Team to detect labour law violations in govt offices

The labour department is planning to crack down on practices under which thousands of contract employees working in various government offices are denied basic labour facilities.

To ensure that labour laws are followed when contract employees are paid salaries, the Department is mulling to form a team that will conduct surprise checks in all departments and act against violators.

Labour rights activists believe that such a measure would have been unnecessary if the government had responded to their complaints and implemented all labour laws.

Speaking to DH, labour secretary P Manivannan said several contract employees - outsourced from private agencies and working in government offices - were not even provided salary slips at the end of each month. "Several employees have informally complained about the issue. Considering these complaints, a circular was issued recently to all departments to ensure that basic labour laws are complied with," he said.

Among the laws being violated include the Minimum Wages Act, Employees' State Insurance Act and Provident Fund Act. The labour department will seek permission to form the special team during the monthly meeting of secretaries to government chaired by the chief secretary, Manivannan said.

Apart from the contractors and companies who hire these employees by flouting norms, the departments too will be penalised if such violations are discovered, he said. Noting that there were several challenges in identifying the number of contract employees, he said departments have concealed the actual number, as many contracts were project based.

Provident fund

A private security personnel at Vikasa Soudha, under the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the agency which hired him paid salaries only in cash. "I don't know whether PF is included in the salary. Providing a salary slip will help us a lot, especially in securing bank loans," he said.

Varalakshmi, president of Centre of Indian Trade Unions, said repeated complaints regarding violations by contractors hadn't yielded results.

"If employees complain, they are usually fired. While Rs 16,500 is the minimum wage, contractors pay them a maximum of around Rs 12,000 and pocket the remaining amount," she said.

"In the past, we had demanded that the minimum wages be debited directly to an employee's bank account. But politically well-connected contractors found a way out to bypass this system too," she pointed out.