ABSTRACT
It is a matter of deep concern that, in its verdict on 21 July 2004 and thereafter, a division bench of the Supreme (Apex) Court of India upheld the arbitrary dismissal of about 200,000 state government employees and teachers who took part in the statewide strike in Tamil Nadu (India). Nevertheless, the Court fully justified the most autocratic and repressive measures of the state government. The Court termed the strike as ‘illegal’ and stated that ‘the Jayalalitha government has sent a tough message that mal-administration cannot be caused in this way’. This message of the Supreme Court will only embolden the central and state governments and all managements to deal ruthlessly with any strike and other protest actions by employees who are reeling under the economic offensive of neoliberal globalization in the form of drastic cuts in their economic benefits. This decision represents the undoing and abrogation of those rights and liberties, which were clearly recognized even under colonial legislation.1
