Punjab government approves outline to end contractual system, more than 65 thousand outsourced employees will be regular

Punjab News: Bhagwant Singh Mann government of Punjab has taken a historic step, bringing a big change in the lives of thousands of raw workers of the state. In the latest meeting of the state cabinet, it has been decided to end the decades-old and exploitative contractual employment system forever.

Direct benefits to more than 65 thousand outsourced employees

This step of the government will directly benefit more than 65 thousand outsourced employees working in various government departments. In this meeting led by the Chief Minister, important proposals and two new bills that will bring the employees on the path of regular employment have been given the green signal. After this decision, the role of private contractors or middlemen will end and a direct relationship with the government will be established between the employees.

End of contracting system and approval of new bills

‘Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Transition to Contractual Engagement) Bill, 2026’ has been approved in the cabinet meeting. The main objective of this new law is to bring the employees working through private contractors directly under the ambit of the government system. Along with this, the government has decided to completely repeal the old Employees Welfare Act of 2016, which was not being implemented effectively till now. Giving information about this decision, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that thousands of youth and employees of the state have served in government departments for years at very low salaries. Now the time has come to protect their rights and free them from the clutches of middlemen.

Direct government contract on 5 years service

According to the new policy of the government, all those outsourced employees of Group-C and Group-D who have completed five years of continuous service will be brought under direct government contract. Apart from this, taking a lenient stance towards the employees who risk their lives, the government has reduced this period to only three years. According to the new rules, when an employee completes ten years of service under government contract, he will be seriously considered for full regularization against the sanctioned vacant posts in the department. A total of 65,048 employees working in 51 different departments of the state are expected to directly benefit from this entire scheme.

Priority for workers engaged in risky work

In this policy, the government has given special priority to those employees who work in adverse and dangerous conditions. These mainly include brave fire service personnel, linemen of the electricity department, brave men cleaning sewers, sanitation workers of urban bodies, people associated with waste management and grievance redressal staff working in the field. The government believes that these people have made a huge contribution to the smooth running of the society and system, hence they should be given security first. If we look at the figures, 15,753 employees of the power sector, 8,436 employees of the local body department and 7,704 employees of the school education department will get direct benefits. Along with this, employees of health, transport and agriculture departments will also come under this purview.

Full guarantee of salary and facilities

After the implementation of the new system, employees will also get many other big facilities. Now contractors will not be able to withhold their salaries, because the entire salary of the employees will be transferred directly to their bank accounts. Along with this, women employees will get maternity benefits and all the employees will also be given ten days casual leave every year. Biometric attendance and human resource management system has been made mandatory to monitor the functioning of employees. While guaranteeing service security, the government has made a provision that no employee can be fired from the job without giving written reason and without giving an opportunity of being heard. The government has clarified that within 45 days of Cabinet approval, the process of implementing this entire decision at the ground level will be started.

Formation of special courts and DA review

Apart from the decisions related to employees, the cabinet has also approved many other important issues. A special committee of ministers has been reconstituted to closely review the old outstanding cases related to revised salaries, pension and dearness allowance. This committee will study the pending financial matters and submit its report soon. At the same time, a decision has also been taken to establish seven new special courts to curb corruption cases in the state and to dispose of them expeditiously. These courts will open in Mohali, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala, so that the hearing of cases can be completed quickly.

Also read: After land registry in Bihar, the tension of filing and rejection ends, Samrat government took a historic decision.