Flexi hiring in govt sector to rise further: Report

Almost 12.3 million are employed on a temporary basis in the public sector where flexi hiring is likely to rise further, a report by the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) said on Wednesday.

"Flex [staffing] is out of necessity. Any organisation that has a reputation, offers a career progression attracts a flexi worker. However, we've to bring in a societal engineering change towards flexi workers," said Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director and CEO, National Skill Development Corporation, at the ISF's National Conclave held in Delhi on Wednesday.

India is among the top five nations in terms of flexible workforce. The report says 82 per cent of total flexi workforce in India is under the age of 30 and the average salary of a flexi worker is around Rs 14,000.

Around 27 per cent chose flexi work due to lack of alternate opportunity in the formal sector. There is an estimated 49.7 million formal sector workforce in India, of which 28.8 million are temporary workers. The country's total workforce is estimated at 397.4 million.

"Our study observes that over 43 per cent of those dependent on government for livelihood are in temporary jobs, of which over 10.5 million have no formal job contracts," said Rituparna Chakraborty, President, ISF. Overall hiring is on the decline in the government sector, along with increasing temporization.

The Economic Survey 2012/13 shows employment by government declined from 19.5 million in 1995 to 17.5 million in 2011, with the central government accounting for half of the decline. The share of permanent employees in central government regular civilian employees fell from 93.4 per cent and 93.6 per cent in 1991 and 2001, respectively, to 88.45 per cent in 2009. The study notes that a considerable number of these temporary workers dependent on the government for livelihood are deprived of a decent work environment. A large number do not even receive the minimum wages.