Ranchi: The State Government on Wednesday said that it was not possible to give equal pay for equal work to the contractual workers working in various departments but it was waiting for the report of a high level committee formed under the Development Commissioner to submit its report after which any decision over their future will be taken.
Replying over the issue which was raised by Poriyhaat MLA Pradeep Yadav through a call attention motion during the third day of the ongoing Budget Session of Jharkhand Assembly Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon said to sort out the issue a committee under the development commissioner has been formed which has secretaries of many departments as its members.
He said that the committee has had several meetings and it was on the verge of making its recommendations to the state government based over which any decision will be taken.
The Finance Minister also pointed that contract or outsourced workers are not selected through any competition and the practice has been existing since Bihar over which Pradeep Yadav took strong exception to the reply saying if the government feels that that appointment is not constitutionally valid why it is not doing a constitutionally valid appointment and the government should explain what restrained it from doing so.
The MLA pointed out that regular, contract and daily waged employees get different remuneration for different work in the same department despite the fact the Supreme Court of the country does not allow the same practice. Highlighting the example of the exploitation of workers by outsourcing companies in the state he said the agency pays Rs 8000 for the work which it charges Rs 30000 from the government and that too after they appoint workers taking bribes from them in online mode.
He said that he had also got two FIRs registered in this connection when the matter came into his knowledge in Godda where 35 candidates had been appointed as computer teachers for which they were first made to pay the bribe and then they were given jobs and even eight months after service he received a complaint that they have not received their wages.
Talking about the plight of contract workers, Yadav said that computer operators working at the secretariat get remuneration in accordance with the recommendations of the Seventh pay commission while those working in panchayats are not getting the same remuneration. The Finance Minister on his part said that it was not possible for the state government to give equal pay to contractual workers as those who come on regular posts manage to do so through an open market where they sit in the examination and qualify while the majority does not.
He pointed out that recently the government had given 196 percent DA hike for contractual employees but as it has solved the issues of the para teachers and that of anganwadi workers it was hopeful of doing the same over the issue of contractual employees however for that it will have to wait for the report of the high-level committee.