NEW DELHI: Two PILs espousing diametrically opposite causes - one seeking protection of employees from termination and salary cuts and other by an association of industrial employers challenging the government directive to pay full wages during lockdown - will be taken up for hearing by the Supreme Court this week.One favouring employees is filed by advocate Rajesh Inamdar and National Information Technology Employees Sena (NITES) secretary Harpreet Saluja , who sought a direction from the SC to all private and public sector firms to implement labour ministry's March 20 advisory not to lay off/terminate employees or cut their salaries during lockdown situation caused by Covid-19.They clarified that the PIL does not intend to burden employers. "But, the court needs to strike a balance between private contractual right and the public duty so as not to give rise to a gross humanitarian disaster that would ensue from large-scale termination of jobs during pandemic situation," the petitioners said, and named firms in Gurugram, Noida, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune which have given termination notice to more than 2 lakh employees and also resorted to salary cuts upto 50% for rest of the employees."The Centre and the state governments must ensure that employees engaged in private sector are not terminated and are able to draw at least substance salary. Several private companies have initiated process to illegally terminate services of employees, many through communication over phone, or withheld their salaries in breach of the government orders, which could be a punishable offence under Disaster Management Act, 2005," the petitioners said.In contrast, Mumbai-based 'Twin City Industrial Employers Association ' through secretary M M Behrani challenged the March 29 order of the ministry of home affairs and the March 31 order of Maharashtra government directing the private establishments to pay full salary to all workers/employers, contract or casual, during the lockdown period."Because of stoppage of operations since March 25 due to lockdown, the member of the petitioner association have suffered huge losses. This aggravated their woes inflicted by the global economic recession prior to Covid-19 lockdown. In addition to these two, which broke the backs of the industries, if the direction to pay full wages to employees is implemented, it would render the business completely unsustainable. That will have far reaching consequences and affect livelihood of far larger number of people," the association said.It asked the SC to determine whether the Union and Maharashtra government had to competence an jurisdiction to direct private establishments, like the petitioner and its members, to pay 100% wages under Disaster Management Act to employees during the lockdown period.