There is good news for the outsourced staff of the electricity department of Andhra Pradesh. Their salaries will touch Rs 21,000 per month! In preparation of the ‘Chalo Vijayawada’ protest rally, the Government of Andhra Pradesh government has granted a substantial pay increase to outsourced employees in the electricity department. Never before has there been such a wage increment in the department.
Acknowledging the challenges faced by these outsourced workers, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed officials to revise wages to the maximum extent possible.
While regular electricity department employees will be given an 8% salary boost following talks with unions, this disappointed both regular and outsourced workers, prompting planned protests.
Reddy then made a pivotal move, announcing a remarkable 37 per cent pay hike and insurance coverage for outsourced employees, raising their salaries to up to Rs 21,000 per month. Unlike regular employees, those outsourced receive a fixed salary without additional benefits. The Andhra Pradesh Contract and Outsourced Employees Association’s Joint Action Committee welcomed this decision, emphasising the added benefit of group insurance coverage.
This development impacts around 27,000 outsourced employees in the electricity department. The state government also mandated that the agencies that recruit these contract workers should provide group insurance facilities to them.
In January 2022, the government raised salaries for outsourced employees across government departments: senior accountants and data processing officers at Rs 21,500; junior assistants, telephone operators, and data entry operators at Rs 18,500; and guards, cooks, etc., at Rs 15,000.
The government previously established the Andhra Pradesh Corporation for Outsourcing Services (APCOS) for a transparent outsourcing system and considers regularisation for contract-based employees with over five years of service.
