16 of 18 labour inspectors flunk departmental exam

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, March 26

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In a major embarrassment for the Labour Department, only two inspectors of the 18 who took a departmental examination could pass it.

Held in January, the examination was meant to confirm their promotion. Sources said some of the inspectors were not even abreast with recently enacted new four labor codes.

As per the department guidelines, those already been promoted as Labour Enforcement Officer and Labour Inspector (Grade 1) have to clear the departmental examination to confirm their promotion, but if they fail to qualify, they would be demoted.

An official of the department said: “If they are not familiar with the basic labour laws, how can we expect them to protect the rights of the labourers. As almost all of them have failed, questions are being raised on their competency to continue on the post they are holding.”

VK Janjua, principal secretary, Labour Department, said he was shocked to see the results. “After the results, I immediately checked the question paper. It was an easy one. I don’t know why the majority of them failed,” he said. Janjua said the inspectors would get another chanc to clear the examination.