- (1.) The petitioners are working as Laboratory Assistants (Matric + Science) in I.B. College, Panipat (hereinafter referred to as 'the respondent-College'), which is Government aided. The eligibility criteria for the appointment of Laboratory Attendants (Matric + Science) is same in the respondent-College as in the Government Colleges. The claim of the petitioners is that they are entitled to same scales of pay which are being given to Laboratory Attendants (Matric + Science) working in Government Colleges. The petitioners made various representations to the respondents for this purpose, but to no effect. Then they served legal notice dated September 20, 2006 (Annexure P-6), which too bore no result. Thereafter, they filed Civil Writ Petition No. 20446 of 2006 in this Court for the grant of pay scales at par with the employees similarly situated in the Government Colleges with effect from July 20, 1982. This writ petition was disposed of vide order dated December 22, 2006 by directing the State Government to expeditiously decide the grievance of the petitioners regarding parity of pay scales. In compliance with the order of this Court, Higher Education Commissioner, Haryana, Chandigarh, passed the order dated April 27, 2007 (annexed with Annexure P-10) rejecting the claim of the petitioners made in the legal notice dated September 20, 2006 (Annexure P-6). Hence this writ petition.
(2.) In the written statement filed by respondents Nos. 1 and 2, it has been pleaded that principle of equal pay for equal work cannot be invoked where working conditions are substantially different. It is pleaded that Government employees have quite different working conditions as compared to the employees of Private Aided Colleges. For example, the Government employees work on a transferable basis and the employees retire at the age of 58 years. In the Private Colleges, the employees retire at the age of 60 years and their jobs are non-transferable.
(3.) We have heard Mr. Saurabh Bajaj, Advocate, appearing for the petitioners and Mr. Ajay Gupta, Senior Deputy Advocate General, Haryana, appearing for respondents Nos. 1 and 2 and have perused the records.;