Munish Sood
Mandi
The Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday announced a move to reduce dependence on outsourced manpower in the health sector, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu telling the Assembly that staff nurses in government medical colleges would no longer be recruited through outsourcing agencies.
Responding to questions during Question Hour, Sukhu said staff nurses would instead be selected through written examinations and that the government aimed to complete the recruitment and deployment of nurses in all medical colleges within the next four to five months. Around 600 nurses are currently undergoing the recruitment process, he said.
The announcement came during a prolonged discussion on the future of outsourced employees in the state, with BJP legislators questioning the government’s recruitment policy, the functioning of outsourcing agencies and its earlier promise to frame a policy for such workers.
No regularisation policy for outsourced employees
Replying to a question by Karsog MLA Deeparaj, the Chief Minister made it clear that there is currently no policy for regularising outsourced employees in Himachal Pradesh.
He said the government had issued directions on October 13, 2022, for continuation of services of outsourced employees working in various departments, boards and corporations. A petition concerning outsourced appointments and their continuation is currently pending before the Himachal Pradesh High Court, he added.
Sukhu said guidelines issued by the government on July 1, 2017, provide for certain benefits to outsourced employees, including wage increases, Employees’ State Insurance and travelling allowance. These provisions are applicable to government departments, he said.
He also clarified that water carriers and para-fitters are not recruited through the outsourcing system but are engaged under separate departmental policies.
COVID-era employees may get another opportunity
The government also indicated that employees who were engaged on an outsourced basis at Tanda Medical College and IGMC Shimla during the COVID-19 pandemic could be considered for re-engagement.
Sukhu said arrangements had already been made to accommodate such employees and that the government would consider cases of others who wished to return to work.
The Chief Minister said the government was particularly looking at reducing outsourcing in healthcare, although some paramedical services continue to be provided through outsourced manpower.
BJP questions outsourcing agencies
The issue soon turned political, with BJP MLA Randhir Sharma questioning the government’s earlier promise to formulate a policy for outsourced employees.
He sought details about the empanelment of outsourcing agencies, asking whether agencies were selected through a competitive tendering process and what proportion of employees’ wages agencies were permitted to retain.
Sukhu said agencies were empanelled through the state’s electronic corporation after advertisements were issued and maintained that the process was conducted according to prescribed rules.
He warned that action would be taken if any agency was found making unauthorised deductions from employees’ wages or denying them benefits to which they were entitled.
Jairam alleges political patronage
Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur launched a sharper attack, alleging that instead of providing direct employment to unemployed youth, the government had facilitated the emergence of a large number of outsourcing agencies and contractors.
Thakur alleged that Congress office-bearers, legislators and people who had contested elections had been given contracting and outsourcing-related work. He sought details of the number of agencies newly empanelled during the government’s tenure and questioned the transparency of the process.
He also alleged that some agencies were demanding money from unemployed youth before offering them employment.
Rejecting the allegations, Sukhu said agencies were empanelled through an advertised process conducted by the electronic corporation. He maintained that the High Court had not stayed the empanelment process and that the existing rules had been framed by the previous government.
Merit and reservation also come under scrutiny
Churah MLA Hans Raj questioned whether the outsourcing system provided adequate safeguards for merit and reservation and sought a mechanism that would conform to constitutional principles.
Sukhu said the government had decided that recommendations from the Chief Minister or ministers would not be entertained in government recruitment and that appointments would be based on written examinations and merit.
However, he maintained that outsourcing involved the procurement of services through agencies and was therefore different from direct government recruitment.
Government says employees’ interests must be protected
The Chief Minister said outsourced employees were entitled to the benefits prescribed under government guidelines and urged workers to report cases of wage deductions or denial of statutory benefits.
He also criticised instances where hospitals had sanctioned manpower for a certain number of positions but were operating with fewer outsourced employees. If, for example, services for 40 positions had been sanctioned but only 30 workers were deployed, the government would take cognisance of the matter, he said.
Sukhu also stressed that outsourcing was not a new practice and had continued under successive governments, including during the tenure of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. Services are currently being obtained through agencies as well as contractors in different departments.
26-minute Assembly exchange
The issue remained one of the most prominent subjects during Question Hour, with six BJP legislators raising questions on different aspects of outsourced employment.
The approximately 26-minute exchange brought into focus three contentious issues — the job security of thousands of outsourced workers, the transparency of agency empanelment and the government’s proposed shift towards direct recruitment in critical sectors such as healthcare.
For now, the government’s clearest policy signal is in the health sector: staff nurses in medical colleges will move out of the outsourcing system and into a written-examination-based recruitment process.
