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Hire locals on priority: Karnataka govt to pvt firms

Last Updated 01 November 2019, 01:43 IST

The Cabinet on Thursday decided to amend the Karnataka Industrial (Standing Orders) Rules, 1961, to make industrial units give primacy to Kannadigas in blue-collar jobs.

Law Minister J C Madhuswamy clarified, however, that the government cannot “mandate” industries to give jobs only to Kannadigas.

“The Cabinet has decided to amend the rules to say that Kannadigas should be given priority for Group C & D category jobs,” Madhuswamy told reporters. “Also, the differently-abled should be considered for 5% of the jobs,” he added.

“If we mandate industries to give jobs to only locals, it can be (legally) questioned. We can’t mandate such things. That’s why we have said that Kannadigas should be given jobs on priority,” Madhuswamy said.

The Karnataka Industrial (Standing Orders) Rules dictates rules of conduct for employees and requires establishments to formally define conditions of employment.

The rules do not apply to the IT sector, which has been exempted.

That private-sector jobs should be reserved for localities has become a rallying point for pro-Kannada groups that are mounting pressure on the
authorities.

Background

It was in 2016 that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government planned to reserve 100% of blue-collar jobs (groups C & D) in the private sector for
Kannadigas.

The law department shot it down saying it violated Constitutional provisions under Articles 14 and 16.

In February this year, the previous H D Kumaraswamy-led government resolved to amend the Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1961, and ask companies to give primacy to Kannadigas in clerical jobs, in line with recommendations in the Sarojini Mahishi report.

Innovation Authority

The Cabinet also approved the constitution of the Karnataka Innovation Authority, which Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had announced last month. The Authority will focus on encouraging innovation across sectors.

“Under this, we have decided to create sandboxes that will simplify rules and provide various concessions in the areas of big data, IoT, block chain, mobile tech, artificial intelligence and so on for a one-year period,” Madhuswamy said.

“If legal amendments are required, such proposals will be brought before the Authority,” he said.

The Authority will be chaired by the CM and co-chaired by his deputy C N Ashwath Narayan, who is the IT/BT minister.

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(Published 31 October 2019, 18:46 IST)

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