Haryana Assembly Passes Bill to Secure Jobs for Contract Workers

Government Promises Job Security

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has taken a significant step toward protecting contractual workers' interests by passing the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Bill. The legislation ensures job security until retirement age for employees earning up to Rs 50,000 monthly, with provisions for higher-paid workers to be covered under separate legislation. 

Reservation Statistics Reveal Diverse Representation

Addressing opposition concerns about reservation policy, CM Saini presented detailed statistics showing significant representation across categories. According to the data, Scheduled Castes constitute 28% (37,404 employees), Backward Classes 32% (41,376 employees), and General Category 40% (53,993 employees) of the HKRNL workforce. 

Opposition Voices Strong Concerns

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda raised serious concerns about transparency in the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRNL) recruitment process. He cited an International Labour Organisation report indicating that 54.7% of Haryana's educated youth have migrated to other states for employment opportunities. Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed suggested referring the bill to a Select Committee, while Rohtak MLA BB Batra questioned its legal sustainability.

Future Employment Prospects

The government has announced plans for recruiting 2 lakh permanent employees separately from this initiative. The current bill focuses on existing contractual staff, including those working through HKRNL, on contract, ad-hoc, or outsourced basis in government organizations. 

The Congress party's proposed amendments, including permanent employee status after 10 years and Rs 10 lakh compensation for families of deceased temporary workers, were rejected during the assembly session.