Jobs-for-locals heat on private firms in state

The state government will review how many outsiders have been hired by private firms as opposed to Maharashtrians reports HT Political Bureau.

The state government will review how many outsiders have been hired by private firms as opposed to Maharashtrians. Labour Minister Nawab Malik told the Assembly on Thursday that the state would ensure strict compliance with a recent government order seeking to give preference to Maharashtrians — defined as those living in the state for at least 15 years.

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Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar had asked him to review the state-level committee meeting that scrutinises employee records. This was in response to an Opposition complaint that in Thane large firms like Jindal and Orir Tel had more outsiders and illegal Bangladeshi workers than locals.

Malik argued that as per his information, these companies’ workforces comprised of 91 per cent locals. However, Nationalist Congress Party member Shasikant Shinde said this information was wrong.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, meanwhile, directed the Home Department to compile detailed information on all illegal migrants in Mumbai. He revealed this during a debate on “injustice done to Marathi people along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, influx of migrants from other states and sidelining of locals in jobs” initiated by the Opposition.

“There are 32 lakh migrants in Maharashtra, but there are also 8.57 lakh Maharashtrians who moved out in search of better prospects,” he said.

The will state also prepare a roster of all labourers, each of whom will also get a smart card called the Kamgar Shakti Card. It “will have complete information of the labourer’s name, age, employment status and salary”, Chavan said.