Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
Punjab government has approved a major employment reform aimed at ending the outsourcing system for Group C and Group D positions in government departments. The decision was cleared during a Cabinet meeting held on Friday and is expected to benefit more than 1.25 lakh contractual and outsourced employees across the state.
Announcing the move after the meeting, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the government will regularize eligible existing employees and ensure that future recruitment for Class III and Class IV posts is carried out directly through government hiring processes rather than private contractors.
The Cabinet has also approved an ordinance as part of the government's plan to abolish the contractual hiring system. The ordinance will now be sent to the Governor for approval and will later be introduced as a bill in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
Mann said the government is preparing to bring two new laws in the Assembly, including the Punjab Outsourced Personnel Bill, 2026, which aims to bring long-serving outsourced workers under a direct recruitment framework and provide them with greater job security.
The decision is being seen as one of the most significant workforce reforms undertaken by the AAP government and is expected to provide relief to thousands of employees who have been working on temporary or outsourced contracts for years.
