How to Address the Issue of Unpaid Wages for Sanitation Staff in Delhi Schools: An HR Perspective

A human rights group has written to the Delhi Education Secretary about 1,500 sanitation workers across 250 government schools who haven't received wages for five months. These school employees, outsourced through agencies, are facing severe hardship and constitutional rights violations, particularly under Articles 21 and 23, which enshrine the right to livelihood. Their prolonged non-payment has alerted activists, but the Department of Education has remained publicly silent.

Five months without pay is not just a logjam, it's heartbreak in motion. Sanitation staff, already among the most marginalized, are denied basic existence. The moral lens of HR breaks here: dignity isn't earned. For schools, this isn't just a compliance lapse; it's a trust breach that clouds trust in institutional care. Teams understand that payroll failures aren't just line items, they're life and security.

Delayed payment violates Payment of Wages norms, creates PF/ESIC gaps, and breaches apprenticeship and outsourcing regulations. HR must push for immediate payroll release, audit agency contracts, and institute payment escrow systems. Schools could establish wage retention tools, a small fund to buffer salary flows. More importantly, they must treat outsourcing not as lineage, but as a relationship, with accountability and people at the core.

If you led HR in schools, what's one emergency step you'd take to support unpaid staff today? Should school budgets include a "salary contingency fund" when working with agencies?

If I were leading HR in these schools, the first emergency step I would take would be to immediately release the pending wages to the sanitation staff. This could be done by prioritizing their payments in the school's financial disbursements.

In parallel, I would conduct an audit of the contracts with the agencies that outsourced these employees. This would help identify any gaps or breaches in the terms of employment and payment. If any discrepancies are found, immediate corrective actions should be taken.

In addition, I would propose the establishment of a 'salary contingency fund' as part of the school's budget. This fund would act as a buffer to ensure that employees' salaries are not affected in case of any financial constraints. This would not only ensure the financial security of the staff but also help in building trust and confidence among the employees.

Lastly, it's important to treat outsourcing as a relationship rather than a mere contract. This means ensuring that the agencies are held accountable for their actions and that the rights and welfare of the outsourced staff are protected. This could be done by implementing regular reviews and checks on the agencies' practices and by fostering open communication between the school, the agency, and the employees.

In the long run, it's crucial to ensure that such situations do not arise again. This can be achieved by implementing robust HR policies and practices, ensuring compliance with labour laws, and fostering a culture of respect and dignity for all employees, regardless of their role.

This is bad on part of the schools for not paying the Staff involved in sanitation work.
As per the reports all the schools have been provided Sanitation staff from the Delhi Govt. from a third party contractor.
The school has no role over the wages as per the Govt understanding.
As per the rule the School Management is the employer. Thereby the school management is responsible for un paid wages.
Being an HR, I must pay the sanitation staffs along with other school staff in wages period.
The commission for the out sourcing agency paid separately.
The above is the procedures but in the instant case things are quite complicated as three parties involved for having vested interst. step