CHANDIGARH, MAY 30 — The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday approved a comprehensive policy to regularize over 65,000 outsourced and casual workers, permanently dismantling the contract employment system across all state departments.
The structural shift ensures that daily wage and temporary staff will transfer directly to the government payroll, effectively removing external intermediaries and private labor contractors from the state employment system. Reviewing the decision, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann stated that the reform secures workers’ labor rights and guarantees that all monthly salaries and benefits are disbursed directly into personal bank accounts.
“Another historic decision has been taken for the employees of Punjab today,” Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann stated, explaining that the transition ends arbitrary wage deductions by middlemen. He noted that the policy also accelerates the permanent integration timeline for personnel performing hazardous duties, reducing the mandatory service requirement from five years to three for frontline firemen, sewermen, and linemen.
To resolve ongoing fiscal disputes regarding state personnel benefits, the administration authorized the creation of a specialized cabinet sub-committee tasked with auditing outstanding Dearness Allowance installments and pension arrears.
Furthermore, the state executive greenlit the establishment of seven new special courts across Punjab to expedite judicial proceedings involving official misconduct. Mann maintained that these specialized branches will ensure the speedy disposal of corruption cases, concluding that the administration remains fully committed to safeguarding the statutory rights of ordinary citizens and public employees alike.
