VISAKHAPATNAM: Industry has welcomed the State Cabinet’s approval of a draft bill that reserves 75 per cent of jobs for locals in industrial units, factories, joint ventures and projects set up under public-private partnership mode.
Industry circles said they will adopt wait and watch policy till the guidelines are made public. They, however, said it was a good initiative and will help check migration of youth in search of employment.
Speaking to TNIE, KVV Raju, chairman of CII, Visakhapatnam Chapter, said all industries, including MNCs, are bound to follow the norms of the government. However, non-availability of skilled manpower in certain sectors such as IT may prove to be a hindrance in implementing the norm, he said. “We need skilled manpower in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain etc,” he said. If skilled manpower is available any industry will prefer locals as hiring people from outside will be a burden for them, Raju said.
Hailing the decision, G Sambasiva Rao, chairman of AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (APCCIF), said there will not be any problem in implementation of the norm if all 13 districts of the State are taken as one unit with regard to provision of employment for locals. They may face problem if the locals should be from the district or mandal where the industry is located. He said in large industries such as steel plant, 75 per cent of employees are locals. In some industries like Brandix, 95 per cent of employees are locals while only five to 10 percent mostly in managerial cadre are outsiders, he said.
In construction sector, as local people are not willing to take up hard tasks they are employing men from Bihar and other States, he said. Same is the case with the transport sector where very few come forward to work as drivers, he said.
Former CII Vizag chairman and Fluentgrid MD G Muralikrishna told TNIE that the intention of the government was good. However, the message to the industry should be in positive perspective and no punitive action should be proposed against them. Otherwise new investors may think twice before coming to the State.
The government should come up with incentives for industries to encourage them for hiring local people. This will send positive signals to the industry because many States are now vying with one another to attract investments to their respective States, Muralikrishna said.
The government should set up more skill development centres in the districts to make the youth industry-ready and this will help in absorbing them in the industries. He said there will not be any problem as far as large industries are concerned.
However, small units such as start-ups should be given a gestation period of three to five years to meet the norm of 75 per cent of jobs for locals. Initially to sustain they have to hire skilled manpower from outside, he said.
Since majority of the industries are willing to comply with the government order it may not be challenged in a court of law.
While appreciating the government initiative, Vizag Development Council president O Naresh Kumar said it was not the right time to impose any restrictions on industries in a reorganised State like Andhra Pradesh.
The government must initially focus on creating the right ecosystem to attract highly talented manpower and huge investments from other States and countries. He said the State should take the example of US which started thinking about employment for locals nearly after 100 years of unparalleled growth. In Bangalore, Silicon Valley of India, 40 percent of skilled employees are outsiders.
Hence, the State government should take this aspect into consideration before finalising the guidelines, Naresh Kumar said. He said only after achieving sustainable growth the State should think about reforms in employment. The CII chairman said they will hold a meeting with all stakeholders and experts in the industry to implement the orders once the Bill is passed in Assembly.
cii to hold meet with stakeholders
The Confederation of Indian Industry will hold a meeting with all stakeholders and experts in the industry to implement the orders once the Bill is passed in Assembly. It will help o implement the order of providing 75 per cent of jobs for locals in industrial units, factories, joint ventures and projects in the State effectively