , one librarian Grade-III in the time scale of pay of Rs. 450 - 700 with usual allowances and one part-time worker with monthly remuneration of Rs. 150/- for each of these libraries to man the libraries. In other words the Government wants to pay one rupee (Re. 1/-) per hour of their work. Pursuant to the said orders, the Director in his proceedings Rc. No. 121 /b2/86, dated 5-9-1986 gave certain clarifications with regard to the payment of wages to part-time workers in the branch libraries. As per the proceeding dated 5-9-1986 no educational qualifications are prescribed for appointment to the post of part-time worker. But at the same time he must be a major i. e. , above the age of eighteen (18) years. The most important clarification in the said proceeding is extracted hereunder : "regarding working hours the appointees shall be clearly informed in their appointment order that they will have to work for six hours daily, since the Branch Libraries work for six hours a day. "
( 4 ) AFTER receipt of the above clarification, the Chairman, Zilla Grandhalayasamstha, Chittoor, made appointments to the posts of part-time workers from the candidates sponsored by the District Employment Exchange, Chittoor, in his proceedings dated 19-11-1986. In the said order it is again made clear that the appointee has to work for six hours daily since the branch library works for six hours a day. It is interesting to note that the last words of the appointment order the remuneration fixed for the post will be paid only on release of grant . Subsequentl
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