Chennai: “The Tamil Nadu government’s announcement to make outsourcing arrangements when there are lakhs of vacant government posts will severely affect future permanent employment opportunities. An outsourcing agency is against social justice,” said Marxist Communist Party state secretary P. Shanmugam in condemnation.
In a statement issued by him on this, he said, ‘The Tamil Nadu government’s announcement appointing a foreign human resources corporation to make outsourcing arrangements for all Tamil Nadu government departments and public sector undertakings is one that could severely affect future permanent employment opportunities.
The Tamil Nadu government has more than 5 lakh vacant posts. Only a few thousand vacancies are being filled. In the absence of permanent appointments, public service is being affected, and the future of young people waiting for job opportunities has also been thrown into doubt.
Although the ‘Overseas Manpower Corporation Limited’ was created in 1978 as a government agency to secure overseas employment opportunities, in 2012 its scope of operations was expanded during the AIADMK regime to include outsourcing arrangements for domestic employment opportunities.
In 2024, it was added to the Tamil Nadu government’s list of approved outsourcing agencies. Under the current T.V.K. administration, it has been turned into an agency for all departments and public sector enterprises. These moves are rooted in the modern neoliberal doctrine of a “flexible labor market” and have now been transformed into a full-scale attack on permanent appointments.
An outsourcing agency is against social justice. It can reduce OBC, SC, and ST reservations to mere paper arrangements. A government that is supposed to be a “Model Employer” should not become a “profit model” for private interests.
In an environment lacking dignified employment opportunities, the future dreams of young people are being shattered. In its election promise, the T.V.K. had stated that those who have completed five years of temporary service in government departments, teaching, and public sector institutions would be made permanent employees. However, the government’s current decision is moving in the completely opposite direction.
Although the Foreign Human Resources Corporation is a government institution, it is going to carry out this work through several private agencies. Outsourcing employees will have no connection with the concerned departments or institutions.
From recruitment to salary, provident fund, and ESI benefits, outsourcing agencies themselves will take care of everything. As a result, the government will not guarantee the working conditions or safety of employees who join service in this manner.
Therefore, the State Executive Committee of the Marxist Communist Party has urged the Tamil Nadu government to cancel the recruitment through the foreign human resources corporation, which fully paves the way for outsourcing, and to expedite measures for making permanent appointments,’ he said.