3 PSUs in Gujarat not following 85% local hiring rule: Assembly told

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Three central government entities, including the Airports Authority of India (AAI), having their presence in Gujarat were not giving 85 per cent jobs to locals as per the rules despite repeated reminders, a state minister told the legislative assembly on Friday.

These three entities are the AAI, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). In 1995, a government resolution had ordered all the commercial entities, including central PSUs, functioning in Gujarat to hire 85 per cent of their workforce from Gujarat.

During question hour of the assembly on Friday, Congress MLA Imran Khedawala sought to know if these three central government entities were following the rule and what actions were taken by the state government against AAI, IOC and ONGC for not following the 85 per cent hiring norm.

In his response, state Labour, Skill Development and Employment Minister Balwantsinh Rajput admitted that these three public sector undertakings have not maintained the 85 per cent recruitment ratio for locals.

As per the latest data, these three PSUs are maintaining a ratio of 65 per cent as against 85 per cent prescribed in the state government's GR (government resolution), he said in his response.

"We sent 24 communications to these central government entities during the last two years and also held meetings with them to resolve this issue. At present, 65 per cent of their total staff is local. Notably, 87 per cent of their labour force is from Gujarat. The issue is with managerial positions," Rajput said.

"The management of these entities told us that they face difficulty in implementing the 85 per cent rule because their recruitment is done centrally and employees are transferred to different states," the minister added.

Congress legislative party leader Amit Chavda suggested that instead of issuing a GR, the state government should bring a Bill making it compulsory for every company and PSUs operating in Gujarat to follow the 85 per cent local hiring rule.