Karnataka Approves 75% Job Quota for Kannadigas in Private Sector
Siddhiramaya’s Government Passes a Bill to Provide up to 75% Reservation to Kannadigas
Image Credits: Indian Today
Yesterday, the Congress-ruling government of Karnataka passed a bill reserving up to 75% of the private sector for locals. The State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill 2024 intends to provide 50% reservation to the management category and 75% reservation to the non-management category to locals. The bill is anticipated to be implemented in the current assembly sessions.
The management positions include managerial, technical, administrative, operational, and other higher roles except directors. The non-management positions include clerical, unskilled, semi-skilled, IT employees, and contractual workers.
The bill characterised a local as someone born in Karnataka and domiciled in the state for 15 years or more. A candidate should have achieved fluency in reading and writing in the Kannada language. The candidate needs to have Kannada as a language in his secondary school. For people who have not opted for Kannada as a language, a proficiency test in Kannada conducted by government-regulated agencies needs to be qualified.
If the employers fail to provide the reservation to the locals, a fine of rupees 10,000 to 25,000 will be imposed on the company, with an amount of rupees 100 charged until the local employee count is up to the mark. In the event of the unavailability of local candidates, the government and the company need to organise workshops together and train locals for the job positions. A relaxation of 25% will be provided for management positions as well as non-management positions. If the employer is still unable to find suitable candidates, then the government will allocate further appropriate relaxations.
In the recent few months, Karnataka has been dealing with recurring cases of violence regarding compulsory hoarding and signboards in the Kannada language. This bill will help to promote the Kannada language and empower locals in the state.
Chief Minister Siddhiramaya posted on social media platform X, “The cabinet meeting held yesterday approved a bill to make recruitment of 100% Kannadigas mandatory for ‘C’ and ‘D’ grade posts in all the private industries in the state,” which he deleted later.
The reason for passing this bill is to compensate locals with jobs in the private sector because of the agricultural land acquisition of Kannadigas to build private business firms and the loss of their employment.
Karnataka Labor Minister Santosh Lad said, “The bill mandates giving priority to Kannadigas, especially since many private firms avail subsidies and other benefits from the government to set up establishments. Therefore, we aim to create more jobs for local Kannadigas.”
The decision to cater to Kannadiga voters did not garner the expected support from business leaders.
TV Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys, berated the bill, labeling it “regressive” and “discriminatory.” He stated, “This bill must be scrapped. It’s akin to fascism. How can the government dictate private-sector hiring practices? This move is reminiscent of Orwell’s Animal Farm. It’s unbelievable that @INCIndia supports such a bill.”
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd., expressed her indifference by asserting, “As a tech hub, we need skilled talent. While the intention is to boost local employment, we must ensure it doesn’t jeopardize Karnataka’s leadership in technology. There should be provisions exempting highly skilled roles from this policy.”
It is not the first time a government has passed a bill to empower locals and increase employment. The Haryana government passed a bill in 2020 to provide 75% reservation in private firms to locals with a monthly salary lower than Rs. 30,000. This bill was struck down by the Punjab and Haryana courts as the law violated the fundamental rights of citizens and employers and was declared unconstitutional.
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