24 September,2026 07:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Abhitash Singh
Nerul is among the 17 CIDCO-developed Navi Mumbai stations transferred to Central Railway. Pic/Rajendra B Aklekar
In a relief for 267 sanitation and housekeeping workers who have served Navi Mumbai and Panvel's railway stations for nearly three decades, the Industrial Court, Thane, has granted interim protection against termination, amid the transfer of the stations from CIDCO to Central Railway.
[popcorn number="Sept 21" desc="Day when the court ordered status quo" class="Default"]
Passing the order on September 21, Member Amruta A Patil directed CIDCO and 13 other respondents to maintain the status quo, pay regular wages and refrain from terminating staff without due process of law until the next hearing.
The Azad Kamgar Sanghatana union moved the court after an RTI reply dated September 2 revealed the planned transfer. According to the union, minutes of the meeting showed that all 17 Navi Mumbai stations were to be transferred to the Railways within six months. The union alleged that officials and contractors threatened workers with abrupt dismissal following the handover.
Mahadev Waghmare, president, Azad Kamgar Sanghatana
The union had persistently pushed to ensure that a mere change in management or contractor should not cost these workers - some of whom have cleaned and maintained the same stations for close to 30 years - their jobs, wages, or continuity of service. The fight for the workers' rights would continue.
>> No replies have been filed by the respondents yet
>> The order is interim in nature
>> The court noted a strong apprehension that the threatened action could be carried out
>> Termination before adjudication could cause workers and their families "grave and irreparable prejudice" through sudden loss of livelihood
Advocate YM Pendse, appearing for CIDCO, opposed the plea, arguing that it was not maintainable as CIDCO, the principal employer, engages the workers only through contractors. He sought time to file a formal reply.
None of the other 13 respondents, including the contractors, appeared before the court despite being served notice on September 15. The matter will next come up for hearing, when the respondents are expected to file their formal replies.
