EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : The Karnataka Bill is a symptom of a larger problem
Kartavya Desk Staff
Source: The Hindu
• Prelims: Indian Economy(WEF, employment, gig workers, GDP, Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023, Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, NITI Ayog etc
• Mains GS Paper III: Indian economy and issues related to planning, mobilization of resources, Effect of liberalization on the economy etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
• The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, mandates 50% and 70% reservation in management categories and non-management categories,
INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE
Context
Provisions of Karnataka Employment Bill, 2024:
Provisions | Details
Reservation Percentages | 50% of management jobs and 70% of non-management jobs must be reserved for local residents.
Definition of ‘Local Candidate’ | Must be born in Karnataka and domiciled there for 15 years
Capable of speaking, reading, and writing Kannada.
Secondary school certification in Kannada or passing a proficiency test conducted by the Nodal Agency.
Relaxation Clause | Industries lacking sufficient local candidates can apply for relaxation, however, reservations for locals must be:
Not less than 25% for management roles.
Not less than 50% for non-management roles.
Penalties for Non-compliance | Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000 penalty for violations. Daily penalty for continued non-compliance
Compliance Reporting | Companies must report compliance to the nodal agency.
#### Inequitable growth:
• The high-end services-led growth model has delinked growth and employment.
• Globalization, financialisation, and technological advances have allowed capital and a small set of highly-skilled individuals to reap extraordinary benefits Working class, globally, has seen an erosion in their ability to earn.
• Working class, globally, has seen an erosion in their ability to earn.
• In developed countries, it manifests as a backlash against immigration
• In India, it is showing up in part as regionalism and a reaction against inter-State migration.
• Utilitarian terms this as a response from the host country in addressing labor shortage for unpleasant jobs, and offsetting aging populations.
• Local reservation in India : The Constitution guarantees freedom of movement and the right to work anywhere in India Domicile requirements seem to evoke parochialism and militate against national unity. The impetus for local reservations is an attempt by the State political leadership to be responsive to its own electorate.
• The Constitution guarantees freedom of movement and the right to work anywhere in India
• Domicile requirements seem to evoke parochialism and militate against national unity.
• The impetus for local reservations is an attempt by the State political leadership to be responsive to its own electorate.
Reasons for migration:
• All local reservation initiatives adopt a graded scale, with near universal reservation for unskilled jobs and at lower levels for higher skill tiers.
• Large-scale unskilled migration is not migration by choice but distress migration resulting from the inability of some State governments to adequately develop their regions.
• resulting from the inability of some State governments to adequately develop their regions.
• Industries often prefer migrant workers for unskilled jobs because they are less likely to form unions and thus more easily exploited. This dynamic not only takes away jobs from local workers but also depresses local wages.
• This dynamic not only takes away jobs from local workers but also depresses local wages.
Way Forward
• There must be a real national debate involving our political class, corporate sector, and civil society on urgently addressing India’s job crisis. The long-term response cannot be data chicanery, unemployment allowances, or knee-jerk regionalism. The current skilling and production linked incentive interventions are inadequate to meet the challenge at hand.
• The long-term response cannot be data chicanery, unemployment allowances, or knee-jerk regionalism.
• The current skilling and production linked incentive interventions are inadequate to meet the challenge at hand.
• Foreground political accountability for large-scale distress migration and the endemic lack of development in some States. This political accountability must extend to both the State and national leadership.
• This political accountability must extend to both the State and national leadership.
• Questions of federalism and national unity need both an institutional response and greater political maturity. The atrophied National Development Council needs to be resurrected.
• The atrophied National Development Council needs to be resurrected.
• The corporate sector must be held to account for the working standards for unskilled labor instead of allowing it to arbitrage worker precarity for its own profit.
QUESTION FOR PRACTICE
Do you agree that the Indian economy has recently experienced recovery ? Give reasons in support of your answer.(UPSC 2021) (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)