CAT denies MoD’s bid to recover extra wages paid to drivers

The Central Administrative Tribunal has quashed an order of Defence Ministry
(MoD) to recover excess pay given to two truck drivers due to a “wrong
interpretation” of a circular restructuring wages of the cadre of the artisan
staff in the defence establishment.

Under the 2003 restructuring, pay scales of three categories of defence
artisan staff i.e. Skilled, highly skilled and master craftsman were fixed. In
the lowest grade (skilled), a pay scale of Rs 3,050-4,590 was prescribed.

Members of the tribunal Dharam Paul Sharma and Veena Chhotray in their order
on the plea of two Central Ordinance Depot truck drivers Ram Niwas and Bablu Ram
quashed the ministry’s order for recovering the excess amount paid to the
drivers but upheld its decision to put them into a lower pay scale.

The duo were being paid revised wages under skilled category with effect from
May 1999 (Ram Niwas) and February 1997 (Bablu Ram) after the 2003 circular, but
authorities later downgraded them to “semi-skilled” category under a previous
order and sought recovery of excess wages, blaming “wrong interpretation” of the
circular for the fiasco.

The truck drivers, however, contented that they come under the category of
the skilled staff and had sought directions that they be paid the salary
applicable to this category.

The ministry, on the other hand, argued that as per a 1983 circular “truck
drivers” as a job group had been put in the category of semi-skilled workers and
the duo are therefore not entitled to the higher pay scale as per the 2003
circular.

“We do not find the claim of the truck drivers about their entitlement to the
higher pay scale of Rs 3,050-4,590 prescribed for the skilled category posts as
per 2003 Circular as a valid one and hence the ministry would be very much
within its right to correct the mistake…

“However, since the erroneous pay fixation in this case had admittedly be
done due to wrong interpretation of the circular on the part of the ministry
itself, without any misrepresentation or fraud on the part of the truck drivers,
the recovery of amount already paid would not be permitted,” the judge said.

Source : http://www.business-standard.com/