Employee unions go on strike today, seek regularisation of 1.35L contractual staff

The strike, part of a nationwide protest, has a sharper focus in Haryana, with unions demanding the regularisation of contractual employees, restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and filling of vacant sanctioned posts across departments.

Justice Sandeep Moudgil of the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed 41 petitions and directed the government “to regularise the petitions in accordance with the law and under the relevant regularisation policy in force when the petitioner first became eligible, including, but not limited to, the policies of 1993, 1996, 2003, and 2011.” The court further ordered the government “to grant the benefit of the regularisation to those petitioners too who do not fall under the above policies but have rendered services of more than 10 years as on date (December 31, 2025).”

Justice Moudgil also instructed the government “to release all consequential benefits, including fixation of pay, arrears thereof along with interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from the date it became due till its actual realisation.” He clarified that “this judgment shall govern all connected matters with similar facts” and mandated that “the entire exercise shall be completed within eight weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment.”

A Haryana government official confirmed that the matter was under consideration. Beyond the policies of 1993, 1996, 2003, and 2011, the former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government had framed a policy to regularise over 20,000 contractual employees ahead of the 2014 Assembly elections. However, the high court set aside the 2014 policy in 2018. The BJP government subsequently filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, where the matter is sub judice.

Ahead of the October 2024 Assembly elections, the Haryana Cabinet approved an ordinance ensuring job security for contractual employees until superannuation. More recently, the government reopened the HKRN Limited portal to update and verify the data of eligible employees.

Haryana BJP spokesperson Sanjay Sharma said, “The job guarantee given to HKRN employees is almost equivalent to regular jobs, and they will enjoy security till attaining the age of 58.”

While several employees unions pledged their strong support to the strike call, the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam warned employees that “the principle of no work-no wages will apply to all absentees and it will also be treated at violation of the HSEB Employees (Conduct) Regulations, 1984, and disciplinary action will be initiated against such employees as per the HSEB Employees (Punishment and Appeal) Regulations, 1990.”