Labour Advisory Board recommends direct contract hiring of workers by govt departments
The Delhi Contract Labour Advisory Board, chaired by the Labour Minister, Shri Gopal Rai in its fifth meeting has recommended direct contract of workers with various government departments, who are currently hired through outsourcing agencies.
The Board has deliberated on important but complex issues pertaining to outsourced workers in its five meetings held till date. The fifth meeting of the Board was convened on 18.07.2018 under the Chairmanship of Labour Minister Mr Gopal Rai, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Deputy Director- ESI and representatives of departments – CATS, DJB, DTC, Acharya Bhikshu Hospital were also invited in the Board meeting to give their valuable inputs/suggestions.
After detailed discussions, it was noted that the present system of outsourcing of personnel leads to non-payment of full PF etc. and also payment of outsourced agency charges & taxes etc.
After deliberations, the board resolved the following:-
(a) Workers deployed through various outsourcing agencies working in departments of Delhi Govt. will be taken on direct contract with the department and their wages and other entitlements under various labour laws will be complied by the department itself.
(b) To ensure effective supervision, management and compliances under various labour laws, the board has also proposed appointment of Labour Welfare Officer by various departments, which will relieve officers of the department performing extra duties over and above their core duties.
(c) In case of further need of hiring of personnel on contract basis, the department may obtain suitable candidates through outsourcing agency which will be taken on direct contract by the Deptt.
(c) This changeover of the present system will be (a boon for large number of contract workers working in various departments of Govt. of Delhi) and also result in financial savings for the Govt. in respect of monthly agency charges being paid to contractors by departments and GST on bills etc.
This will also streamline the process of release of wages and payment of in EPF and ESI etc.
(f) Based on the recommendations of Delhi Contract Labour Advisory Board, the Labour Department will finalize the modalities and accordingly, a Cabinet Note will be placed before the Cabinet for its consideration.
The Delhi Contract Labour Advisory Board was notified on 14.11.2017. The Board consists of 13 members and is headed by Hon’ble Labour Minister of Delhi, Sh. Gopal Rai as its Chairman. Sh. Ajay Dutt and Sh. Naresh Yadav, MLAs and workers’ representatives as well as management representatives are Members of the Board.
The mandate of the Board is to recommend welfare measures and ensure the statutory entitlements of contractual workers. Having noted that there is a very large number of outsourced contract workers and their poor working conditions, the Board adopted a pro active approach and constituted 3 sub committees to look into various aspects of contractual appointments and suggest the ways to ensure effective implementation of existing provisions in respect of contractual workers.
