VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday formally launched the Andhra Pradesh Corporation for Outsourced Services (APCOS) and handedover appointment letters to 50,449 outsourcing employees.
Hereafter, he assured, all of them will get their salaries on the first day of every month like any other government employee.
Addressing beneficiaries across the State through videoconference, the Chief Minister said the objective is to ensure transparency in recruitment and payments, thereby giving no room for middlemen or corruption. "Launching the APCOS is a step in bringing about a change in the system and society as well," he said.
Political influence and nepotism were the hallmarks of outsourcing employment, Jagan said. He cited an example of how the contract of sanitation workers in seven temples was awarded to Bhaskar Naidu, a close relative of former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
"The contract, which is normally between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 7 lakh, was escalated to Rs 32 lakh for Bhaskar Naidu. It shows how the system benefits the contractors, while dispensing injustice to the employees," he added.
"Everywhere I visited during my 3,648 km-long Paraja Sankalpa Yatra, I witnessed injustice being meted out to the outsourcing employees. Some said they received their salaries after the contractor got his cut, while some others lamented they had to bribe the contractor to get the job and again, to get their salary. So we decided to ensure that the outsourcing employees get salaries on time without any cuts and also get benefits such as ESI and PF, without scope for corruption and discrimination," he explained.
Jagan added that about 50 per cent of the outsourcing jobs would be reserved for women and 50 per cent for SCs, STs, BCs and minorities.
Elaborating, Jagan said APCOS will have two centres — one for outsourcing jobs, which will function at district level with the district collectors as chairpersons and joint collectors as members, while the respective HoDs will recruit the outsourcing employees under the collector’s supervision.
It will negate chances of favouritism and corruption. The district in-charge ministers will ensure smooth implementation of reservation.
All the outsourcing placements right from the housekeeping staff to security personnel — all workforce from district to Secretariat level — will be recruited through the APCOS, which will pay salaries to them through the green channel on time along with benefits such as ESI and PF. "There will be no commission and, most importantly, no bribes," the Chief Minister explained.
Another significant change is false claims - where a contractor used to claim salaries for 20 people, while providing jobs to 15 people - will be a thing of the past.
Jagan added that the district collectors have been directed to ensure effective implementation of APCOS. Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Botcha Satyanarayana and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney were present.