Daily wagers may be regularised in phases, says Dy CM

SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir Government may regularise daily wagers working across various departments in a phased manner, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said on Friday.

Choudhary said daily wagers were working in almost every government department and described their demand for regularisation as genuine.

“Daily wagers are in every department and we will regularise them as their demand is genuine,” the Deputy Chief Minister told reporters.

He also appealed to the workers not to allow themselves to be exploited by political parties and urged them not to become a “political tool” over the issue of regularisation.

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His remarks come amid continued demands from daily wagers and other temporary workers for regularisation. The government had earlier indicated that it would begin the regularisation process in 2026, subject to legal and financial considerations.

More than one lakh casual, daily-rated and other temporary workers have been registered across government departments, according to figures presented before the J&K Legislative Assembly earlier this year.

Workers’ organisations have separately been demanding regularisation of long-serving daily wagers and a clear, time-bound policy.

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The government had also constituted a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary to examine the legal, financial and administrative aspects of regularisation and formulate a roadmap.

It is in place to state here that on April 1, 2026, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the J&K Legislative Assembly that the regularisation process for daily-rated, casual and other temporary employees would be initiated in a phased manner during the current financial year.

The government has also made clear that regularisation is to follow a legal, administrative and financial review. A committee headed by the Chief Secretary was constituted in March 2025 to examine the different categories of workers, applicable rules, financial implications and legal issues before recommending a roadmap.