Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday made it clear in the Assembly that there is no permanent policy to regularise outsourced employees, leaving nearly 13,000 such workers without any assurance of long-term job security.
Responding to a written question by MLAs Prakash Rana and Dr. Janak Raj, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that outsourced employees are not considered government staff and there is currently no proposal to frame a policy for their regularisation.
The government informed the House that while a significant workforce is engaged through outsourcing across departments, regular posts are not filled through this route. Instead, outsourcing is limited to certain services, which are hired through a tender process under the Himachal Pradesh Financial Rules, 2009.
Highlighting the state’s financial commitments, the Chief Minister said the government spends around ₹1,172 crore every month on salaries and allowances of regular and contractual employees. In comparison, the monthly expenditure on outsourced employees stands at approximately ₹19 crore.
The pension burden on the state exchequer also remains high. During the financial year 2024-25, the government paid ₹10,536 crore to pensioners. Officials noted that pension records are maintained centrally by the Treasury and Accounts Organisation, with no department-wise classification.
The government further stated that guidelines issued in 2017 and 2021 are in place to safeguard the interests of outsourced workers. These guidelines make it mandatory for service provider agencies to disburse salaries by the 7th of every month. According to the government, no complaints of delayed payments have been reported since these rules came into force.
