Regular jobs for striking sanitation workers on Cabinet agenda today

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 17

A solution to the over one-month-long agitation by contract and outsourced ‘safai karamcharis’ in civic bodies across the state seems to be in sight with the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Thursday formally deciding to place the issue for approval in tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting.

The issue was part of the deliberations that were taken up by the sub-committee comprising Local Government Minister Brahm Mohindra, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Cooperation and Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

The sub-committee has been constituted to make recommendations on repealing the old Act of 2016 and framing a new one to provide a relief package to employees of the state. Sources said while Brahm Mohindra and Charanjit Channi strongly supported the case of regularising the services of contract staff and bringing the outsourced employees of contract in the respective civic bodies, Manpreet Badal, Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan and Advocate General Atul Nanda had certain reservations.

It is learnt that Channi even threatened to walk out of the meeting if a favourable decision was not taken. Later, on the intervention of the Chief Minister, it was decided to table the item for approval in tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting. To regularise the services of 4,022 contract ‘safai karmacharis’, nearly Rs 42 crore was required and to bring another 15,362 outsourced workers on contract, the civic bodies require Rs 201 crore.