These decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting held here under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday approved a roadmap to end the decades-old contract employment system and also paved the way for regularization of over 65,000 employees in 51 government departments.In another important decision, the Cabinet gave retrospective approval to the reconstitution of the Cabinet Sub-Committee comprising Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora and Baljit Kaur to examine the issues related to pending arrears of revised pay, pension, leave encashment and dearness allowance.These decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant here. Value.Addressing the media after the meeting, Mann said that the Punjab Cabinet has taken a historic decision that we will end the contractual system in the state.He said, by eliminating the role of private contractors in government employment and creating a direct employer-employee relationship between the state and workers, the government has moved towards providing job security, respect and a clear path to permanent service for thousands of employees who have spent years serving Punjab without regular status.Sharing details, the Chief Minister’s Office said it has approved repeal of the Punjab Adhoc, Contract, Daily Wages, Temporary, Work Charged and Outsourced Employees Welfare Act, 2016.It also approved the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Alteration in Contractual Appointment) Bill, 2026 and the Punjab Contract Personnel (Absorption against Sanctioned Vacancies) Bill, 2026.“When we would go and meet people, we would hear from employees recruited through contractual and outsourcing systems and they would complain about their exploitation,” Mann said, adding that they would get all kinds of facilities at par with other government employees.He said, “We will send an ordinance in this regard to the Punjab Governor for approval. It (this bill) will be introduced in the state assembly.”Mann said, “More than 65,000 contractual workers of Punjab have given the best years of their lives in the service of the state. With this decision, Punjab has returned to them what is their rightful right.”Under the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Alteration of Contractual Appointment) Bill, 2026, outsourced Group C and Group D employees, who have completed five years of continuous service, will become contractual employees of the government. He said employees whose daily duties involve danger – such as fire service personnel, PSPCL linemen, sewer workers, sanitation workers of urban local bodies, waste management workers and field grievance staff – will be eligible for the next step after three years instead of five.He said that direct state employment would be provided after five years of continuous outsourced service.Thereafter, after completing 10 years of contractual service, the employees will be considered for absorption against regular sanctioned posts, as proposed under the Punjab Contract Personnel (Absorption against Sanctioned Vacancies) Bill, 2026.Highlighting the scale of the initiative, Mann said, “A total of 65,048 outsourced employees across 51 departments are covered under the ambit of this reform and more than 26,000 employees will be among the first beneficiaries.” He further announced that employees performing duties involving risk to life and health will get faster consideration under the policy.The reform will cover 15,753 power sector employees, including grievance redressal staff, PESCO staff, meter readers and nodal center staff; 8,436 employees of local government departments – mainly sanitation workers; 8,373 workers in sugar mills, co-operative institutions including Spinfed and Markfed; 7,704 employees in school education; 4,746 employees in the transport department; and 1,472 outsourced fire personnel, the CMO office said.Besides, 2,688 employees of health and family welfare, 1,575 employees of water supply and sanitation, 1,533 employees of agriculture, 1,311 employees of prisons, 1,251 employees of technical education, 1,570 employees of PWD (B&R), 1,322 employees of general administration and 1,231 employees of medical education departments will also benefit from the reform.Salaries will be deposited directly into the bank accounts of employees without any agency cut or commission. Employees will get statutory maternity benefits and 10 days casual leave every calendar year. They will also be covered under the biometric attendance system, Mann said.There will be transparency and protection from arbitrary action; He said that no employee will be removed without recording the reason in writing and without giving an opportunity of being heard.The implementation process will start within 45 days of Cabinet approval and eligible categories will be notified in phases by the Departments of Personnel and Finance.In another decision, the Cabinet sub-committee will consider payment of arrears arising from revised pay and pension benefits between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2021, besides examining the DA and dearness relief arrears pending from July 1, 2021, to March 31, 2024.The committee will also study issues related to DA and dearness relief for various categories of employees and pensioners.To ensure speedy disposal of corruption cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the Cabinet approved the setting up of seven special special courts across Punjab.Three courts will be set up in SAS Nagar, while one court each will be set up in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala. The Cabinet also approved the creation of 63 posts of support staff as well as seven posts of Additional District and Sessions Judges for the functioning of these courts.Speaking about BJP leader Amarinder Singh questioning his party’s decision to appoint Kewal Dhillon as Punjab BJP president, Mann said it is an internal matter of the saffron party.Mann said, “But Dhillon was considered close to Amarinder Singh. When Dhillon was a candidate from Sangrur for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections (from Congress at that time), Amarinder Singh had held rallies in his favor. Today he is saying that Dhillon is not capable.” PTI