Plan to create pool of over 10,000 jobs for local youth

Panaji : Coming out with an employment generation strategy, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said the government is considering a policy that will require private companies and semi-government departments to outsource their Group C and Group D workforce requirement through the Goa Human Resource Development Corporation (GHRDC).

He said the initiative is expected to create a pool of over 10,000 jobs for the local youth.

Speaking during a heated debate in the legislative assembly on unemployment, Sawant said the government is contemplating granting permanent status to those daily wage workers who have completed 10 years of service in accordance with the Uma Devi judgment.

“We will not take in daily wagers henceforth; a related circular will be issued soon through the personnel department. If any such workforce is required at all, the process would be undertaken only through GHRDC,” he said. Sawant said 4,500 locals are already working with the Corporation, while 2,000 applications remain pending.

Addressing concerns about job advertisements, Sawant said action will be taken against companies flouting the local employment norms.

“We have brought legislation for compulsory advertisements by the private companies. The legislation has been sent to the President for her assent. Although the assent has not been received yet, we have started penalising companies advertising jobs outside Goa,” he said.

Earlier, the Opposition grilled the government over “rising unemployment” in the state, pointing out that over 1.20 lakh Goan youth are registered with the Employment Exchange and that a central agency has pegged Goa’s unemployment rate at 19%, one of the highest in the country.

Launching an attack on NITI Aayog’s report indicating Goa has a high unemployment rate, Labour and Employment Minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate called it factually incorrect and lacking ground verification.

Monserrate’s defence triggered a heated exchange with the Opposition legislators.  “These officers did not visit the office nor met any officer. We have already sent a letter to NITI Aayog with facts and figures for correction,” Monserrate said. He dismissed the methodology adopted for the report and said no ground-truthing was conducted by the central body.

Monserrate attributed the challenge of unemployment partly to the changing mindset of youth, noting a significant shift from the earlier decades. He said 35 years earlier, people desired jobs in big private companies, while today the youth feel government jobs are more secure. Monserrate said there was a need to ensure permanent positions in the private sector to address this issue.

He said a task force committee has been formed to formulate a comprehensive employment policy, which is in its final preparation stage and will be presented in the next assembly session.

Providing details of Employment Exchange statistics, Monserrate said that from 2019 to June 2025, the total number of approved employment cards is 1,74,562. Of these, 95,647 candidates are registered as unemployed, while 21,381 are unemployed but pursuing further studies and 57,534 are registered as employed, the minister said.