Haryana's recruitment rule "will spell disaster", says FICCI

Industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said on Thursday, March 4, that the Haryana Governor's consent to a bill that reserves 75 per cent private sector jobs for local people is a "regressive straight-jacket" that will force the industry to look beyond the state.

FICCI added the Haryana government's recent decision will "spell disaster" for private investment and industrial development in the state.

"Investors and entrepreneurs need to source the best human resources available in the country to be competitive and successful," FICCI President Uday Shankar said.

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"To force them in such a regressive straight-jacket will force them to look beyond Haryana and this will ultimately hurt the interests of the state," he further stated, adding that the move was "against the spirit of the Constitution."

Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya, on Tuesday, gave assent to the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020, which is believed to have implications for private investment in the state, and have a detrimental impact on the cosmopolitan outlook of some of its industrial hubs such as Gurugram.

The law targets jobs with gross salaries of up to Rs 50,000 a month and was ratified by the state Assembly in November last year.

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The bill also comprises a clause that can be invoked by companies if apt local candidates cannot be found. In such cases, the companies may recruit from outside so long as they apprise the state government of such a step taken by them.

The businesses must also record details of all employees receiving up to Rs 50,000 a month, the government had said, stating that failure to do so within three months of the law being effected will attract fines.