Labour officers forged papers to get job: Probe

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 30

Experience certificates of Labour Enforcement Officers — recruited in 2017 — have been allegedly found to be fake. A departmental inquiry was carried out into the matter to establish the facts that some of the candidates had reportedly forged experience certificates at the time of their recruitment.

Notably, a minimum two-year experience of practical working of labour laws in government or private undertaking, was a mandatory requirement for the said posts. In the inquiry, conducted by respective controlling officials of the alleged defaulters, it was found that some of those officers had submitted experience certificates of factories which were not operational or had already shut before their time of experience. While in other cases, the experience has been of some other work, for example one of the candidates has got the job on the experience certificate of a data operator.

Certificates from non-operational firms

• In an inquiry, it was found that some of these officers had submitted experience certificates of factories which were not operational or had already shut before their time of experience
• While in other cases, the experience has been of some other work, for example one of the candidates has got the job on the experience certificate of a data operator

An officer, who had given the experience certificate of the State Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Punjab, had no history of practical working of labour laws, said the department. Another investigating officer had said that a Malerkotla firm could not issue experience certificates giving details of relevant experience i.e. labour laws and claimed that he had worked as an Assistant (Training) in the said firm.

Meanwhile, VK Janjua, principal secretary, Labour Department, said he had received the inquiry reports from the Deputy Directors and action would be taken as per the reports.