Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 14: The High Court has ruled that an employee or worker is entitled to the wages to which he or she was appointed and not to the post which he or she is holding merely of having such qualification or skill.
Justice Sanjay Dhar has dismissed the plea of an employee appointed as orderly in the Forest Department and is seeking the wages at the rates applicable to the skilled category on the ground that he is computer knowing.
The petitioner Umer Mukhtar Mir had approached the court challenging the order of the Government, whereby his claim for grant of wages at the rates applicable to skilled category of labourers has been rejected. He has sought a direction upon the authorities to treat him as a skilled worker and to pay him minimum wages as per S.O. 513 of 2022 dated 12.10.2022.
The contention of the Mir, in brief, was that he is functioning as a Computer Operator with the respondent department, as such, he is entitled to be paid wages on the rates fixed for skilled workers in terms of S.O. 513 of 2022.
The engagement order dated 13.07.2013 issued in favour of the candidates who were selected by the respondent department on need basis, reveals that the petitioner has been engaged as an Orderly and it is also recorded in the order of engagement that he is computer knowing.
A closer look at the engagement order dated 13.08.2013 reveals that some of the candidates have been selected as Computer Operators as well. The contention of the respondents is that the petitioner had applied for the post of Orderly and not for the post of Computer Operator and for this reason, he was engaged as an Orderly.
The court said that this contention of the respondents seems to be justified because the petitioner-Mir, despite being computer knowing, had applied only for the post of Orderly, to which he was selected. Once he was selected for the post of Orderly, he cannot claim wages which are fixed for the post of Computer Operator or any other post categorized as ‘skilled’. Merely because the petitioner is computer knowing does not entitle him to the wages under the skilled category.
“An employee or a worker is entitled to wages attached to a post/position. He cannot claim wages attached to a higher post/position merely because he is qualified to hold such post/position. In view of what has been discussed, once it is admitted by him that he was engaged as Orderly, he cannot claim wages attached to the post of Computer Operator even if he is computer knowing and even if he may be assisting the respondent Department in matters relating to computer operations”, Justice Dhar ruled.
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