Sports Dept employees hired through outsourcing await wages

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, May 10

For the third time in the past one year, contractual staff deployed at the UT Sports Department, hired through service providers, await their salaries for two months.

The department and the contractor continue to ask the affected employees to wait for getting mandatory clearance for releasing their funds. As per the practice, the (sports) department releases the salary amount to a designated contractor (service provider), who further disburses salaries among the employees.

The list of affected employees include, security guards, attendants, cleaners/gardeners and others, who are already withdrawing a nominal salary to run their livelihood. The affected employees are yet to get March and April’s salaries. On Friday, the employees received a partial payment of Rs 5,000 (Provident Fund amount), but no salaries.

Last year, the same delay in releasing the salaries occurred twice in March and September for different reasons. The affected employees had also threatened to stage a protest, but later opted out after getting assurance from the top officials of the sports department.

Also, in December last year, the employees of the UT Engineering Department (operators, helpers, electricians), hired through outsourcing to carry out mechanical work at local sports complexes, allegedly awaited their four months salaries for a long time.

“The process to issue salaries is under process. It will be released soon,” said the office of Assistant Controller of Finance and Accounts (ACFA), Sports Department. However, sources claimed that the necessary approval (for releasing the finds) was still pending with the sports department officials, till Thursday afternoon.

“The department should work over releasing the salaries in advance. Most of the affected employees are earning hand to mouth and the officers withdrawing huge salaries should take their (employees) problems seriously. This happens repeatedly and the contractor just shrugs off any responsibility on his behalf. We have to run from pillar to post to get our salaries,” said one of the security guards, deputed at a sports complex.

Another employee said, “Everyday, we join the duty, but by the evening we keep on waiting for the salaries. This is disheartening and we can’t even directly talk to the officials. The contractor shows helplessness and we can’t even leave the job in between. Some of us are performing dual duties at sports complexes, but still not able to get proper attention.”

He also said an order dated May 25, 2022, issued by the Superintendent Personnel for the Secretary, Personnel, Chandigarh Administration, stated that the wages of the persons engaged on a contract basis through outsource to be disbursed by 7th of every month by the contractor/service provider.