Punjab: Cabinet committee formed to expedite employment regularisation bill

Bhagwant Mann aims to regularise all contractual government employees. The cabinet committee formed has been tasked to consult legal experts and find a way to regularise the services of all such employees.

Chandigarh:Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday announced the formation of a three-member Cabinet Committee to pass a new bill for the regularisation of all eligible employees serving on a contract basis. The committee is comprised of Cabinet Ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, and Harjot Singh Bains.

Announcing the decision on the floor of the Punjab assembly on Thursday, the Chief Minister said that the state government was "serious about regularising the services of contract employees, ad hoc, daily wagers and temporary employees". Mann said that the law enacted in this regard in 2016 was under judicial process and another bill introduced in 2021 was awaiting the approval of the Governor of Punjab.

He said that the state government was "committed to provide relief to thousands of such employees" adding the Cabinet Committee constituted in this regard is in consultation with legal experts and would find a way to regularise the services of these employees. The Chief Minister said that the government made all the preparations in this regard and the Cabinet in its meeting has approved the draft of the new bill.

Mann said that the Cabinet Committee would look into the legal complexities of the draft in consultation with the Advocate General of Punjab. The Chief Minister said that the state government would "not shy away from convening a special session of the Vidhan Sabha for this purpose". He said that this was the "top priority of the state government and no stone would be left unturned for the fulfillment of this philanthropic work".

He said that it was the duty of the state government to provide relief to these employees and hence all the legal hurdles would be removed before the implementation of the new draft bill so that it would not have the same fate as the previous bills.