There seems to be an endless wait once again for jobs. The over 10,000 candidates which answered exams for the 80 posts of accountants have been made to wait since the Cabinet Advisory Committee is not empowered to take a decision. Again, the buck stops at CM Manohar Parrikar’s door who is undergoing treatment in New York. There are around 2,500 vacancies elsewhere in various other departments which are also awaiting the Chief Minister’s clearance.
On the other side, those in the government have reacted strongly to private companies scouting for manpower outside the state with voices being raised of an elusive mandatory provision. The 80% jobs for locals rule is as vague as a shadow with no legal provision to back it. If at all parties like the BJP and GF have made it their pre-poll plank, it is only to fool the people of Goa and bargain for votes. Otherwise consider this: The BJP-led government under Laxmikant Parsekar had raised the pitch during the 2017 polls with Labour Minister Avertano Furtado going to town assuring job quota in the private sector. So did Goa Forward, with its supremo Vijai Sardesai raising black flags at Verna Industrial Estate. While elections have come and gone, the promises have long been forgotten.
While pushing for quota system in the private sector will not work, government will have to dig deeper into why companies prefer outside labour when there is human resource available in abundance in the State. The theory that outside labour is cheap is still not well established, given the fact that there is no database with the government of private vacancies and corresponding remuneration offered.
The Karnataka government tasted a fair bit of success in providing Kannadigas 100% private job reservation mainly in blue-collar jobs. To that effect the state Labour Department released draft amendments to the Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules of 1961. The fine print said that if industries do not follow these new guidelines, the government will cancel all concessions given to them. Goa may not be able to copy-paste this, but it could work out its own policy keeping the Karnataka framework in mind.
Employing outsiders in Goa will not only deprive locals of jobs, but also create huge imbalance in the topography with increase in migrants. A case in point is the Verna industrial estate, a hub for private enterprise where labour from across Bihar, UP and Jharkhand is thriving.
If Goans prefer government jobs over private vacancies, it is mainly because of job security. In this context the government should work out mechanisms to create a more secure work environment in the private sector, and that remains a huge challenge.
The government has also failed in upgrading the skill of its manpower to suit the industry. The skill development agency has been rendered ineffective. If we may recall, the government had promised to upgrade the Pernem ITI and introduce trades that will fetch jobs at the Mopa airport site. While work on Mopa has taken off, there is follow up action on what was promised then.
The State government should be realistic to the requirements of the state and not give false hopes. The people feel hurt and betrayed especially at times when the state is on a downward trajectory with mining shut down. The CAC team should show urgency is releasing government jobs and engage with private players to work out an amicable solution to the crisis at hand.
