Bengaluru: After having failed several times earlier by successive governments, Karnataka has once again drafted a legislation to provide 75% reservation to Kannadigas in industries, MSMEs, joint ventures and public-private partnerships.
The government has conspicuously kept the IT-BT sector out of the reservation umbrella as top industry honchos had told the government earlier that their sectors survive on skills, not reservation.
The present draft Bill is modelled on the one enacted in Andhra Pradesh called the Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in Industries/Factories Act, 2019, passed in July last year..
The Karnataka Employment of Local Candidates in Factories, Shops, Commercial Establishments, Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises and Joint Ventures Bill, 2019, is ready and Labour Minister S Suresh Kumar told Deccan Herald that he is keen on pushing it through in the Assembly.
But it is doubtful if it will see the daylight in the current session and may be put off for a later meeting of the Assembly.
Under the new draft bill, Kannadigas and those who have been residing in Karnataka for over 15 years will get preference in employment in factories, shops, commercial establishments, Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and joint ventures. Industries will have to provide a list of employees to the Labour department on a regular basis, in order to ensure compliance.
This is not the first time that Karnataka is making such a move. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had planned to provide 100% reservation in all private industries, excluding IT-BT sector, which did not take off. In 2014, the Congress govt had also unsuccessfully pushed for 70 percent reservation for all Kannadigas when it comes to employment in the private sector.
