In a landmark decision aimed at improving the working conditions of outsourced employees, the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a comprehensive welfare package for thousands of contractual staff working across various departments.
The state government will soon set up a dedicated “Outsource Services Corporation,” which will serve as a centralized agency to manage recruitment, salaries, leave entitlements, and welfare benefits of outsourced workers in a structured and transparent manner.
This move is being seen as a significant shift in how outsourced employment is regulated in the state, ensuring that such employees receive the dignity and protections long denied to them.
Under the proposed reforms, outsourced employees will now be entitled to a range of benefits that were earlier available only to regular government staff.
These include paid maternity leave of up to 180 days for female employees, access to free medical treatment at ESI (Employees’ State Insurance) hospitals, and coverage under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and ESI schemes.
In addition, the government will provide facilities such as pension benefits and paid casual and medical leave, thereby addressing the longstanding demands of outsourced workers for job security and basic social protections.
Currently, outsourced workers are hired through private agencies and often face irregularities in payment, lack of job security, and denial of medical and other essential benefits.
Many of them are engaged in crucial services such as sanitation, data entry, office support, and technical maintenance, yet their employment terms have remained precarious.
The establishment of the Outsource Services Corporation is expected to put an end to such exploitation by bringing transparency and accountability to the
system.
Officials in the state secretariat confirmed that the new corporation will be operational within the current financial year and will be responsible for ensuring that all employment norms are followed uniformly across departments.
The step is part of the Yogi government’s broader agenda to promote labor welfare, streamline service delivery, and ensure equitable treatment of all categories of government employees.
The decision has been welcomed by workers’ associations and labor rights groups, many of whom have long advocated for a fair and regulated framework for outsourced employment.
The move is also expected to improve efficiency and morale among the contractual workforce, which forms the backbone of several essential public services in the state.