The Vijay Rupani government in Gujarat is mooting a law that would ensure that 80 per cent of the workforce in Gujarat industries is of Gujaratis. The Chief Minister on Tuesday said that his government will soon introduce a law that mandates industries set up in the state to ensure that 80 per cent of their workforce is of Gujaratis. The BJP government is trying to fine-tune the definition of ‘domicile’ in the state.
According to an Indian Express report, the state government is also planning to ensure that 25 per cent of those hired are from the area where the industry is set up.
However, there are provisions existing for long where industries are to employ 85 per cent locals in their workforce, but, according to officials, the government is in the process of fine-tuning the definition of who can be described as domicile resident of Gujarat. The official added that even if the rule is already existing, there is no Act to back it up and penalise those who violate it.
Currently, locals are defined as people living in Gujarat for the last seven years, which was 15 years initially after a 1955 resolution. On this norm, another official told IE that the current definition of locals is too broad and the local residents do not get the benefits. Therefore, the government is trying to redefine and clearly state in the new law of those who can be treated as a domicile.
According to a 2017 Indian Express report, 92 per cent of the workforce were locals in about 4,700 large private sector industrial units in the state, whereas in the government sector, it was around 98 per cent.
Moreover, the demand for job quota for the locals has been prominent in many parts of the country. In May 2018, Sikkim mooted to provide 90 per cent quota for locals in private industries of the state. In 2010. it even passed a law for the same, however, it was rejected by the President.