Par panel wants overhaul of bill on employment exchanges

A Parliamentary panel has recommended withdrawal of a bill from Parliament which seeks to revamp employment exchanges, describing it "haphazardly" prepared and failing to offer any direction to make recruitment policies transparent.
It has strongly suggested that the Labour and Employment Ministry should bring a comprehensive bill instead to fulfil the role of such exchanges as only four lakh candidates get placement every year out of four crore registered through 956 employment exchanges.
The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill 2013 was introduced in Rajya Sabha on April 22 last year and was thereafter referred to the Standing Committee on Labour.

In its report tabled recently, the panel suggested that the revamped bill should also contain provisions for regulating placement agencies as it maintained that they mislead the unemployed youth, collect money and then vanish.
Suggesting that the ministry should bring fresh proposals for the benefit of large number of job seekers, it said the employment exchanges should be completely revamped to provide "one-stop" placement solutions to the unemployed.
"The committee recommends that the bill should be returned to the ministry with a request to bring a comprehensive amendment bill so that employment exchanges are able to fulfil their role in the present times," the panel said.

It was also of the opinion that the act should aim at making the establishments both in public and private sector "transparent" in their recruitment policies by displaying online the status of vacant posts as and when they arise.

"The present amendment bill fails to offer anything in this direction," it said.
The bill seeks to transform the exchanges into employment guidance and promotion centres to give emphasis on guidance and counselling aspects rather than mere registration for jobs.
Among other key provisions, establishments in the private sector employing between 10-24 people are also being brought under the purview of the Act.