Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant voices concerns over state's outsourced recruitment, fears detriment to youth employment prospects

Arvind Sawant, Sena (UBT) MP

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant expressed deep concern on Wednesday regarding Maharashtra's decision to engage nine external agencies for conducting recruitment on behalf of the state government and affiliated bodies for a fixed-term period, stated a PTI report. Sawant, who serves as the Lok Sabha representative for South Mumbai, asserted that this move could have adverse consequences for the youth of the region.

During a press conference held in Mumbai, Sawant referred to a Government Resolution outlining the plan. According to this resolution, the agencies in question will oversee the recruitment of both skilled and semi-skilled personnel for various government, semi-government, and local bodies, the PTI report read.

Reportedly, an alarming aspect of this arrangement, as highlighted by Sawant, is that these agencies will charge a commission of 15 per cent from the individuals they place in employment.

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Sawant further emphasised that considering all deductions, the employees may ultimately receive only 60 per cent of their salary. Furthermore, he raised concerns about the absence of salary increments for these workers for a substantial period--a potential five-year standstill in wage growth. This, he argued, posed a significant threat to prospects of youth seeking employment, as there is no guarantee of permanent positions and raises questions about the preservation of job reservations.

"This (move) will be detrimental to the youth seeking employment as there is no assurance of a permanent job. It also raises questions about reservations," Sawant was quoted as saying in the PTI report.

Additionally, those employed through these agencies would likely be devoid of any bargaining power to negotiate for salary increases or improved working conditions with the contractor agency, he claimed.

Sawant did not stop at addressing the state's outsourcing of recruitment; he also criticized the delay in implementing the labour codes of the Union Government within Maharashtra, noting that these codes were not enforced until Uddhav Thackeray's tenure as the chief minister.

Maharashtra announced in a GR last week that they have approved the empanelment of nine private agencies which will provide contractual employees for various posts in all government, semi-government, urban or rural local bodies, corporation boards and other governmental institutions.