CHANDIGARH, MAY 31 — Out-sourced and non-permanent employees across Punjab will transition into direct state employment under a sweeping policy shift approved by the state cabinet to eliminate third-party contractors.
The policy overhaul will absorb 65,048 outsourced workers from 51 state departments into the government framework, ensuring they receive standardized benefits, job security, and protection from arbitrary dismissal. The initiative reverses a broader national trend toward contractual labor by moving staff into a structured pipeline for regularisation.
The transition relies on two newly introduced legal frameworks designed to systematically phase out the middleman system. The first framework shifts personnel from external agencies to direct state contracts, while the second manages the absorption of seasoned contract staff into permanent, sanctioned vacancies.
“These employees will now have direct employment, full dignity and a clear pathway to permanence,” Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann asserted while detailing the framework. “Workers presently engaged through private contractors in Punjab Government departments and entities will be taken directly into the state’s own employment, eliminating the middleman contractor system.”
According to official data, the power sector represents the largest segment of beneficiaries with 15,753 workers, followed by 8,436 local government employees, 8,373 workers in cooperative institutions, and 7,704 school education staff. The remaining positions span transport, health, agriculture, water sanitation, and public works.
The revised employment guidelines establish that Group C and Group D personnel with five years of continuous service will move directly onto the state payroll. Those engaged in high-risk duties will qualify for this direct state transition after three years of service.
The administration affirmed that the new employee-state relationship eliminates agency commissions, ensuring salaries are deposited fully into bank accounts. Staff will also be integrated into the state’s biometric attendance and integrated Human Resource Management System (iHRMS) to track attendance and leaves transparently.
The Departments of Personnel and Finance will begin notifying eligible employment categories in successive phases over the next 45 days under the oversight of an executive committee.
