Editor's Pick | Karnataka halts jobs-for-locals Bill after industry uproar

As a draft Bill cleared by the Karnataka Cabinet mandating reservation for locals garnered adverse reactions from industry heads and trade bodies in the State, the government late on Wednesday announced that it had been “temporarily withheld” and a decision would be taken after a review. Announcing the U-turn of his government on social media platform X on Wednesday night, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Bill that aimed to provide reservation to Kannadigas in the private sector was “still in an initial stage”. He said a decision on the Bill would be taken after wide-ranging discussions on it in the next Cabinet meeting. “The Bill is withheld until further consultations and due diligence. Industry leaders need not panic,” Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil said. The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, was cleared in the Cabinet on July 15. It mandated that industries, factories, and other establishments appoint local candidates in 50% of management positions and 70% of non-management positions. The provisions were met with stiff opposition from industry heads, while Kannada organisations welcomed the move. Industry leaders, including Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Mohandas Pai, and industry bodies such as NASSCOM and the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) opposed the Bill. “As a tech hub we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals, we must not affect our leading position in technology by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy,” remarked Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw on X. Mr. Pai, who also took to X to air his views, called the Bill “discriminatory, regressive, and against the Constitution”. He said, “This is a fascist Bill as in Animal Farm, unbelievable that @INCIndia can come up with a Bill like this — a govt officer will sit on recruitment committees of private sector? People have to take a language test?” NASSCOM said it was “disappointed” and “deeply concerned”, while the FKCCI said that though it welcomed the aim to provide jobs for the local people, the legislation required greater consultation. Following industry responses against it, Mr. Patil and IT and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge had been on the defensive. Mr. Patil promised that a team comprising the Law Minister, the IT and Biotechnology Minister, the Labour Minister, and he would discuss the issue with the Chief Minister before passing the Bill. “There is no doubt that protecting the interests of Kannadigas is of paramount importance. However, industries also need to thrive. It should be a win-win situation for both,” he said. In 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had quashed the Haryana government’s law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals in private sector jobs in Haryana. There were multiple petitions before the court seeking the quashing of the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020. Industry associations from Gurugram, Faridabad, and Rewari districts of Haryana had sought judicial recourse and had submitted that the law goes against constitutional provisions and the basic principle of merit underpinning private sector growth. Andhra Pradesh too passed a simliar bill which has been challenged in the High Court. In an editorial after the High Court struck down the Haryana law, The Hindu noted that if States are truly concerned about protecting workers’ rights, they should ensure that migrant workers in all establishments enjoy basic labour rights that are legally due to them, thereby creating a level playing field for all. “Protectionism in the labour market is not the answer,” it pointed out. The Haryana government has gone to the Supreme Court to get the stay on jobs-for-locals lifted. The Hindu’s Editorials ​Arrest and liberty: On the ED’s actions In search of jobs: On the challenge of employment generation The Hindu’s Daily Quiz What is the name of the memoir, published in 2016, of JD Vance, who was named as Donald Trump’s running mate for the US elections? The Truths We Hold Dreams from my Father Hillbilly Elegy Everything Everywhere All At Once To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 18 July 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 18 July 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Karnataka halts jobs-for-locals Bill after industry uproar [As a draft Bill cleared by the Karnataka Cabinet mandating reservation for locals garnered adverse reactions from industry heads and trade bodies in the State, the government late on Wednesday announced that it had been “temporarily withheld” and a decision would be taken after a review](. Announcing the U-turn of his government on social media platform X on Wednesday night, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Bill that aimed to provide reservation to Kannadigas in the private sector was “still in an initial stage”. He said a decision on the Bill would be taken after wide-ranging discussions on it in the next Cabinet meeting. “The Bill is withheld until further consultations and due diligence. Industry leaders need not panic,” Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil said. The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, was cleared in the Cabinet on July 15. It mandated that industries, factories, and other establishments appoint local candidates in 50% of management positions and 70% of non-management positions. The provisions were met with stiff opposition from industry heads, while Kannada organisations welcomed the move.[Industry leaders, including Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Mohandas Pai, and industry bodies such as NASSCOM and the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) opposed the Bill](. “As a tech hub we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals, we must not affect our leading position in technology by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy,” remarked Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw on X. Mr. Pai, who also took to X to air his views, called the Bill “discriminatory, regressive, and against the Constitution”. He said, “This is a fascist Bill as in Animal Farm, unbelievable that @INCIndia can come up with a Bill like this — a govt officer will sit on recruitment committees of private sector? People have to take a language test?” NASSCOM said it was “disappointed” and “deeply concerned”, while the FKCCI said that though it welcomed the aim to provide jobs for the local people, the legislation required greater consultation. Following industry responses against it, Mr. Patil and IT and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge had been on the defensive. Mr. Patil promised that a team comprising the Law Minister, the IT and Biotechnology Minister, the Labour Minister, and he would discuss the issue with the Chief Minister before passing the Bill. “There is no doubt that protecting the interests of Kannadigas is of paramount importance. However, industries also need to thrive. It should be a win-win situation for both,” he said. [In 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had quashed the Haryana government’s law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals in private sector jobs in Haryana](. There were multiple petitions before the court seeking the quashing of the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020. Industry associations from Gurugram, Faridabad, and Rewari districts of Haryana had sought judicial recourse and had submitted that the law goes against constitutional provisions and the basic principle of merit underpinning private sector growth. Andhra Pradesh too passed a simliar bill which has been challenged in the High Court. In an [editorial]( the High Court struck down the Haryana law, The Hindu noted that if States are truly concerned about protecting workers’ rights, they should ensure that migrant workers in all establishments enjoy basic labour rights that are legally due to them, thereby creating a level playing field for all. “Protectionism in the labour market is not the answer,” it pointed out. The Haryana government has gone to the Supreme Court to get the stay on jobs-for-locals lifted. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][​Arrest and liberty: On the ED’s actions]( [Arrow][In search of jobs: On the challenge of employment generation]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz What is the name of the memoir, published in 2016, of JD Vance, who was named as Donald Trump’s running mate for the US elections? - The Truths We Hold - Dreams from my Father - Hillbilly Elegy - Everything Everywhere All At Once To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here.]( [Sign up for free]( Today’s Best Reads [[Karnataka halts jobs-for-locals Bill as industry raises uproar] Karnataka halts jobs-for-locals Bill as industry raises uproar]( [[On political representation of women | Explained] On political representation of women | Explained]( [[Shia mourners booked under UAPA for raising pro-Palestine, anti-Israel slogans at Muharram procession in Srinagar] Shia mourners booked under UAPA for raising pro-Palestine, anti-Israel slogans at Muharram procession in Srinagar]( [[What does PM Modi’s visit to Russia really mean for India | In Focus podcast] What does PM Modi’s visit to Russia really mean for India | In Focus podcast]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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