UP Government Plans Corporation For Contractual Employees After Controversies, Yogi Greenlights Draft For Cabinet Approval

The Uttar Pradesh government is considering the establishment of a distinct corporation for its 11 lakh contractual employees across 93 departments, Indian Express reported.

This corporation would be responsible for everything from centralized recruitment to overseeing the financial and job security of these employees. It would also ensure that contract employment includes reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Officials have stated that a proposal regarding this matter is set to be presented to the Cabinet for approval in the near future. The decision comes after several controversies regarding the contract employees including non-compliance of the reservation policy in the past year.

“We have finalised the draft for the formation of a corporation and have sent it to concerned departments for consultation. While it has got in-principle approval from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, it will be soon placed before the Cabinet for approval after legal vetting,” a senior official in the State General Administration Department was quoted as saying.

Once established, the corporation will implement measures to monitor instances of fraud and exploitation, including the issue of "ghost employees" operating under contracts across 93 departments and corporations throughout the state, the representative further explained.

"The appointments will be linked with the provident fund department as their salaries would be directly transferred to their accounts and proper reservation will be ensured,” he added, emphasising the savings of time and funds of the departments after they are freed from tendering and appointment process.

An official has stated that the corporation is committed to addressing issues of exploitation by hiring agencies. These issues include contractual employees not receiving their provident fund even after government reimbursements, and female staff members not receiving their due pay during maternity leave. The corporation aims to prevent such discrepancies in the future.

“The Corporation will also ensure not just decent wages, which will be above the minimum wages, to the contractual employees but also bring uniformity in wages for similar work. For example, the wages of contractual safai karamcharis working across all the civic bodies in the state would be uniform,” the official was quoted as saying.

In the latest Budget Session, the Assembly was informed by CM Adityanath that the monthly minimum wage for contractual employees is set to range between Rs 16,000 and Rs 20,000.