Every summer, as the snow recedes from the cold desert of Spiti, the race to reconnect its isolated villages begins. The roads that link settlements such as Kibber, Langza, Rangrik and Shego to the outside world are often scarred by months of heavy snowfall, landslides and freezing temperatures. For years, restoring these lifelines fell largely to local daily-wage workers employed on Public Works Department (PWD) muster rolls.
In July 2023, that work came to an abrupt halt.
“There was no written order. We were simply told not to come from the next day,” recalled Mentok Dolma, 35, of Pangmo village in Kaza subdivision, who had worked as a muster roll labourer with the PWD since 2020.
A Class XII graduate and mother of two, Mentok said the job which fetched her around Rs 12,000 a month was among the few reliable sources of income in the remote tribal region, where economic opportunities are scarce and winters stretch for nearly half the year. Her husband, Rinchen Tantup, 42, is a regular PWD watchman, and together they are raising their children, Champa Samten, 11, and Tenzin Jamyang, 8.
Mentok was one among more than 150 daily-wage workers from villages including Demul, Langza, Kibber, Komik, Rangrik and Shego who say they were similarly asked not to report for work in 2023 after years of maintaining roads across one of the country’s harshest terrains.
In October 2024, they approached the Himachal Pradesh Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, alleging that their services had been terminated orally without notice or retrenchment compensation in violation of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
The first relief came last month.
Presiding Judge Preeti Thakur of the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court decided the first batch of 41 cases, holding that the workers’ termination was illegal as they had not been served the mandatory notice under Section 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act. The tribunal also accepted that the workers had completed 180 days of service within a running period of 12 calendar months.
On July 23, the state government published the awards in the Official Gazette, formally bringing them into effect.
Yet, even after the favourable verdicts, the workers remain in limbo.
Executive Engineer, PWD Kaza Division, Abhishek, confirmed that the department would challenge the awards.
“The Industrial Tribunal has passed orders in favour of 41 workers in the last month. We have been advised by our legal branch to challenge the awards before the appropriate court, and we are preparing the appeals,” he told The Indian Express.
Preeti Thakur had delivered awards in 21 cases on June 2 and another 20 on June 28.
Despite the court orders, Mentok says nothing has changed.
“We have heard that the court has ruled in our favour, but we have not received any appointment order or any communication from the department. Many more workers, including women, are still waiting,” she said.
Among those who secured favourable awards are Ringzin Dolma, Thilley Ankit, Chhering Chhukit, Kalzang Dolma, Chhering Chhodon, Tenzin Lamo, Nawang Chhodon, Dechen Chhomo, Tenzin Sonam, Palden Lundup, Chhering Angdui, Kesang Lakit, Tenzin Chhoyyi, Chhering Zangmo, Tenzin Angmo, Yeshe Dolma, Chhering Gonpo, Shashi The and Mentok Lache, among others.
For many families, the case is about more than employment.
Standing in Kibber village, home to one of the world’s highest post offices at an altitude of 14,200 feet, Namgial Cheering points to the muster roll register bearing the name of his wife, Sonam Dikit, one of the workers whose services were discontinued.
“If a daily wager in a tribal area completes 180 days of service with a government department, the worker becomes entitled to consideration for regularisation and the services cannot be terminated without prior notice. My wife completed 180 days long before she was asked not to report for work,” he said.
Namgial, himself a former PWD muster roll worker, said the issue had dragged on for years.
“After 2023, many officials assured us that we would be adjusted in the PWD or another department. We approached elected representatives as well, but nothing happened. Finally, we moved the Labour Court in October 2024. Some cases have been decided, while many are still pending,” he said.
Nawang Champa, a resident of Tashigang village, said his wife, Logchang Ladzong, was among those removed from service.
“For almost six months every year, the Kaza region remains under snow. Roads to villages such as Kibber, Langza, Rangrik and Shego suffer damage every year and require constant maintenance. Labourers from the plains cannot easily work in these conditions. The department depends on local workers because they understand the terrain and the weather,” he said.
“Even after the tribunal’s decision, we are still waiting for the department to tell us what happens next.”
Advocate Prateek Kumar, who represents 130 of the 150 workers before the tribunal, said the litigation covered only a fraction of those affected.
“There are hundreds of similarly placed workers in the department, but only around 150 approached the tribunal. In the first batch, every single case has been decided in favour of the petitioners. We expect the remaining matters to be decided on similar principles,” he said.
“The larger concern is what happens after the judgments. Even workers who have secured favourable awards remain uncertain because the department has decided to challenge the orders.”
Senior PWD officials maintain that the department no longer engages workers on muster rolls.
Superintending Engineer Pradeep Singh Thakur said, “We have stopped hiring people on muster rolls, but road repair and construction work has not stopped. These works are now being carried out through Multi-Task-Purpose (MTP) workers.”
He added that while the Border Roads Organisation maintains the national highway connecting Lahaul-Spiti with the rest of the country, the network of link roads connecting scattered villages continues to be maintained by the state PWD.
PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the government had stopped fresh engagement of muster roll workers in 2022.
“There are cases where workers claim to have completed 180 days of service within twelve calendar months. Generally, orders of lower courts are challenged before higher courts. At the same time, the government is examining ways to address the concerns of workers who completed the required period of service and worked on muster rolls for several years without being regularised,” he said.
What the tribunal held
In identical awards, the tribunal directed that the petitioners be reinstated forthwith with continuity of service, seniority from the date of termination and full back wages. It also ordered that back wages be paid within three months of publication of the award in the Official Gazette, failing which they would carry interest at 9 per cent per annum.
The workers had contended that they were engaged as daily-wage beldars in 2020, had completed more than 180 days of work in the preceding 12 calendar months and that the department could not terminate their services without complying with Section 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act.
They further alleged that the department imposed artificial breaks in service to prevent them from completing the qualifying period, while retaining or regularising junior workers.
Appearing for the PWD, Advocate Devender Chandel argued that the workers were engaged only seasonally depending on weather, availability of funds and work requirements. The department also contended that they had not completed 180 days of service in a calendar year and that some had voluntarily abandoned their work.
After examining the evidence, the tribunal rejected the department’s defence and ruled in favour of all 41 petitioners in the first batch.
A link road connecting a remote village in Spiti Valley, where local daily-wage workers were employed for road maintenance. (Express photo) 
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