Karnataka

Employment exchanges becoming irrelevant

Chitradurga: Over two decades ago, the Employment Exchanges were the ray of hope for job seekers. The applicant, with anticipation, stood in the queue in front of the exchange to register his name.

A few significant developments such as Supreme Court order, amendment in employment policy and rapid growth of privatisation, have reduced the relevance of employment exchanges.

The Union Government framed Compulsory Notification of Vacancies (CNV) Act in 1959, with which, the Government decided to set up employment exchanges across the country.

These exchanges were asked to collect the applications of job seekers and prepare a list of government and private agencies which needed employees. Based on the qualification of the aspirants, the exchange would send the prospective job seekers to the appropriate departments or organisations.

Till 1996, the Employment Exchanges acted as the best medium to provide employment. But a judgment of Supreme Court in 1996 changed the scene. It was no longer compulsory to register in the exchange to get a government job. The State governments were told to publicise the vacancies through the media to select appropriate candidates.

“Following the verdict, the number of job seekers approaching the exchanges started declining sharply,” said an official of the Department of Employment and Training. According to figures available with the department, the numbers of applicant with exchanges before 1996 were over 23 lakh, which had come down to just over 11 lakh. In Chitradurga, no appointment had taken place through the exchange for four years now. Introduction of competitive examinations for government jobs made the employment exchanges irrelevant.

The Karnataka Administrative Reforms Committee under the chairmanship of Harnahalli Ramaswamy came up with surprising recommendations. The committee said employment exchanges were turning into a financial burden. It recommended introduction of voluntary retirement scheme to downsize the staff. It recommended that only one officer in every district should be deputed and Bangalore office should be made the Central Office.

Minister for Labour Iqbal Ahmed Ansari told The Hindu that to make use of the present exchanges, the Government had now come up with a plan of converting the exchanges into study circles. “But unfortunately, the Government fai led to make a concrete plan to implement the scheme as several exchanges across the State did not have the infrastructure,” said the official.

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