Appeal to use the "Litigation Policy" positively to provide relief to both the administration and employees from unnecessary legal battles - All Contractual Karamchari Sangh Bharat, Chandigarh.

Chandigarh 11 October ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The "Litigation Policy" recently announced by the Chandigarh Administration, if implemented properly, aims to provide relief to both employees and the administration from unnecessary legal battles, said Ashok Kumar, President of All Contractual Karamchari Sangh Bharat, (Regd.), UT Chandigarh. He added that it is also a matter of concern whether this policy will also be applied to cases where contract employees who have been working for years have gone to court seeking regularization. Ashok Kumar stated that the Chandigarh Administration is laying off contract and outsourcing employees who have been serving for years under the guise of implementing Central Government rules. He informed that over the past 25-30 years, approximately 5,000 contract and 15,000-20,000 outsourced employees have been recruited in the administration and municipal corporation under Punjab Rules. He said that in 2014-15, a policy was formulated for regularization after ten years of service for daily wage and work-charge employees, but unfortunately, contract employees were excluded from this policy. Ashok Kumar also mentioned that the Chandigarh Administration could have implemented the policy for regularization after three years of service, formulated by the Punjab Government in 2011, but this was not done due to the administration's inability to make decisions. Citing examples, he said that the services of sports coaches and assistant medical officers were regularized in 2010, and the services of drivers working in the DPR department were regularized in 2017 following CAT orders. Similarly, the services of part-time assistant professors were also regularized in 2014 following Supreme Court directives. Ashok Kumar alleged that the administration is adopting a "pick and choose" policy, which is increasing the insecurity of other employees, and in the absence of a secure policy, they are forced to resort to the courts. He pointed out that the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently ordered the regularization of the services of JEs working in the Municipal Corporation and lab technicians in the Technical Education Department, based on the Supreme Court's case, Jaggo, Shripal and Dharam Singh vs. Union of India. Ashok Kumar demanded that if the administration follows the court's orders and regularizes all contract employees who have completed ten years of service, the objective of the "litigation policy" can truly be achieved. He warned that if the bureaucracy does not take a decision, other employees will be forced to resort to "forceful litigation." Finally, the All Contractual Employees Union India appealed to the Chandigarh Administration to ensure job security for contract employees who have served for years and to provide relief to both the administration and employees from unnecessary litigation. He said that the question that still resonates in the minds of contract employees is: "Will we once again be forced to resort to the courts due to the indecisiveness of the bureaucracy?"