“After Serving the City for 15–20 Years, Thousands of Chandigarh’s Contractual Workers Fear Losing Everything”

“After Serving the City for 15–20 Years, Thousands of Chandigarh’s Contractual Workers Fear Losing Everything”

Appeal made to save 20000 temporary employees to Central Government and Administrator by Sanyukt Karamchari Morcha.

Chandigarh 7 March ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The Chandigarh administration have announced to fill posts on regular basis after the gap of 30 years. Thousands of contractual and outsourcing employees nearly  20000 working in the Chandigarh Administration and Municipal Corporation are in  deep and painful uncertainty about their future now. Behind the clean roads of Chandigarh, the functioning hospitals, the running offices, and the schools where children study, there are thousands of invisible hands that have quietly carried this city on their shoulders for years. Today, those very hands are trembling with fear.

Many of these workers have spent 10, 15, even 20 years serving the government in different departments — sanitation services, hospitals, government offices, and educational institutions. The Chandigarh administration have made these temporary appointments in Constitutional Anamoly of Punjab and Central rules in almost 30 years. Now the administration is abandoning the security of their jobs in lieu of regular appointments. They joined these jobs when they were young, believing that if they worked honestly and patiently, one day the system would recognise their loyalty. But today that hope is slowly turning into despair.

Under the banner of Sanyukt Karmchaari Morcha, UT & MC Chandigarh, these workers have made an emotional appeal to the authorities to protect their livelihoods. Sukhbir Singh Convenor said that recent announcements regarding fresh recruitment have created a wave of fear among workers who have already given the most productive years of their lives to public service. For many of them, these jobs are not just employment. They are the fragile thread holding their entire life together.

Gopal Dutt Joshi Convenor said that behind every contractual worker stands a small home that survives on a modest salary.A child whose school fees are paid from that income.An elderly parent whose medicines depend on it. A family that has built its entire existence around the belief that years of honest service will one day bring stability. Today that belief is breaking.

Bipin Sher Singh Convenor said that many workers who started their service as young men and women are now standing at the middle of life. Their youth has already been spent in government service, yet they are still called “temporary”. If these workers are removed today, they will not simply lose a job. They will lose the future they spent years building.

Shiv Murat Yadav,Convenor said that a worker who has served the administration for 15 or 20 years suddenly being told that he or she is no longer needed is not just an administrative decision — it is a devastating blow to dignity, security, and hope. Where will such a person go now? Which employer will hire someone who has spent half of his life serving a government system that still refuses to recognise him? How will that worker answer the painful questions of his children? “If you worked for the government all your life… why does the government not stand with you today?” 

The Sanyukt Karmchari Morcha says the issue is not merely legal or administrative. It is deeply humanitarian. “These workers are the silent backbone of the city,” representatives said. “They clean the streets before the city wakes up. They assist in hospitals where lives are saved. They help government offices function every day. Yet after years of service, their own future remains uncertain.” The organisation has urged the authorities to recognise the long and continuous service rendered by these employees and adopt a compassionate policy that protects their livelihoods.

The Morcha has placed the following demands before the administration:

* Protection of the jobs of long-serving contractual and outsourcing employees.

* Adjustment or regularisation of such employees against existing vacant posts where they have already served for years.

* Assurance that fresh recruitment will not displace workers who have been performing duties on these posts for a decade or more.

* Framing of a fair and humane policy acknowledging the contribution of these workers.

* Protection from sudden termination while related matters remain under consideration before courts.

For years, these workers never abandoned their duties. They never stopped serving the city. They continued to work silently, believing that justice may come slowly, but it would eventually arrive. Today they stand at a painful crossroads where that faith is being tested. If the system now turns its back on them, it will not only take away their jobs. It will take away the hope of thousands of families who trusted that loyalty and hard work would never be forgotten. The Sanyukt Karmchaari Morcha has appealed to the conscience of the administration and society, hoping that compassion and fairness will prevail before thousands of families are pushed into darkness. Because sometimes a single humane decision can save not just jobs, but entire lives.