State govt to recruit 25,000 guards

In these times of recession, where jobs are hard to come by, only one category of workers are smiling, the security guard. Through the Security Guard Boards, the state government plans to recruit 25,000 security guards.

Although, the Board existed earlier, it was unable to carry out fresh recruitments due to legal impediments. With legal impediments overcome, the state is all set to recruit large number of security guards who will cater to the private commercial establishments as well as the government organisations.

An initiative of Labour Minister Nawab Malik, the government will soon issue advertisements for recruitment of guards this month. "Hitherto, there was huge demand for security guards from commercial establishments. As per law, government organisations too had to employ guards from the Security Guard Board. However, the Board was unable to meet the demands of the organisations till date due to non-recruitment. This problem will now be solved and we will recruit a large number of guards," an official from the Labour Ministry said.

Recruitment will be carried out in two phases. Around 25,000 guards are expected to be recruited initially. The ministry also plans organise a training programme for the guards under an IPS official.

The guards from the Board have several advantages over other guards. They are beneficiaries of provident fund, ESI, gratuity, paid leave and medical cover. Besides, they are also provided with uniform, belt and shoes. Any private firm, which registers with the security board will have to employ guards registered only with the board and cannot recruit guards from private agencies.