Union Minister for steel and chemicals, Ram Vilas
Paswan''s name figures in the Guinness Book of World Records
for having won an election with the highest margin of
votes ever. That was in 1989. He has won every election
he has stood for with handsome margins, ever since.
What
is the secret of his success? The answer is largesse.
As
telecom minister, he dished out free telephone connections
to several lakh telecom employees. As railway minister,
he created a new zonal office at Hajipur, his constituency,
which created scores of new jobs.
And
what is he doing now? Since public sector companies are
going private, the quantum of largesse that can be dished
out is dwindling. So, he is championing the cause of reservation
in the private sector. He, however, is not alone. Whenever
the bill for reservation of jobs in government and public
sector units come up for renewal the vote in favour of
reservations is unanimous.
The
government has formed a group of ministers on affirmative
action and one of the terms of reference of this group
is: To examine the issue of affirmative action including
reservations in the private sector.
Now,
there is no question that affirmative action needs to
be taken to improve the lot of the downtrodden
but the point is are reservations
the answers?
Reservations
were originally intended to be a temporary measure, something
to have in place while the government tried to provide
education to the backward castes to bring them to equal
societal and economic status.
Reservations
have been in existence since independence and yet have
not improved the lot of those in the middle and lower
rungs of the SC / ST categories. Only the so-called ''creamy
layers'' of the SC / ST groups have benefited the
Paswan types. And the marginalised belonging to other
castes have not been touched at all, rendering the entire
exercise inequitable.
Apart
from entering government jobs without merit, these job
entrants knew then, as well as now, that they can retire
comfortably the day they join service. Hence, there was
no incentive to work. Besides, in the earlier days, public
sector companies were as good as monopolies and so were
in a position to carry inefficient and excess baggage.
Private sector companies however, will not be able to
afford this luxury and will lose out heavily on this score.
Another
telling point is that between 1994-2000, organised sector
employment accounted for a mere 3.53 per cent of the total
jobs created in the country. In effect, only 0.6 per cent
of the jobs created each year were in the organised sector.
According
to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI), the organised private sector employs just around
10 million, and rigid labour laws have ensured that this
figure has stagnated for years and years, with no incentive
to hire. Thus, even if the entire organised private sector
is reserved for the targeted social groups, the employment
gains will be only modest.
The
pro-job quota lobby, however, cites two reasons for supporting
the move. First, given the fact that employment in the
government and public sector has stagnated during the
''90s and has shown a decline in the past two years, it
is the private sector that has to be the driver of future
job growth. Hence the rationale for job reservations in
the private sector for the underprivileged class.
Second,
the pro-reservation lobby cites the example of the US.
Companies like General Motors and Wal-Mart recruit up
to 25 per cent of their workers from among the minorities.
By contrast, the backward castes comprise just about 4
per cent of India''s total organised sector workforce.
The
arguments are forceful, but as studies by India''s leading
industry chambers show, they reveal just half the story.
FICCI, for example, has come out with a detailed study,
which shows that employment of minorities by US companies
is strictly voluntary and is not mandated
by law.
Rahul
Bajaj of the Bajaj group asserts that nobody in his organisations
is selected on the basis of caste, which is of no consideration.
However, a look at the caste profile of his employees
reveals that about 30 per cent of them belong to the SC
/ ST and other lower castes whose cause some ministers
are championing. The same is sure to be the case with
ITC and other such companies, which have their factories
in the smaller towns.
According
to the FICCI study, school dropout rates among the SCs
and STs were as high as 76.63 per cent and 82.96 per cent,
respectively. Also, around 40 per cent of the reserved
category of seats among SCs and 60 per cent among STs
remain vacant. For graduates, technicians and apprentices
in the overall vocational training category, the number
of seats vacant was even higher at 81 and 95 per cent,
respectively.
Lastly,
most of the new private sector jobs are now to be found
in call centres, software, BPO, ITES, biotechnology and
other white-collar professions. If you have reservations
in these sectors, it is doubtful whether the candidates
will measure up to the competency skills demanded by a
globally competitive environment. Under such adverse fiats
from minister who can blame employers like IBM, Microsoft
and others from closing shop in India?
Instead
of ''mindless'' reservations, industry argues for an on
improving education standards, both at school and university
levels, and inculcating skills through vocational training.
Apart
from engaging the private sector in partnering with the
government on this issue, a more sensible policy would
be to promote entrepreneurship among the backward classes.
The government
on its side should focus on creating a conducive atmosphere
for entrepreneurs to provide job opportunities to backward
classes in the rural and semi-urban sector.
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