On March 18, 2016, Independent MLA Vijai Sardesai’s private member’s resolution demanding 80% jobs for Goans in private sector got defeated on the floor of the House. While sentiment and the pride of being a “Goemkar” will make one support such resolution, one needs to really think whether such a law on part of the government providing reservations in private sector will stand the test of law in courts.
Government jobs require 15 years of domicile in Goa and the knowledge of Konkani is also mandatory (of course, to what extent Konkani is used in the administrative field, is immaterial here). These two conditions are intended to provide security of jobs to locals.
But can the government really enforce private industries to enforce such reservations for locals? Will the industries not challenge such policy in the courts? I agree with MLA Sardesai and others that even skilled Goans are finding it difficult to find jobs. Mr Sardesai as well as former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, spoke of how industries in Verna such as Cipla, employ large amounts of non Goans. I have myself witnessed how Fatorda is a residential hub for most of these employees, who hail from Maharashtra.
But then, the employers too have their woes. The major allegations are that Goans are not ready to work hard, and that they are not ready to work at low salaries. Similarly, Goans seem to be missing the zeal of entrepreneurship. But the schemes like Chief Minister’s Rozgar Yojana seem to be helping many Goans.
I would suggest that rather than crying about lost opportunities, we Goans should try to tread new paths. We often complain, but are not too ready to try out new ventures. Take civil services and other competitive examinations of national level for instance. How many of us Goans are even aware of this realm of opportunities? We lament of how non Goan civil servants from the AGMUT cadre come to Goa and are often unable to comprehend the issues we face. But how many of our youth aspire to even attempt these civil services?
The government too has failed to train our youth in this regard.
