Already facing a backlash from the opposition for alleged corruption and nepotism, the Congress government in Karnataka suffered a loss of face on July 17. Within a few hours of announcing a law to reserve private sector jobs for Kannadigas in the state, it encountered sharp protests from the industry and put the bill on hold. It was to be tabled in the assembly a week later.
Such was the ill-prepared cabinet proposal that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had to change his social media post on the law three times during the course of a day. His first post said: “The cabinet meeting... approved a bill to make it mandatory to hire 100 percent Kannadigas for C and D grade posts in all private industries in the state. It is our government’s wish that the Kannadigas should avoid being deprived of jobs in the land of Kannada… We are a pro-Kannada government. Our priority is to look after the welfare of Kannadigas.”
He deleted the post and came up with a new one in the evening saying the government proposed to reserve 50 percent of the jobs in administrative and managerial posts in private companies and 75 percent in non-managerial posts. Yet another post later said the bill was under preparation and the next cabinet meeting would thoroughly discuss it. In other words, the controversial proposal—the Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024—has been put on hold.
What happens if a company fails or refuses to reserve jobs for Kannadigas? The bill provided for fines of Rs 10,000-25,000 to be levied on non-compliant companies. Errant firms were proposed to be fined Rs 100 every day until the employee count complied with the bill’s provisions.
So who is a Kannadiga or a local candidate? The draft defines her as a person “born in the state of Karnataka and who is domiciled in the state for a period of 15 years and who is capable of speaking, reading and writing Kannada in a legible way and has passed a required test conducted by the nodal agency”.
What if fitting local candidates are not available to fill the quota? In such cases, says the bill, 3 years’ time would be given to the firm to work with the government and train local candidates. The bill added, “If a sufficient number of local candidates are not available, then an industry or factory or other establishments may apply for relaxation from the provisions of this act to the government, and after due enquiry, the government may pass appropriate orders and such orders passed by the government shall be final.”
Immediately after the morning announcement by Siddaramaiah, the industry came out with guns blazing. Software body Nasscom, PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam, Assocham and former Infosys board member Mohandas Pai were in the forefront of criticising the move, asking the government to withdraw it. A day later, IT biggie Infosys supported the state move. Nigam, who was the strongest critic and whose PhonePe is headquartered in Bengaluru, had called the proposal a “shame”. He later tendered an apology to Kannadigas when a couple of organisations called for a boycott of the payment app.
Does the state government really have the wherewithal to implement the proposal? In all likelihood, the labour department would be the nodal agency to implement it. The department is already facing a serious staff crunch and ensuring the new law’s compliance might be overwhelming. Currently, to oversee more than 30 labour schemes across the state, the department has just under 1,000 employees. Of the sanctioned staff strength of 888, about half the posts are said to be vacant. The department has only 218 labour inspectors for the entire state, 47 of them with jurisdiction in Bengaluru. At the senior level, there are only 22 deputy and assistant commissioners who are authorised to check the schemes’ implementation. These 22 officers would be tasked to implement the Kannadiga job quota, too. Not only would the staff shortage lead to a skewed implementation of the scheme, but it may also lead to corruption.
The move could face legal hurdles, too. If the state government goes ahead and gets the legislature’s assent, it would in all probability be questioned in the courts. Will it stand legal scrutiny? Similar schemes are in force in some form or another in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. The current BJP government in Haryana enacted a law in 2020 that reserved 75 percent of private sector jobs for locals with a monthly salary of up to `30,000. The Faridabad Industries Association questioned it in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which quashed it. The court said, “Private sector jobs are skill-based and employees should have the opportunity to apply for suitable positions nationwide.” No state should discriminate against individuals based on the fact that they don’t belong to that state, it ruled. In the light of this, one wonders about the future of the Karnataka proposal if it goes on to become a law.
With a large section of the industry, which would need to implement such a law with wide ramifications, it is imperative on part of the government to hold wider consultations with various stakeholders, including Kannada organisations, before taking the bill to the legislature.
(Views are personal)
B S Arun | Senior journalist based in Bengaluru