Outsourcing employees question govt's sincerity amid new appointments

Hans India

5 days ago

Hyderabad: Outsourcing employees in various government departments are questioning the sincerity of the administration's stated aim to eliminate middlemen, as the recent appointment of thousands of new outsourcing staff has raised eyebrows. This comes even as many existing outsourcing employees face uncertain futures due to accumulating pending salaries and non-renewal of contracts. Employees are astonished by the government's dual approach of terminating some outsourcing services while simultaneously making new appointments in other departments.
On 19 July, as part of the establishment of the Irrigation and Command Area Development Department, the government granted permission to engage 2,494 various categories of services on an outsourcing basis, along with 61 housekeeping and security services, all through a third-party service provider. These employees will operate under the administrative control of the Department's Engineer-in-chief. As per the Government Order (GO) issued by Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Principal Secretary, these employees will be engaged for a period of one year, or until regular posts are filled, or until the actual need ceases, whichever occurs earlier.
This decision has surprised many, particularly amidst the ongoing impact of salary delays affecting several employees in different departments and hundreds losing their jobs due to non-renewal of contracts this year. Outsourcing employees have questioned the necessity of continuing to engage these agencies, especially since the government had promised to constitute a dedicated corporation. 'We are losing close to Rs 5,000 per month as commission to these agencies. This is a clear case of exploitation. We hope Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy understands the grievance of the outsourcing employee,' emphasised employees.
A significant protest was recently organised by outsourcing employees near Indira Park in Hyderabad, led by a Telangana JAC committee of outsourcing employees, demanding that the government resolve their issues. Their key demands include regularisation of services, scrapping the contract/outsourced employment system, proper pay scales and benefits, ex gratia for families of deceased employees, addressing agency exploitation, and the formation of a dedicated recruitment corporation. Earlier, the state government had formed a committee to review staffing across government bodies and offered hope for outsourced employees. The government is reportedly drafting proposals for a dedicated recruitment corporation to manage this ad-hoc staff. A Cabinet Sub-Committee is also studying the concerns raised by outsourcing employees, and the government has assured safeguarding their rights.