According to trade unions, there are around 35,000 workers who have lost their jobs due to the stoppage of mining activities in Goa, that have been shut since March last year. According to them this is a threat to employment. Mining companies, according to the trade unions, have retrenched workers citing closure of operations. That is true, and the sympathies of the people are with those who have lost their only means livelihood due to the errors of the government in processing the applications for second renewal of leases, and the greed of the few mining companies that led to illegal mining that has cast a shadow over the sector since 2012.
But, neither have the trade unions been able to proffer any solution to the issue, and nor has the government in the past 14 months found a viable way out of the mess. The uncertainty over the sector commencing operations will continue as there is no clear option that has been taken up by the government to breathe life into the sector. The alternative of auctioning mining leases to the highest bidder, which is the preferred choice of the Centre, has been almost set aside by the State, as the latter looks at every other possibility to restart operations except this.
The 35,000 mining workers who are currently jobless must be made aware that what prevents them from getting employed in the same sector again is the delay by the government in finding a solution to the issue. It is clear that the State and the mining companies are not in favour of auctioning mines a solution which, while increasing the revenue earned by the government, could allow the sector to go into new hands. The latter is what neither the government nor the current companies would want happen. Yet, that is the only solution that is currently available to the State and the only viable one.
But, workers’ woes are not just restricted to the mining sector. They extend to the tourism industry that is today, since the closure of mining, the number one employer and source of earning in the State. It is interesting that trade unions here have taken issue with the government for ‘competing’ with the private sector in this industry. Their contention is that with the State having introduced app-based taxi services, the private sector is not seeing any growth. While that is a debatable point, it is clear that the app-based service has not introduced new taxis on the roads, but has instead only made the connection between the service provider, which is the taxi operator, and the client who is the tourist or other traveler, easier. This, in the long run, should increase the business for the taxi operators.
With labour leaders finding issues with the two main employment generators in the State, would the government which also has a large workforce be left without censure? Contract employment in government and delays in promotions are two of the issues that have surfaced, but the delivery of service in the government departments is not being taken up. Can the leaders also ask the government servants to be more responsive to the people and deliver on services within the stipulated time? It is not enough for government servants to get all facilities, they should also be accountable to what is required of them and to delivery of the task.
As the world celebrated workers day, it is the problems faced by workers in the organised sector that have got highlighted. Those working in the unorganised sector, whose problems would be much greater, have again been forgotten, or even ignored. Not only are they underpaid, but there is no certainty for them. These too have to be addressed.
