PANJIM: The issue of employment to Goans in industries rocked the Assembly on Friday with Opposition MLAs Vijai Sardesai and Vishwajit Rane taking the government to task on the issue. It prompted a statement from Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar that the government cannot dictate terms to private companies to recruit only Goans.
During Question Hour, the opposition attempted to corner the government over its failure to curb the rampant flow of non-Goan workers in industries, and to take measures to protect jobs for locals.
The house also rejected a private members resolution seeking 100 percent reservations for Goans in government jobs and 80 percent reservation in private companies.
Rane sought to know what role the Labour Department plays to protect the interest of locals. “What if the companies don’t meet the requirement? Is there a condition in the IPB for all this?” he asked of Labour Minister Avertano Furtado.
The CM’s reply that IP policy ensures that industries compulsorily recruit 80-85 per cent Goans and a committee under Industries Minister and Labour Commissioner maintains a check, failed to convince the legislator.
Parsekar said that the government has now started recruiting only Goan staff in security and housekeeping jobs. However, Rane took exception to this and demanded to know whether Goans are only fit for security and cooks’ jobs? He went ahead and called the IPB a ‘dalal’ (broker) of industries.
Later in the day, Sardesai moved a private members resolution for 100 per cent reservations for Goans in government jobs and 80 per cent reservation in private companies. The resolution was discussed in the Assembly for nearly two hours and was even supported by some MLAs of the ruling party.
Sardesai said there is no mechanism in place to ensure that Goans will get jobs in public as well as the private sector in Goa. He said that employment is a major issue and in the interest of Goa the government should consider the resolution.
Ruling MLAs including Nilesh Cabral, Subhash Faldesai, Vishnu Wagh, Pramod Sawant, Kiran Kandolkar and other independents as well MGP MLAs supported reservation of job in the private sector. However, the resolution was defeated by voice votes.
Earlier, Parsekar in his reply said Goans are given preference in government jobs but the same cannot be done for private companies. “We put the conditions for 15 years residence certificate. We can’t impose the same conditions on private sectors and neither penalise for violation. The law of the land does not permit it,” he said even as he also assured that a committee formed under Industries Minister and Labour Commissioner ensures that maximum locals are recruited in the industrial sector as per Investment Promotion Act.
Parsekar preferred to reply to the question defending that IPB looks into the job prospects for locals while also taking into account environment conservation.
“During the scrutiny of the files, we check whether the applicant company has jobs suitable for locals, the kind of jobs and how many will be accommodated. Our target is 100 per cent jobs for locals. Unless we are convinced that at least 80-85 per cent jobs are meant for locals, we don’t even give in-principle approval,” he said, a reply that did not convince Rane who again demanded to know whether any provisions exist to keep a check on recruitment.
The CM again stood to elaborate that the initial check is after the respective company’s operations, the State inspects the number of locals employed by the agency at a later stage. “When the company applies for extension or expansion, our team conducts a thorough inspection on the desired requirements, only after which permissions are renewed/granted,” he said.
“If Goans are ready to work in a certain position, then why will a company recruit others? This practice of hiring non-Goans was done by the previous government. We make sure that companies wishing to set up their base in Goa have kept on priority recruiting Goan youths,” Parsekar said.
