Updated 13:43 IST, July 26th 2024
Goa government to amend employment act for hiring local people
The Chief Minister assured the House that the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, will be amended after consultation.

Job Quota: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced on Friday that the state's Employment Exchanges Act would be amended to prioritise local candidates in private-sector recruitment. Speaking to the legislative assembly, Sawant stated that the current legislation does not allow the government to mandate the hiring of local candidates by private industries.
Employment exchanges sponsor local candidates for recruitment drives conducted by private companies. "We cannot force any industry to hire local candidates. It depends on the skill, qualifications, and attitude of the candidate," Sawant explained.
The Chief Minister assured the House that the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, will be amended after consulting with industry stakeholders. "We will amend the law to make it mandatory for industries to inform the government if they are recruiting 10 or more staffers. Earlier, this requirement was only for recruitments of 25 or more candidates," he said. "With this amendment, we expect to see maximum local youths employed."
Sawant also highlighted a new scheme announced in the Union budget, which mandates companies to allocate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to cover 10 percent of internship costs. This initiative is expected to create more job opportunities in the private sector.
State Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserratte added that it is already mandatory for companies to inform the Employment Exchange about vacancies. He mentioned that penalties for non-compliance with this requirement would be increased.
The proposed amendments and new schemes are part of the Goa government's ongoing efforts to boost local employment and ensure that the state's youth benefit from job opportunities in the private sector.
Karnataka's Job Quota Initiative
The move by Goa comes in the wake of similar initiatives in other states, such as Karnataka. In 2019, the Karnataka government introduced a job quota policy mandating private companies reserve a certain percentage of jobs for local candidates. This policy aimed to address unemployment among the state's residents by ensuring that local youth were given preference in hiring processes.
The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has approved a bill mandating significant reservations for locals in the private sector. The state cabinet's decision requires private industries to appoint Kannadigas to 50 percent of management positions and 75 percent of non-management positions, sparking considerable backlash from the industry.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the decision on X, revealing that the state cabinet approved a bill mandating 100 percent recruitment of Kannadigas for lower-grade (Group 'C and D') posts in all private industries. However, amid the backlash, Siddaramaiah deleted the post.
Interestingly, the draft of the bill does not mention the 100 percent reservation for Group C and D posts.
Published 13:42 IST, July 26th 2024