Big Win For 1,20,000 Contractual Workers: Haryana Govt Grants Job Security, Equal Pay

Chandigarh: The Haryana government, led by Nayab Singh Saini, made a big decision for contractual employees in a cabinet meeting held on Thursday. Now, contractual employees in Haryana will receive job security and salaries similar to regular employees. It is reported that this benefit will extend to 120,000 employees.

Earlier last week, the Haryana Cabinet had approved a policy aimed at providing employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to Agniveers after completion of their service in the armed forces.

The Haryana Agniveer Policy, 2024, offers benefits in government recruitment, including a 10 per cent horizontal reservation for Agniveers in direct recruitment for positions such as constable, mining guard, forest guard and prison warder.

The policy also offers a five per cent horizontal reservation for Group C posts and a one per cent horizontal reservation for Group B posts in line with Agniveers’ skill specializations, Saini said.  

Last month, the BJP government in Haryana made announcements about providing employment to former Agniveers.

In Group C and D posts, the government had announced a three-year relaxation in the upper age limit for such candidates. However, this age relaxation would be five years for the first batch of Agniveers.

Saini said former Agniveers would receive priority for gun licenses, provided they fulfil conditions set out in the Arms Act, preference in deployment through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (HKRNL), and interest-free loans for up to three years for a principal amount of up to Rs 5 lakh to start their own businesses.

In 2022-23, a total of 1,830 Agniveers were selected from Haryana while in 2023-24 as many as 2,215 were recruited.