(c)"refusal to work" in relation to any person to whom any work in connection with any examination has been assigned means, his failure to attend at, or absence from, the place of work on a working day and during working hours, without obtaining permission of the authority competent to grant such permission or his refusal to do the work or any other conduct on his part, which results in or is likely to result in cessation or substantial retardation of the work and the words "to refuse to do the work", with all their grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly; and
