Details on local, non-Goan workers sought amid poor job creation record by industries
Panaji: With limited information on employment generation in the state by private sector companies, the government has entrusted the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) with the task of collecting information on the total number of workers across industries.
For the first time, GIDC will be collecting employment data from industrial units both within and outside industrial estates on the number of workers employed in each unit, whether they are permanent, contract, or daily wage workers, as well as a further break-up of Goan and non-Goan employees.
GIDC will also be collecting information on the total number of workers in each industrial estate with Goan and non-Goan details. To carry out the exercise, the corporation plans to take help from industrial inspectors and other staff from the Directorate of Industries, Trade & Commerce, as and when required.
According to previous information submitted by the government in the state legislative assembly, job creation by the private sector is poor in the state, with only 1,184 employment exchange vacancies filled by companies over a period of five years, from 2019 to 2023. The poor track record by the private sector is despite the state being a hub for pharma production and having a sizeable number of MSME units.
In 2022, the Department of Labour and Employment conducted job fairs with 21,780 candidates enrolling for jobs, vis-à-vis only 940 candidates who actually received appointment letters.
The Employment Exchange (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, for private industry is applicable in the state; however, few companies notify the employment exchange of job openings.
Between January 2023 and July 31, 2024, there were 1,407 private companies that notified vacancies to the employment exchange, of which only 582 applicants got jobs, as there is no obligation upon companies to recruit any person through the exchange just because a vacancy has been notified.
The government, in March this year, tightened the Compulsory Notification Act by increasing the penalty for failure to notify vacancies.
The state government, while approving industrial projects, gives preference to companies that provide 80 per cent of employment to locals. Incentives are provided to those units which employ more than 60 per cent Goans.
