A judgment by the Madras High Court in 2014 decided against 3 ex-employees who had asked for L.I.C of India to pay their arrears arising due to retrospective wage revision. L.I.C's esteemed lawyers undoubtedly left no stone unturned in trying to deprive the ex-employees of their legally rightful dues.
What shocked me was that they proved them to be a deserters! Strange logic!
Consider the fact that Article 19 ( 1) (g) of Constitution of India provides Right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business to all citizens.
Also, payment of salary/ wages in is a contractual/ statutory obligation of the company. It is the social and moral responsibility of the employer to ensure full payment of wages.
If the employee was on roll on the date from which the wage revision was effected, why shouldn't he/she get those arrears' payments? It was L.I.C's fault that they didn't implement the wage revision on time. Why should the ex-employee be made a scapegoat and defrauded of his/her hard-earned money, on flimsy, unconvincing and wrong pretexts like 'desertion for greener pastures'? It is downright insulting and illegal, in fact!
Now let us consider 'desertion' which is a very derogatory and humiliating word:
Has the person deserted his post in the defense services or other paramilitary forces, in which case it is a grave offense and must be rightly punished?
Has the person just left service due to personal reasons, which may be the possibility in the above-mentioned court case, and hence is innocent?
Interestingly, employees in L.I.C of India are not bound by any clause wherein they could be pronounced a 'deserter'! In fact, the Corporation should specifically mention it on its appointment letter, confirmation letter and notify this clause of repudiation to the employee who opts for resignation; so that he/she could make an informed choice, but L.I.C does no such thing. At least my letters didn't have that clause!
In my opinion, only the extremely confident and talented ones with initiative and the desire to achieve great things in life and better their lives and the world; leave existing jobs to find better alternatives. They could join somewhere else where their talents will be better regarded, encouraged and nurtured; start their own ventures and become entrepreneurs, provide the jobless with employment and improve the economy; or choose to stay at home and improve their health and quality of their lives! Each to his or her or their own!
Let's see how some famous persons who quit their jobs have fared:
1. India's Honorable Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi left his tea stall.
Had he not done so, India would have been deprived of this determined, efficient and strong administrator!
2. India's charismatic former RBI Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan had left his job to accept the Governor's post. Later he resigned to join academia.
Source Internet: Dr. Raghuram Rajan assumed charge as the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on September 4, 2013. Prior to this, he was the Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School.
3. India's former President Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam was a scientist who left his job at I.S.R.O to take up the top-notch assignment. If he would have stuck to his earlier assignment, India would have been deprived of a great and wise leader who struck the right chord with young and old alike!
Source Internet: Before becoming the President of India, he worked with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as an aerospace engineer.
Kindly note that I have used the above-mentioned 3 examples to make my point that people who take up new and challenging assignments are exceptionally self-confident, capable, brilliant and brave and are NOT deserters!
Even the Provident Fund (P.F.) rules allow transfer of the monies outstanding in an employee's P.F. account to the P.F account pertaining to his new employment, when he switches jobs.
You could have umpteen examples of exceptional people who have made a mark in the world after leaving (Not deserting!) their previous jobs.
Just run a Google Search!
Hope L.I.C's esteemed lawyers who seem to be living under a rock in the medieval stone ages; take this challenge!
Why, L.I.C itself has many people, even at its top-most echelons who have left service and joined elsewhere!
Sri G.N. Bajpai resigned as Chairman of L.I.C of India to join the Securities & Exchange Board of India and Sri T.S. Vijayan stepped down as Managing Director of L.I. C of India to become Chairman of the insurance regulator, I.R.D.A. Were they deserters. as per L.I.C's learned lawyers' arguments?
Even recently, Mr. S.K.Roy, the Chairman of L.I.C 'deserted' L.I.C and was denied his arrears' payments! The last news that I had read about him on the internet was that he was trying hard to get the management to treat his resignation as voluntary retirement and not resignation!
So when it comes to their money, they will not forfeit it at any cost. But we should not even raise our voice for our equally hard-earned money!
Most unfair and unjust! Downright deplorable!
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Why do resigning ex-employees even have to approach courts for justice when the Supreme Court has itself declared the clause by which arrears are being illegally repudiated since 1997, Clause 3 i b to be ultra vires in its 2007 judgment? Beats me!
Speak up L.I.C of India!
Do read the full judgment in my forthcoming blog!
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P.S. This is a classic case of 'Ulta chor kotwaal to daante!"
L.I.C of India has defrauded the resigning ex-employees of their legally rightful dues, so it must be punished, but our system puts the onus unfairly on the ex-employees who are just asking for payments due to them as they were on the salary rolls of the Corporation, on the date from which wage revisions were declared!
