Employment Act: Gurugram industries pin hopes on high court for relief

Industry owners and associations in the city said they will wait for the high court hearing on the Haryana government’s job reservation policy for locals, scheduled to be heard on February 2, before registering on the job portal, despite the Act coming into force on Saturday

Industry owners and associations in the city said they will wait for the high court hearing on the Haryana government’s job reservation policy for locals, scheduled to be heard on February 2, before registering on the job portal, despite the Act coming into force on Saturday.

The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidate Act, 2020, mandates 75% reservation for local youth in private sector jobs, which offer a salary of less than ₹30,000 a month. (HT Archive)

The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidate Act, 2020, mandates 75% reservation for local youth in private sector jobs, which offer a salary of less than ₹30,000 a month.

Industry owners said that they are hopeful that they will get some relief from the Punjab and Haryana high court in this matter as the new reservation policy of the state government would make hiring very difficult and they will prefer to adopt a cautious approach. According to the Haryana government, all industries must register with the job portal created by the labour department in the next three months before hiring fresh candidates.

The Gurgaon Industrial Association (GIA), which has challenged the Act, moved an interim application for early hearing in the Punjab and Haryana high court on January 13, which was rejected. The next date of hearing is schedule on February 2. The Act has also been challenged by the industrial associations in Rewari and Faridabad.

Ashok Kohli, president of Chamber of Industries of Udyog Vihar, said industry owners have decided to adopt a wait and watch approach with regard to the local job reservation. “We are waiting for the next hearing in the Punjab and Haryana high court and are hoping to get some relief. This is basically a political move but will hit the industries badly. The availability of skilled labour is always short in the state. Instead of job reservation, the government should have focussed on skill building among youth and ensure that they are employable,” he said.

J N Mangla, president of Gurgaon Industrial Association, said most of the industrialists were waiting for the court to hear their petition on February 2. “This reservation will make running business very difficult. Freedom to hire employees should remain the prerogative of a business owner. The pandemic has already put a lot of pressure on the industries,” he said.

Manmohan Gaind, vice president of Manesar Industries Welfare Association, said the job reservation act was a very regressive law and it will bring Haryana down by taking away the rights of businesses. “We will register with the portal only after clear directions are issued by the court on the petition,” said Gaind.

According to industry associations, the government has asked them to share details of existing employees. The job reservation is meant for fresh employees and new recruitment but in the next three months, the labour department perhaps will be building a database of existing employees, said Kohli.

Meanwhile, Ajay Pal Dudi, deputy labour commissioner, Gurugram, said the proposed reservation is meant for fresh recruitment of employees and it does not impact the existing workers. “The firms and companies have been asked to register on the portal and share the information of existing employees within three months starting from January 15. New hiring can be done only after completing online registration,” he said.

In order to ensure compliance to the Act, the labour department said each employer will have to submit a quarterly report on the designated porta,l mentioning details of the local candidates employed and appointed during this period.

Haryana’s deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, who is the main architect of the Act, said this was a historic move and it will secure the future of local youth. “With the implementation of this Act, new avenues for employment will open for hundreds of youth of the state in the private sector. In this regard, a dedicated portal has also been created by the labour department along with a helpline number. Companies will now have to reflect their vacancy on the portal, which will be continuously monitored by the government,” said Chautala while speaking at a function in Sirsa on Sunday.