Implement law passed for regularisation of contract employees: SAD to Punjab govt

Chandigarh, Jul 8 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday demanded from the Congress government to implement a law passed by the previous SAD-BJP government for regularisation of 30,000 contractual and outsourced employees.

The SAD president said the Punjab Adhoc, Contractual, Daily Wage, Temporary Work Charged and Outsourced Employees Welfare Act, 2016 was passed during the erstwhile SAD-led government.

It was brought to regularise the services of 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' group of employees who were working on an adhoc, contractual, daily wage, temporary, work charge or outsourced basis under state government entities for more than three years.

He said the Act had been notified in the Punjab government gazette on December 24, 2016 but the same could not be implemented as the general election was announced in the first week of January, 2017.

Badal said it was "shocking" that the Congress government had refused to regularize 30,000 contractual employees for the last four and half years even though the party had promised the same in its election manifesto.

He assured contractual employees that the SAD would agitate and "force" the Congress government to implement these promises, failing which their services would be regularized once a SAD-led government was formed in the state in 2022.

Badal said it was "shocking that after taking over the reins of the state, the Congress government instead of regularizing these employees had ignored their genuine demand and refused to hold any talks with them".

"Agitating contractual employees including those of the education department and health department have been lathicharged and even women employees have been manhandled.

"Recently, contractual women teachers were met with water cannons and canes when they tried to approach Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to represent their case to him," he said. PTI CHS VSD CK