TNI Bureau: In a major relief after more than three decades of legal struggle, the Orissa High Court has directed the regularisation of 104 temporary and casual employees of the Government Press.

The court ordered that all 104 workers be treated as regular employees with retrospective effect from January/February 1994 and be given all related financial benefits.

Of the 104 employees, 21 have passed away, 57 have already retired, and 26 are still in service. The High Court directed the government to identify the legal heirs of deceased employees and release all pending dues within three months.

The division bench of Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad and Justice Chittaranjan Dash passed the order while hearing the case filed by the employees.

The court observed that in a welfare state, the government cannot behave like the East India Company. It said forcing workers to serve for over 30 years on low wages without giving them dignified employment was inhuman.

The High Court further stated that if the order is not implemented within three months, the government will have to pay 2 percent interest, which will be recovered from the salaries of responsible officers. The court also directed the government to pay litigation costs of Rs 5,000 to each petitioner.

According to the case records, around 105 workers were appointed as casual labourers in the Government Press during 1992–93. In 1994, the departmental director had issued five separate orders to regularise them. However, the regularisation orders were suddenly kept in abeyance on April 7, 1994, following which the employees approached the court.