Date:13/08/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/08/13/stories/2003081302001200.htm

Southern States - Kerala

Krishna Iyer wants order on strikes reviewed

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI AUG 12. The Supreme Court ruling that curtails the fundamental, moral and legal rights of employees to strike work should be reviewed, immediately the former Supreme Court Judge, V.R. Krishna Iyer , has demanded .

Inaugurating a meeting convened by the All India Lawyers Union (AILU) to protest against the ban, Mr. Krishna Iyer described the judgment as an `unfortunate.' one. Disagreeing with the ruling, he said that in India and in many other countries `collective bargaining,' has been an established means available to employees to ensure their rights.

The term `strike' is well defined under the Industrial Disputes Act, which determines when a strike would be `legal' or `illegal'. "A strike could be legal or illegal, and even an illegal strike could be a justified one," said Mr. Krishna Iyer. The courts could offer relief to employees in case of a `justified' strike, even if it is an `illegal' one, he said, citing from his own judgments.

The jurist said that he could not agree with the Supreme Court's stand that employees had no `moral right,' to resort to strike action.

However, Mr. Krishna Iyer pointed out that employees and their unions should consider why the judgment was being welcomed by a section of the people. "The present tendency of resorting to strikes for anything and everything was the major reason for people welcoming the ban, he said". He reminded workers that the right to strike work should be put to use judiciously.

The former Kerala advocate- General and the all India vice- president of AILU, M.K. Damodaran, presided over the function. The CITU State president, K.N. Raveendranath, the HMS general secretary, Thampan Thomas, the NGO Union State president, K.Varadarajan, former MP Sebastian Paul and AILU general secretary N.A. Ali participated in the discussions.