BENGALURU: In a bid to allay “misconceptions” surrounding the controversial proposal to provide job reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector, two ministers of the Karnataka government on Thursday said the core idea is to equip the local workforce with the requisite skill-sets.
“In terms of reservation, any state government would love to have locals given preference, and we already have that in our industrial policy, with respect to Group C and D workforces. The idea is to see more locals get jobs, and the only way to achieve this is by ensuring that they get the best skill-sets,” IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge said. He said the state government is coming up with one of the best disruptive plans to ensure that every Kannadiga is the most skilled human resource in the world. “...that’s why we skill locally, we go globally,” he stated.
Echoing similar views, Industries Minister MB Patil said, “With regard to skills, we will train locals through ITIs. Even industry can take over ITIs, and make the workforce skill-worthy, so that it can be suitably employed.” He, however, clarified that nothing will be forced upon industry. Stating that there is no need for panic, he reassured: “We have discussed the matter with the chief minister too. We have a policy, and will continue our dialogue with all stakeholders. There’s no need for fear. There are due consultations with all departments. A suitable decision will be made, which will be welcomed by all stakeholders.”
The said draft Bill mandates 50% reservation in managerial positions and 70% in non-managerial positions for locals in private firms. Both Kharge and Patil were attending the curtain-raiser of the TiE Bangalore’s 9th Edition of TiE Global Summit 2024 here. To a question on the contentious proposal of the state government to introduce 14-hour workdays in the IT sector, the IT minister said it is an industry-specific plan, which is being evaluated. “The 14-hour shift was an industry-driven request, which will not happen without the consent of the individual. Any industry which wants to leverage that plan, must seek the labour department’s permission to do so. Right now, it is only a thought process, (for which) we need to have multi-department consultations first,” he reiterated.