The other day, the CEO of a Chennai-based multinational manufacturing company remarked that Tamil Nadu is actually a zero unemployment state. He was bemoaning the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire workers. This is, of course, an exaggeration. But if one talks to people from various industries, or one just looks around, it is possible to sense some major changes taking place in the state. There is a genuine scarcity of manpower in service industries. Most shops, restaurants and beauty parlours are full of young people from the Northeast and other less prosperous parts of the country.
It is obvious that the local workforce is not willing to settle for low wages any more. It is also obvious that many of them prefer factory employment to back-breaking labour. Almost all the construction workers are from outside the state. Wanting upward mobility is also a sign of prosperity. The Tamil Nadu countryside is getting urbanised at a fast pace. There are emerging rural BPOs everywhere. But then we are a fairly under-researched country. We do not study changing patterns in society or workplace constantly. Consequently, it is difficult to quantify the kind of transformation that has taken place in Tamil Nadu in the last 20 years. Nor are we even beginning to understand what it means.
Says, K Pandiarajan, founder and MD, Ma Foi, India?s largest HR services provider, ?Even about five years ago, when Chennai companies approached us, they used to tell us that they prefer local employees. That attitude has gone through a complete change now. You look at any of the automobile companies based in and around Chennai, they are completely multicultural.? The state known for its Tamil chauvinism today welcomes people from other parts of the country. Apparently 20% of Chennai?s population is non-Tamil.
This is a huge increase compared to a couple of decades ago. Pandiarajan feels that in Tamil Nadu a lot of migration has taken place. Tamilians are leaving the state and the country in large numbers in search of a better life. It is quite possible that every family has at least one member who has migrated outside the state or the country. ?As we have sent somebody out, accepting somebody else coming in is not difficult,? says Pandiarajan.
There is certainly a perceptible change in attitudes. There was a time when theatres in Chennai would not even screen Hindi or English films. The recent money spinners in Chennai theatres are 3 Idiots and Avatar. They did better than Tamil films released at the same time. The viewers were not all outsiders. The local Tamilians thronged the cinema halls screening these two films. Whether Tamil politicians openly admit it or not, language is no longer an issue. During the last elections, both the Dravidian parties printed Hindi posters in areas where a lot of North Indians live. Nor do political parties divide Chennai on communal or caste lines anymore and place candidates.
There are restaurants opening up at breakneck speed in Chennai to cater to all kinds of tastes (another great employment provider). M Mahadevan, known as ?Hot breads Mahadevan? because of his highly successful bakery units, has about 75 restaurants in the city and very few of them offer South Indian food! He employs around 3,000 young people. The city boasts two South Korean restaurants. Again, the growth of the hospitality sector and the increasing number of malls have brought employment and also outside managers and workers.
It is not just Chennai that has workers from other parts of the country. A not much-publicised fact is that in Tirupur, the hosiery capital of the country, there are garment factories managed by Sri Lankans. In the heart of Tamil Nadu, in Sivakasi, well known for its match factories and printing units, there are factories that have 50% of their workforce from Orissa and Jharkhand. The employers provide them with shelter and food.
The sugar industry also gets agricultural labour from Orissa and Jharkhand for cane harvesting. Costs have shot up in the last two years. Support price for cane has gone up by 60-70% in the last two years, which means there is more cash in the hands of the farmers. But it also means that labour costs have gone up. There is an across-the-board complaint from the farm sector in the state that the NREG scheme has made the already difficult labour position much worse now. This is also a state that has been very generous to those below the poverty line. Rice for Rs 1 per kg, lentils on ration, free education, noon meal schemes and medical facilities have all put money in people?s pockets.
There are several consequences from all these developments. Agricultural operations are getting increasingly mechanised except where there is a lot of fragmentation in land holdings. More and more farmers with larger holdings are opting for harvesters. Ten years ago when harvesters were introduced in farming, there were agitations against them in the Thanjavur district, the rice belt of Tamil Nadu. Not only is the use of harvesters prevalent in the state today, they are also operated by people from Jharkhand. Another little known fact is that Chinese planters are all over the Tamil Nadu countryside.
According to a textile tycoon, it is time the textile industry moved to neighbouring states like Andhra. According to him, Tamil Nadu is now too advanced for the textile industry. He says it is time the industry regularised wages, started paying provident fund and accepted the fact that increased productivity will come from more mechanisation and automation. It is pointless comparing Tamil Nadu with Bangladesh where workers get paid Rs 800 a month. He says states like Tamil Nadu should follow the European model and aim for high wages, high productivity and high facilities.
Tamil Nadu comes out among the top destinations for investment in the country. The state proudly points out that Nokia chose Tamil Nadu over China to put up its factory and it is one of Nokia?s largest facilities across the globe. Creating jobs is no longer a problem for the state. But it now has to focus on creating jobs that pay workers at least Rs 300 a day.