Status Quo On Bajaj Spat

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered a status quo in respect of the ongoing legal battle between Bajaj Auto and about 1,900 temporary workers of the company who were laid off earlier this year.

Bajaj Auto had moved the Supreme Court after a division bench of the Mumbai high court and a single judge bench of the Mumbai high court at Aurangabad had ruled against the company, and had granted permanency to the workers, who had been given pink slips.

The matter will now come up for hearing for admission at the apex court in about 12 weeks' time, Bajaj Auto said in a release today.

The apex court has also allowed intervention applications filed by the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Pune, in view of the far reaching implications of the Mumbai high court's judgement.

Bajaj Auto had earlier slashed its temporary workforce by about 700 workmen at its Pune plant, in addition to about 1,200 workmen at its Waluj plant. Following this, the workers had filed complaints of unfair labour practices against the company and had claimed permanency in service, from the date of joining.

While the single judge bench of the Mumbai high court had initially rejected the claim of the 700 workmen who were laid off from the Pune plant, the division bench of the High Court had granted them permanency. Also, the Mumbai high court at Aurangabad had granted reinstatement of the workers.