the goan I network
PANAJI
Political and business leaders have been divided over the decision by many firms with factories based in Goa to attend a recent recruitment drive in Sawantwadi.
While political leaders have denounced moves by companies to attract outside workforce for Goan jobs, business leaders claim they have had no choice and have been forced to look outside the state to fill the vacancies.
The State government has announced the creation of 50,000 employment opportunities through the Investment Promotion Board, but this announcement has had little impact given the widening gap between the government and the private sector.
Taking serious cognizance of companies with factories in Goa attending recruitment drive in Sawantwadi, Labour Minister Rohan Khaunte had ordered an inquiry in the matter.
Private sector entrepreneurs are expected to inform the Employment Exchange regarding recruitments. According to rules, companies employing over 25 job seekers are to inform the local Employment Exchange, which then provides details about eligible candidates and requests the company to recruit them.
In this connection, 10 entrepreneurs had been issued a show-cause notice by the Labour department in November 2017, for initiating job recruitment drives without informing the Employment Exchange.
Claiming that they were unaware about the policy, the erring companies assured the labour department that they would not repeat the mistake.
Incidentally, the Employment Exchanges in the State had organized five recruitment meetings in the State since 2016.
In July 2016, a drive was organized in Verna and a similar recruitment drive was organised in Navelim on September 2016. The third such meet was organised at Don Bosco High School in Panaji.
A meeting was held on October 20, 2017 for engineering students at the Kala Academy in Panaji, while a similar program was organized in Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Hall in Taleigao in February.
Over 2,000 vacancies were advertised by more than 70 industries during these recruitment
drives and of the 5,000-odd unemployed youth attending these drives, only 247 people accepted job offers.
