Chandigarh, May 30 (IANS) The Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Saturday took pro-employee decisions, paving the way for the regularisation of more than 65,000 people across government departments.

By ending the role of private contractors in employment and creating a direct employer-employee relationship between the state and workers, the government has moved to provide job security, dignity, and a clear pathway to permanent service for thousands of employees who have spent years serving the state without a regular status, a government statement said.

The Cabinet also approved two new ordinances to implement the transition, reconstituted a ministerial panel to address pending dearness allowance (DA) and pension-related dues, and cleared the establishment of seven exclusive special courts for the speedy trial of corruption cases.

Sharing details, the Chief Minister’s Office said it has approved the repeal of the Punjab Adhoc, Contractual, Daily Wage, Temporary, Work Charged and Outsourced Employees’ Welfare Act, 2016, and cleared the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Transition to Contractual Engagement) Bill, 2026, and the Punjab Contractual Personnel (Absorption Against Sanctioned Vacancies) Bill, 2026.

The step aims to bring outsourced employees directly under the government and create a pathway towards regular employment.

CM Mann said more than 65,000 contract workers of Punjab have given the best years of their lives in the service of the state. With this decision, Punjab has returned to them what is rightfully theirs. No contractor will now stand between these employees and the state.

Explaining the reform, he said these employees would now have direct employment, full dignity, and a clear pathway to permanence. Workers presently engaged through private contractors in government departments and entities will be taken directly into the state’s own employment, eliminating the middleman contractor system.

The Chief Minister said under the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Transition to Contractual Engagement) Bill, 2026, outsourced Group C and Group D employees who have completed five years of continuous service will be brought directly under government contractual employment. Employees working in hazardous categories will become eligible after completing three years of service.

CM Mann added that direct state employment will be provided after five years of continuous outsourced service. Thereafter, after completing 10 years of contractual service, employees will be considered for absorption against regular sanctioned posts. Two new legal frameworks are being introduced, one for moving from outsourced employment to a direct state contract, and another for moving from a state contract to the regular cadre against sanctioned vacancies.

Highlighting the scale of the initiative, CM Mann said 65,048 outsourced employees across 51 departments fall within the ambit of this reform, and more than 26,000 workers will be among the first beneficiaries.

In another decision, the Cabinet granted ex post facto approval for the reconstitution of a Cabinet Sub-Committee, comprising Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora and Baljit Kaur, to examine issues related to pending arrears of revised pay, pensions, leave encashment, and dearness allowance.

The committee will consider payment of arrears arising from revised pay and pension benefits between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2021, and will examine pending DA and dearness relief dues from July 1, 2021, to March 31, 2024.

The committee will also study issues related to dearness allowance and dearness relief for various categories of employees and pensioners.

–IANS

vg/dan