EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK IS NOT A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT BUT A CONSTITUTIONAL GOAL - BOMBAY HC

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, while dismissing a bunch of petitions by the Minimum Competency Vocational Course instructor, said that "Equal pay for equal work is not a fundamental right but a constitutional goal". The bench was hearing petitions by MCVC instructors claiming pay scales at par with full-time teachers in MCVC on the principle of equal pay for equal work under Article 14 of the constitution.

The bench of Justices SB Shukre and RB Deo said that the entitlement to parity in pay scale depends upon several factors such as nature of the job, duties performed, qualifications and experience. Designation of a post cannot be the sole basis.

The Petitioners are instructors from the MCVC, teaching classes 11th and 12th at few colleges in Maharashtra. They claimed that their work was of similar nature as that of a full-time teacher who taught courses of a similar level of degrees. Maharashtra Government contended that the experience, qualification, nature of work and recruitment of a full-time employee is different and cannot be compared.

The Bench, while dismissing the petition, concluded that the policy is not irrational or malafide. The court must refrain from treading on unsure grounds.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal