The Aman Sandesh Times
Chandigarh : To ensure transparency and corruption-free recruitment of outsourced/contract employees, Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor has directed officials to hire staff through the Regional Employment Exchange here.
The Mayor said through the employment exchange, the civic body would be able to hire employees as per the eligible qualification. The existing practice of hiring staff, which, in may cases, is allegedly done through connections or by bribing contractors, could be put to an end by adopting this new model.
According to sources, the recruitment nexus is so deep that aspirants allegedly have to shell out from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for getting posts of driver, gardener, sanitation worker and others in the corporation. Many employees had raised loans to pay bribes. Employees hired through outsourcing complain of being asked for additional annual charges from their salaries when a new contractor takes over.
“Why cannot we have a transparent system? I have asked officials to hire staff through the employment exchange. This way we will be able to provide employment to local residents. We will also be able to prevent unnecessary exploitation of poor workers who struggle to make ends meet,” said Dhalor.
The sources said there were bleak chances that the directions would be complied with by the officers concerned as previous such attempts had been futile. A Mayor has no administrative powers.
Initially, staff used to be hired through the employment exchange. The exchange has a large number of job applications pending with it.
This issue is also expected to be taken up in the MC House. According to officials, there are a total of 7,172 posts in the MC and all of these are shown to have been filled in the budget for this fiscal. Many regular posts are lying vacant, while recruitment of outsourced staff has exceeded the required strength.
