US states shutting down prisons to keep coronavirus at bay

Bengaluru, Nov 21: The Karnataka government is facing pressure to overhaul its employment system after a high-level Cabinet sub-committee recommended the complete phase-out of job outsourcing in government offices, boards, and corporations by March 2028. The move is aimed at tackling a systemic issue that has led to the potential violation of constitutional reservation policies and the exploitation of workers.

The Call for Systemic Change

With over three lakh vacant posts currently being filled through private agencies on an outsource, insource, or daily wage basis, the sub-committee highlighted a significant lapse. "As a result, reservations are not being followed as per the Constitution and state laws. It’s an urgent need to take serious steps to change the system. It has been recommended to completely stop the system of outsourcing by March 2028," the panel stated in a document.

The practice of outsourcing involves private companies hiring workers to perform duties for a government agency. Critics argue this model results in lesser salaries, a lack of social security benefits (otherwise available to permanent government employees), and a failure to adhere to the provisions of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and prohibit discrimination.

The 'Bidar Model' as a Stop-Gap Solution

To regulate the current mode of employment and reduce worker exploitation until the 2028 deadline, the government plans to establish workers’ services multi-purpose cooperative societies across all districts, following the successful "Bidar Model."

The Bidar District Services of Labour Multi-purpose Cooperative Society Ltd., which operates under the District Commissioner, is cited as a successful example of providing a measure of social security to outsourced staff. Labour Department officials argue this society ensures workers receive their due wages and statutory facilities like ESI (Employees' State Insurance) and PF (Provident Fund), in exchange for a 1% service fee collected from the employees.

legislative push and Priority Insourcing

The recommendations, led by the sub-committee headed by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, are set to be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting. The committee has proposed the introduction of the Karnataka Outsourced Employees (Regulation, Placement and Welfare) Bill 2025.

In a move addressing immediate concerns, Labour Minister Santosh Lad, a member of the sub-committee, has reportedly assured that steps will be taken over the next 2-3 years to insource workers in "life-threatening services" on a priority basis. This includes essential personnel like pourakarmikas (sanitation workers), drivers, electrical staff in the Energy Department, and Health Department staff handling contagious diseases. The transition aims to grant these workers the long-term security and benefits they currently lack under the outsourcing system. 

Mangaluru, Nov 26: Assembly Speaker and local MLA U.T. Khader has initiated a high-level push to resolve one of Mangaluru’s longest-standing traffic headaches: the narrow, high-density stretch of National Highway-66 between Nanthoor and Talapady.

He announced on Tuesday that a formal proposal has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) seeking approval to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the widening of this crucial corridor.

The plan specifically aims to expand the existing 45-meter road width to a full 60 meters, coupled with the construction of dedicated service roads. Khader highlighted that land for a 60-meter highway was originally acquired during the initial four-laning project, but only 45 meters were developed, leading to a perpetual bottleneck.

"With vehicle density rising sharply, the expansion has become unavoidable," Khader stated, stressing that the upgrade is essential for ensuring smoother traffic flow and improving safety at the city's main entry and exit points.

The stretch between Nanthoor and Talapady is a vital link on the busy Kochi-Panvel coastal highway and connects to major city junctions. The move to utilize the previously acquired land for the full 60-meter width is seen as a necessary measure to catch up with the region's rapid vehicular growth and prevent further traffic gridlocks.

The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.