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| 500,000 doesn't reflect total job losses: Govt |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Feb 20, 2009, 14:34 IST |
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New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) The government today admitted that the estimate of 500,000 job losses following the economic meltdown does not project the full magnitude of the problem in the country, but said it was addressing the situation with all seriousness.
"I agree that it is only a sample survey by the Labour Bureau. It is not the report of the entire country. It does not reflect the total job loss in the country," Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes said responding to a calling attention motion on the issue in the Lok Sabha.
The sample study in certain sectors indicates that 500,000 workers have lost their jobs during October-December 2008, he said.
The motion was given by Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI), Rupchand Pal and Santashri Chatterjee (both CPI-M) who were sharply critical of the government's "insensitive" attitude to large scale retrenchment and wage cuts and spoke of job losses to the tune of 2 million in the country.
Fernandes said a meeting of the state labour ministers was discussing the issue and his ministry has set up a crisis group to monitor the situation. The Government was also providing unemployment allowance equivalent to six months salary in 12 instalments to workers in the organised sector.
Discussions were also on to extend the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme to urban areas, Fernandes said in response to the demand made by the Left members.
To the worst-hit workers engaged in diamond cutting in Surat, he said the government had plans to re-train them to enable them take up other jobs. The Left members pointed out that several workers had committed suicide out of penury.
"We are willing to help industry if they want to run their business because they cannot run without workers," the Minister said dismissing suggestions that government was only helping the industry.
Earlier, Dasgupta said he objected to the government claim that retrenchments were due to the global recession, as it had affected only the export sector and not the domestic sector. "Don't hide behind recession. Job losses have been taking place even earlier also."
The CPI leader also asked the government to ensure that the private sector did not violate labour laws and warn them if imprisonment if they did so.
He demanded imposition of conditions on corporates that if they wanted to take advantage of low bank rates and other concessions, they would not resort to job cuts.
CPI(M)'s Rupchand Pal sought extension of the rural employment guarantee scheme to unorganised workers of urban areas.
Dissatisfied over the Minister's reply, the Left members staged a walkout.
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