Mon Oct 06 19:05:58 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text, with a focus on clarity and brevity suitable for a general audience:
**Kochi Corporation to Regularize Contingent Workers, Faces Legal Hurdles**
**KOCHI, October 7, 2025** – The Kochi Corporation is moving forward with plans to make its contingent workers permanent employees, but faces potential legal challenges. Mayor M. Anilkumar announced yesterday that the corporation will compile a seniority list of existing contingent workers to facilitate the regularization process.
The move follows a council meeting where opposition members demanded that all daily-wage workers, including those hired through councillors, be considered for permanent positions. The Mayor has requested division-level seniority lists of sanitation and waste management workers, including those appointed through the employment exchange and those hired by councillors and working on daily wages for years.
The issue of worker regularization in Kochi is complex. While past efforts in 2010 saw 776 daily-wage workers become permanent, a court directive mandated future appointments be made through the employment exchange. This has created a situation where many workers, some employed for over a decade, remain on daily wages through councillor appointments.
A previous council decision to regularize 140 workers hired through the employment exchange was challenged in court by 121 workers appointed by councillors.
Mayor Anilkumar stated the Corporation is open to including impoverished workers on a casual labor list. He has requested a comprehensive list of all contingent workers within ten days, after which it will be submitted to the government for consideration. The situation is expected to be monitored closely as it navigates legal and logistical hurdles.
First Piper 