NON-MEDICAL SCIENTIST FORUM (GROUP B & C) FORUM NCDC Vs. THE SECRETARY MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Non-Medical Scientists Forum (Group B and C) Forum NCDC in the present writ petition impugns order dated 23 rd July, 2015, whereby the Principal Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal has dismissed OA No. 3054/2013.

(2.) The petitioner is a forum of Group B and C employees of the National Centre for Disease Control, which was earlier known as National Institute of Communicable Diseases. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC, for short) is a scientific and technological institute in the field of research, teaching, and training which is also engaged in the execution of work and planning. The dispute raised by the petitioner forum relates to the pay scale of Laboratory Assistants (Group C) who, vide letter dated 22nd February, 2000 were granted the pay-scale of Rs.4000-6000 with effect from 1st January, With effect from 22nd February, 2000, 20 posts of Laboratory 1996. Assistants (Group C) were upgraded to the pay-scale of Rs.4500-7000. The case set up by the petitioner is that the laboratory assistants have wrongly been placed in the aforesaid pay-scale of Rs.4000-6000/4500-7000 and as per the recommendations of the 5th Pay Commission, were entitled to pay in the scale of Rs.5000-8000 with effect from 1st January, 1996. On this premise, it is submitted that upon implementation of Sixth Pay Commissions recommendations, Laboratory Assistants are entitled to Grade Pay of Rs.4200 in Pay Band-2 (Rs.9300-34800) instead of grade pay of Rs. 2400 and Rs. 2800 respectively, as the earlier scale of Rs.5000-8000 was merged in the scale of Rs.6500-10500.

(3.) It is obvious that the impugned order dated 22nd July, 2015 has rejected the said prayer made by the petitioner forum, inter alia, holding that the principle of "equal pay for equal work" as pleaded was not established, for the petitioner forum had failed to establish parity by referring to the method of recruitment, the level at which the recruitment was made, hierarchy in the service in the given cadre, the minimum educational/technical qualification required, avenues of promotion, nature of duties and responsibilities, horizontal and vertical relativities with similar jobs, public dealings, satisfaction level, the employers capacity to pay etc. Reliance was placed on the decisions of the Supreme Court in State of Haryana & Anr. Vs. Haryana Civil Secretariat Personal Staff Association, 2002 (Suppl.) 1 SCR 118 and Union of India & Anr. Vs. P.V. Hariharan and Anr., (1997) 3 SCC 568.