Festive season to boost contract jobs

Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), the apex body for flexi (contract) staffing companies on Friday said the contract staffing industry grew at 12.5 per cent y-o-y, in the period of July 2022 - June 2023. ISF foresees e-commerce, FMCG, logistics, tourism, hospitality and others to drive the demand for contract workforce, amid IT slump.

ISF represents Formal Staffing, Facility Management, and Security Services companies. The apex body has 110 contract staffing companies from across India, as members. ISF members represent 15 lakh flexi staff at the end of first quarter of FY 2024. New employment generated through ISF members was 1.31 lakh, the total flexi staffing number was 4.74 million of which 3.6 lakh was seen in Telangana, in the last fiscal.

Speaking on the hiring trend of contract workforce, Suchita Dutta, Executive Director, ISF said, “In Hyderabad, IT has been the major industry providing employment to contract workforce. However, a slowdown in this sector has impacted contract workers, in the city and across India. Going ahead, with the State governments initiatives in place, R&D and manufacturing will be the key sectors. For this fiscal, we are looking at a y-o-y growth of 12 – 14 per cent in employment of contract staff which will be driven by the upcoming festive season directly impacting sectors such as E-commerce, FMCG, Tourism, Logistics, and Hospitality.”

To safeguard the interest of contract workforce Dutta stressed on converting the unorganised companies into organised by easing regulatory policies. “Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act that transitions into National/State license for staffing companies is going to bring better compliance that will help Government, Ease of Business for companies, and social security and wage protection for job seekers that will reduce informality. It is a change of CLRA under Occupational Safety Health and Working Conditions Code 2020,” she said.

Dutta further informed that informal employment is the next big question. The Act will also transition informal into formal employment with the policy being implemented. “Staffing companies can introduce the youth to formal employment and enhance their skills while on the job or through opportunities. The license will push staffing companies to bring more employable workforce to meet the demands,” she added.