India’s Busiest NCLT Bench Staff Strike Over Salary Delays
Outsourcing and contractual staff at NCLT’s Mumbai bench demand immediate release of their December salary and a long-overdue salary revision
(The Corner Office Journal) -- The Mumbai bench of India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) went on strike from today (14 January) due to salary delays, disrupting the tribunal’s operations.
The Mumbai bench, the busiest among the 16 NCLT benches across India, saw a walkout of its outsourcing and contractual staff on Tuesday as employees protested the non-payment of December 2024 salary.
The strike has disrupted operations at the tribunal's six courts.
The striking workers, in a memorandum, said they would "refrain from performing their professional obligations" until their grievances are addressed.
Their demands include immediate release of December 2024 salary and a long-overdue salary revision, which has not occurred since the NCLT's inception in 2016.
Financial Strain
The 156 striking staff members, comprising 86 contractual and 70 outsourcing workers, have faced delayed salary disbursements for the past six months, exacerbating their financial burdens.
“We don’t have money to pay our children’s school fees, purchase household groceries, or medication for our dependent parents. Being the sole earners, we are under immense pressure,” the employees highlighted the financial strain in a letter on 9 January.
The NCLT, established under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2013, is a quasi-judicial body under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs that handles corporate disputes, including mergers and amalgamations, and adjudicates cases under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code.
As of September 2024, 8,002 companies have entered administration, with 1,963 still undergoing the corporate insolvency resolution process, according to the latest data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
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