Staffing survey, penal action to curb hiring of non-Goans: Govt

PANAJI: To crack down on industries and hospitality and retail businesses that recruit people from outside the state for Goa operations, state govt on Tuesday directed the employment exchange to conduct a survey on hirings.

The Goa employment exchange has been told to gather details on how many Goans and non-Goans have been recruited. "The employment exchange will collect details of all the establishments in Goa with respect to locals/Goans who are employed in the industries - that is, those with domicile/residence certificate of 15 years or more at the time of their recruitment," labour minister Atanasio 'Babush' Monserrate told TOI.

All establishments covered by the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, will be apprised of the law's provisions, including the penal aspects.

The establishments include pharmaceutical companies, banks, hotels, and industries. Monserrate said that govt is also considering a plan to set up an online platform on which locals can register to seek opportunities in the unorganised sector.

A furore recently erupted when private companies issued advertisements outside the state for Goa vacancies. Govt has issued show-cause notices to two pharmaceutical companies that advertised jobs in Goa outside the state. "Govt has decided to amend the law to enhance penal provisions for various categories of establishments," Monserrate said.

He said that govt will seek information every quarter from establishments about a large variety of recruitment-related issues, such as the date of advertisements’ release, places where interviews were held, and whether such recruitments are notified to the state employment exchange. Also, the establishments will have to declare how many candidates sponsored by the Goa employment exchange had been recruited, and how many had been rejected. The reasons for rejections will have to be stated as well.