Haryana government’s 50,000 contractual staff may soon lose jobs

CHANDIGARH: As the deadline set for the Haryana government by the Punjab and Haryana high court to remove all the contractual or temporary employees ends on November 30, around 50,000 temporary staff are likely lose their jobs in the state.
Sources confirmed that only an ordinance could save their jobs at this point as the appeal filed by Haryana government before the Supreme Court has not been heard till date.
The high court had on May 31 struck down the Hooda government’s 2014 employee regularisation policy for contractual and adhoc employees.
The high court had made it clear that all the temporary employees working for the Haryana government could only continue for a maximum of six months. The court had ordered the state to ensure filling of these posts with regular staff through a selection process. “Under no circumstances, any adhoc/contract/work-charged/daily wage employees shall be allowed to continue thereafter,” high court had held.
According to Haryana Sarv Karamchari Sangh, an umbrella organization of employee unions in the state, around 50,000 temporary employees, including 5,000 who had benefitted from the regularisation policy, may lose jobs after November 30 due to the high court order.
“The state had promised us that if no relief is received from the Supreme Court, the government would introduce an ordinance. If no action is taken by the state to save these employees, we may resort to protest against the government,” Subhash Lamba, secretary-general of the Haryana Sarv Karamchari Sangh told TOI.
Lamba also claimed that the Khattar government had promised to bring an ordinance but despite preparing a draft and seeking opinion from the employee unions, nothing was done.
“The functioning of several departments would be affected if such large number of employees lose their jobs. Around 15,000 such employees are in the state’s power department,” the union leader added.
Baldev Raj Mahajan, advocate general of Haryana, said the state’s appeal against the high court order is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court on November 26. “We are aware of the ramifications. If no relief is received from the SC, government may bring an ordinance. We may also request the HC to extend its six-month deadline,” Mahajan told TOI.
On May 31, 2018, a division bench comprising Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Anil Kshetrapal had struck down Haryana’s policy while hearing a bunch of petitions filed by Yogesh Tyagi of Sonipat district and others.
The policy was framed by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s Congress government to regularise contractual employees ahead of the state assembly polls in 2014. All contractual employees who already had or would complete 10 years of service by December 31, 2018, were eligible for regularisation.