With increasing trend of privatization of education, health, service, business, industry, mines, agriculture and marketing systems along with sale of existing public sector companies and infrastructure built out of public finance and handing over of the natural resources of nation, there has been serious impact on public employment.
The private organised sector has become the largest source of privileged employment. The available employment in both public and private spheres must be equally shared among the people of this country and should not be monopoly of a privileged few. It needs regulation to ensure socially and geographically inclusive representation of diversity and also to limit discrimination in many forms existing in organised sector employment market.
Depriving a vast majority of population of meaningful productive economic activities is not a healthy practice for inclusive growth and democracy because employment is not just an economic issue rather it is linked to our social status, dignity and living conditions.
Unfortunately for last 70 years the issue of affirmative action in private sector employment has remained unaddressed though at different points of time the issue has been raised inside Parliament and outside in street protests. For a long time, the private sector has been denying a socially inclusive employment policy and for democratization of the scope of available employment. Many studies have found that the corporate boards are largely managed by upper caste /class families of the country and they do not follow an employment policy declared in the constitution of the country while they have been enjoying all the benefits of public finance, national wealth and resources for their profit without social commitment.
Since its inception, it has been observed that the Central and State Governments have not been administering the strict implementation of reservation laws to fulfill the existing vacancies in Government offices and public sector. From the day one, the court orders are diluting the enforcement of reservation laws through various kinds of interpretations which have been encouraged in limiting the scope reservation in many ways. The post 90s employment policy of the Government in the name of outsourcing and contractual appointment has squeezed the scope of job further.
The restrictive enforcement of reservation for last seventy years in Government sector and denial of reservation in private sector virtually make the vast majority of masses vulnerable to organized sector privileged employment. It has been creating inequality in society and helping in continuing the hegemony of the already privileged few for a long time. The vast majority of masses includes, Dalits, Adivasies, backward classes,religious minority and women. They are facing discrimination in access to employment in the organised sector in the absence of protective employment laws to ensure their fair participation.
The class of people mostly from upper castes having advantageous access to quality education, English language and caste based social networking are the privileged one to manipulate major share of organized sector employment .They have been debating much on merit but not about inequality in competition and discrimination in availing opportunities. Studies have found that social networking and family/caste based influences have been impacting recruitments in organized sector employment.
Many of the all India services have been more beneficial to a few families of the country for generations together and many communities are still out of the unfair competition.
It is also observed that the poor and backward States having natural resources are also deprived of employment in their own locality because a lion share of jobs is taken away by the people from outside the State in the absence of a protective policy for the locals.
The condition of migrant workers is well known to all. Odisha having a majority of BCs, STs and SCs is the best example of this kind of marginalisation process in the absence of a protective policy by the State Government. The freedom and living space of a vast majority of local people has been restricted in many ways especially by policy decisions relating to economic and social participations.
The recent move of the Government of Andhra Pradesh to ensure 75 per cent of reservation for locals of the State in the industries and factories and the Cabinet nod by Government of Haryana with similar intension are quite relevant for other States. The AP Government has enacted the AP Employment of Local Candidate in the Industries /Factories Act 2019 to ensure this objectives of protecting the interest of the State in employment. The AP Government has also enacted the AP (50% reservation to BCs, SCs ,STs and minorities in works contract and service contracts given on nomination )Act 2019 which further ensures the scope of participation of different social groups in Government work out of public money. It will pave the way for inclusive participation of all while limiting discrimination and increasing representation of majority in economic activities of a State. Odisha must think of on similar line.
(manasbbsr15@gmail.com)