The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court today granted the state government two-week time to work out a settlement between lifeguards and their contractor agency while observing that it is not stopping workers to go on strike.
Within hours after the HC adjourned the matter for two weeks, the labour union of lifeguards announced that they are deferring their proposed strike by fourteen days.
A division bench, comprising Justice F M Reis and Justice Nutan Sardessai, granted the government two weeks to work out a settlement between the workers and Drishti Lifesaving Services, a government-contracted agency.
Drishti had approached the HC seeking to restrain workers from going ahead with their strike scheduled on April 9-10.
"I am not stopping you from going on strike," the division bench observed as the lawyer representing the lifeguards, Suhas Naik, claimed that it is the fundamental right of workers to strike after giving a proper notice.
The workers are represented by the Goa Trade and Commercial Workers' Union of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC).
The lifeguards are posted across all beaches in the coastal state.
Drishti had requested government to invoke Essential Services Management Act (ESMA) against the lifeguards in order to prevent them from joining the strike.
Naik said the union is not interested in striking work if government is willing to make efforts to settle their demands.
He said the government should implement the agreement signed with the workers on November 21, 2014.
The union also demanded that assurances given by state Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar during the strike by lifeguards over job regularisation and revision of salaries last year should be fulfilled.
Naik said that the union is postponing the strike by another two weeks giving time to the government to work out an amicable solution.
