Contracts and Protests
Fuelled by the perception of job security and long-term stability irrespective of efficiency, many continue to crave government jobs.
- Fuelled by the perception of job security and long-term
stability irrespective of efficiency, many continue to crave government jobs.
In the meantime, governments (Union and states) across India have adopted the
practice of recruiting employees to several departments, including education,
electricity, health, etc., on a contract basis. As per a report on India's
labour market from the International Labour Office, 85 per cent of the 17
million new formal sector jobs created between 2009-10 and 2011-12 have no
employment benefits and social security, indicating rampant hiring on contract.
For the Union and state governments, this practice of hiring on contract and
renewing it periodically plays to its advantage, increasing manpower to meet
immediate requirements on one hand and drastically cutting costs on the other.
For instance, most contractual workers are paid a peanut, way less than regular
employees who do the same job. Under this arrangement, contractual workers do
not receive any benefits and allowances enjoyed by the regular employees. It’s
true when people argue that people got into a contract knowing the vulnerable
nature of their employment, but this same vulnerability turns into a point of
contention. Many people end up spending their most productive years on
contractual work and eventually run out of other career options, while they
find it difficult to support their families with their meagre salaries. No
wonder contractual employees have taken to the streets on several occasions in
many states, demanding regularisation of jobs and fair wages. They argue that
they have been exploited with minimal job protection despite their
contributions.
- Interestingly, there were several instances in the past when
political parties promised in their election manifesto to regularise all
contractual jobs but forgot after the elections, sparking massive protests. In
the meantime, many Indian states have regularised contractual employees over
the years. So, prospective job seekers take up outsourced work in the hope of
getting regularised eventually, in spite of less pay. What is supposed to be a
stopgap arrangement to meet fluctuating demands eventually turns into a complex
issue. Nagaland is currently caught in this web, with youths from across the
state protesting the Higher Education department’s order to regularise 147
contractual assistant professors and librarians. Amid protests, the state
cabinet has decided to keep the order in abeyance and constituted a panel to
look into the matter, but the protesters are in no mood to accept anything less
than revocation. To break the deadlock, the department concerned and the
stakeholders should hear each other out. Different states have different
approaches to the regularisation of contractual employees, and past court
rulings are also mixed – some in favour and some against. What is clear is that
it is not a fundamental right. So, the way forward is a fair and transparent
selection procedure. Posts should be filled in accordance with law and not
convenience
