10,000 contract staff may lose their jobs in Kerala

A recent review had identified 30,000 excess posts, of which majority are being manned by contract employees and they will be eased out in phases.

September 16, 2014 10:03 am | Updated 10:03 am IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

As many as 10,000 employees working on contract in various government departments, public sector undertakings, Corporations and boards are likely to be rendered jobless soon.

The government is reportedly gearing up to shed the flab in a staggered manner to avert public protests. Finance Department sources told The Hindu here that the service of about 7,000 contract employees would be terminated in the initial phase on getting a go-ahead from the Cabinet and others will be axed in due course.

A recent review had identified 30,000 excess posts, of which majority are being manned by contract employees and they will be eased out in phases.

The department is understood to have worked out a strategy for doing away with the posts. Since the employees are working on an annual contract, the agreement would not be renewed on expiry. The Chief Secretary's office had issued a circular recently against creation of new posts in the wake of the financial crisis.  Though the government had repeatedly been issuing circulars to heads of departments, PSUs, and other recruiting authorities reminding them to fill up the temporary vacancies through employment exchange, majority of them either ignored it or yielding to political pressure hired employees on contract. Thus the staff strength had increased manifold over the years and their salary bill has added to the financial burden of the government.

Since the government is striving hard to manage its finances, it had been exploring all possible options to slash the expenses.

The cash crunch would now be cited as a convincing reason for taking such a drastic step. The proposal is to retain skeletal staff required for running an organisation so that the establishment expenses can be contained to a considerable extent.

Securing Cabinet clearance would not be an easy task for the Finance Department. The United Democratic Front (UDF) allies may not accept the proposal to terminate the employees they have recruited in the departments, boards, and Corporations which come under their purview. But this would also create an impression that they were aiding and abetting backdoor appointments in violation of rules. Hence, a political decision would become imperative on the issue.

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