'Address affirmative action in pvt sector'
Subodh Ghildiyal, TNN, May 26, 2010, 01.23am IST
NEW DELHI: The social justice ministry is unhappy with the lack of
movement in bringing affirmative action to the private sector, a
flagship promise of Congress in UPA-1.
Social justice minister Mukul Wasnik has written to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh seeking a review of efforts made in this direction. In
his letter, he outlined steps taken to persuade industry to accept
preferential employment policies for SCs/STs which essentially have
not counted for much.
The PM on Monday told reporters that there was a need to create an
atmosphere which would let industry and trade help the government in
affirmative action. The comment, however, came in the backdrop of the
Centre's failure to bring industry around to join in positive
discrimination despite the big assurance of not imposing job
reservations by legislation.
Sources said Wasnik's letter underlined the need for a fresh
initiative, a clear sign that the sensitive issue — which had
unleashed an offensive from dalit experts and activists in UPA-1 — has
to be addressed. While putting the issue on the backburner, the UPA
has taken refuge in the argument that the common minimum programme did
not promise reservations but only talked of affirmative action. But
there is concern that this could lead a strong section of dalit
opinion-makers to feel that the Congress has gone back on its promise.
Observers feel that while the government lacked initiative, it was
also handicapped by global slowdown when the priority was economic
recovery. An industry expert said the PM's fresh statement coincided
with signs of a crisis in Europe and it was unlikely that fresh ground
could be broken now.
There was a big push for reservations in private sector in UPA-1, with
the government holding discussions with industry and then social
justice minister Meira Kumar even threatening to enact it by law. The
issue, however, petered out as the PM virtually took it away from
social justice ministry and handed it over to a committee headed by
principal secretary to PM T K A Nair.
A sub-committee under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
has since been holding discussions with industry. There has not been
much headway once the government made it clear that industry's bugbear
— job reservations — was off the table. Only a 'code of conduct' has
been accepted by the principal chambers of industry which the members
follow on voluntary basis.
The DIPP proposal has not enthused many either. It spoke of the
possibility of industry taking investment to backward regions in
return for concessions to create opportunities for SCs and STs. It is
felt the government has for too long tried to lure industry with
concessions but without yielding results.
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