The court asked the Centre to do the needful to ensure that the salaries of these workers are paid on time. It had issued stringent directions in June to criminalize the non-payment of dues on time to doctors and nurses. Last Friday, the Center told the Supreme Court that four states did not allow prompt payment of salaries to health employees involved in the fight against Covid-19.
Those states are Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tripura. In spite of guidance from the top court, the Centre said this happened. The court then ordered the Center to do what was necessary to ensure that these workers' wages were paid on time.
"If the states do not abide by the Central Government's directives and instructions, you are not powerless. You have to make sure your order is put into effect. Under the Disaster Management Act, you have the power. You can also take steps, "Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy, and M R Shah.
In June, the Supreme Court issued specific instructions to criminalize the failure to pay duties to doctors and nurses on time. The direction had come on a petition from a doctor complaining that medical professionals had not been compensated in many regions and that they had not been equipped with facilities to protect themselves, which was a great danger to their families if they were to become infected.
he Center had then ruled an offense under the Disaster Management Act (DMA) to withhold compensation from doctors and nurses engaged in the war against Covid-19. Union health ministry issued the order. The apex court had taken serious note of the failure to pay salary and lack of proper accommodation to doctors and said, "In war, you are not unhappy with the soldiers."
It had also said that the courts should not be interested in the issue of salary non-payment to healthcare workers and that the government would settle the matter.
In April, the Supreme Court observed that the doctors and medical personnel are the country's "first line of defense" in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, and ordered the Center to ensure that appropriate PPEs are made available for the treatment of patients with coronavirus.