Industry body says it may boomerang. An election gimmick, say unions
Activists and industrialists have both raised concern over the planned rollout of Haryana’s 75% reservation for locals in private sector jobs that pay below ₹30,000 a month, with the former saying it would be impossible to implement and the latter cautioning against the move backfiring.
The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, scheduled to come into effect from January 15, was challenged in court by a Gurugram-based industry body this week. While the case is yet to be decided, for trade union leaders, the decision raises a range of concerns.
“It is an impossible proposition. It will never be implemented. It is nothing but an election gimmick. The Government is not paying locals their wages under the MGNREGA on time, not giving reservations to socially disadvantaged groups in the private sector, so reserving 75% of jobs in private sector seems impossible,” said A.R. Sindhu, national secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.
Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of the All-India Trade Union Congress, said the decision was a “gimmick” and a “well-designed strategy to divide people”.
“They want to create a discourse that locals are not getting jobs because of outsiders. But where are the jobs? The employment situation in the industrial areas of Gurugram is bad. Workers are being removed every day. On the other hand, the Government is not doing any recruitment to boost employment,” said Ms. Kaur.
Activist Chandan Kumar, of Working Peoples’ Charter, doubted if the move would be implemented. “We need to unite India,” he said, adding that migrant workers employed in different States were a strength.
The national industry organisations, too, have raised their concern about the law and similar moves being made in other States.
Pradeep Multani, president of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the industry body had set up a committee to come up with recommendations regarding the law.
“The Prime Minister says there should be One Nation, One Ration Card,” Mr. Multani said, referring to the Centre’s decision that would allow migrant workers to use their ration cards across the country. “This law is contrary to what the Union Government has been saying, including on ease of doing business…It could boomerang,” he said.
He said the PHDCCI, which had about 350 to 400 members with units in Haryana, had proposed a portal for jobseekers to register on as well as an incentive for industry to hire locals. As an example, Mr. Multani said hospitals like Fortis and the IT industry in Haryana had workers from Kerala and the north-east. “Will they be able to get enough nurses,” asked Mr. Multani.
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