Chandigarh :
In a major relief to contractual workers, the Punjab Government today regularised the services of 516 contractual and daily-wage employees of the Forest Department. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann handed over appointment letters to the employees at a special function and reiterated his government’s commitment to ending the contract employment system.
The employees who have been regularised include drivers, beldars and other Class IV staff who had been serving the department for several years. Congratulating them and their families, the Chief Minister said the move would provide long-awaited job security and financial stability to workers who had spent years working under uncertain conditions.
Mann said contractual employees had long faced uncertainty regarding their future, including concerns over pensions, retirement benefits and financial security for their families. He said regularisation would now ensure stability and dignity in their service.
The Chief Minister said the state Cabinet had approved relaxation in educational qualifications and upper age limits for eligible employees, noting that many had already served the department for 10 to 20 years and would otherwise have become ineligible under normal recruitment rules.
He also announced that the regularisation drive would be extended to employees in other government departments.
Launching a strong attack on the outsourcing and contract employment system, Mann alleged that contractors often received full payments from the government but failed to pass on complete salaries to workers. He claimed many employees were forced to sign for full wages while receiving less, were denied leave and could be dismissed without prior notice.
The exploitation of workers through the contract system will not be tolerated,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the Punjab Government is committed to gradually ending the contractual employment model and providing greater job security to its workforce.
The regularisation of the 516 Forest Department employees is part of the Punjab Government’s ongoing initiative to provide permanent employment to eligible contractual and daily-wage workers across various departments.
