Recruiting Maharashtra’s youths not knowing Konkani and Goan localities was unwarranted
On Tuesday, an interesting matter related to employment came up for discussion in the state legislative assembly. It referred to 40 postmen from Goa losing their service to candidates from Maharashtra in the Goa postal service.
Raising the matter, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai brought to the attention of the House that the state’s citizens are facing difficulties as the postmen lack knowledge of Konkani. The boys recruited from Maharashtra are also struggling, as they are unable to communicate in the local language.
To this, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assured that knowledge of reading and writing in Konkani will henceforth be mandatory for recruitments in the department of post in the state. He said a certificate from the Goa Konkani Akademi will be made compulsory for such recruitments.
Goans allegedly lost their jobs due to Maharashtra’s hegemony, as the state’s postal division falls under the Maharashtra postal circle. This is sheer injustice to Goan postmen who have worked for more than 15 years. Several questions come to mind on this issue: Just because Goa falls under the Maharashtra postal circle, was it right to post Marathi-speaking candidates from Maharashtra, who have no knowledge of Konkani, in Goa? In fact, it is a recruitment criterion that candidates must know the local language.
Similar attempts to bypass Goan youth during recruitment were made by some pharma companies, which have been met with strong protests in the past two-three years. The government, which boasts of a ‘double-engine sarkar’, could have intervened and given justice to the Goan postmen. It would have been easier, as Maharashtra is also ruled by the BJP.
The matter doesn’t end here. Areas serviced by the 40 postmen from Maharashtra will be in focus now. Sardesai has claimed that he has a video showing that the postmen were taking letters home, unable to deliver them due to lack of local knowledge. If this is true, then necessary action needs to be taken. In the past five to six years, postal mail may have decreased considerably, however, if letters are not delivered properly, then it is high time the postal authorities took cognisance of it.
To ensure that the citizens do not suffer, the authorities could think of short-term Konkani-learning classes for these postmen. We can’t blame the boys from Maharashtra who have come here for jobs. The postal department’s higher authorities or the recruitment cell officers are to be blamed for the present situation.
The Chief Minister has rightly said that henceforth Konkani will be compulsory for recruitment of postmen in Goa. A clear message must be sent to the department of posts, which comes under the Union ministry of communications. Goa, which attained statehood in 1987, has every right to assert itself to protect the interest of its people. With unemployment growing, several states are following the policy of ‘Locals First’. Only if local manpower is not available are employees from other states recruited. Bigger states are facing social tensions over employment, and some have even passed bills for reservation of jobs in the private sector for locals. Goa, being a tiny state, feels the pinch more. Today it is the case of postmen, where no skills except communication are required. Similarly, over the years, several posts in semi-government departments of the Union ministries have not gone to Goans. Henceforth, the state will have to be alert; political parties, NGOs, etc, also cannot shirk their responsibilities.
