By Dr. Gyan Pathak
It is no secret now that jobs in India under PM Narendra Modi are being made to vanish fast from Central Public Sector Enterprises, and the secure quality jobs are replaced at faster pace with insecure jobs without social security coverage. The Central Public Enterprises Surveys of the Department of Public Enterprises, Government of India conducted over the years are testimony for this fact.
However, as a cover up, employment fairs are being organised on behalf of PM Modi, in which he has been distributing jobs to the unemployed just when general elections of the country are due within 10 months, obviously to show that he is really interested in solving the unemployment and ‘forced employment on exploitative wages and conditions’ crisis being faced by the working class. As of June 16, unemployment rate on 30 days moving average stood at 8.2 per cent in India, according to CMIE data, which makes jobs distribution by PM Modi just a mockery.
Moreover, the government data from the Public Enterprises Surveys reveal that the number of employees in the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have been on the decline for the last one decade. On March 31, 2013, there were 17.3 lakh employees in CPSEs, but on March 31, 2022, only 14.6 lakhs employees were there. It means, 2.7 lakh employments were just vanished.
Then the quality of employment has also substantially declined. The share of casual and contract workers has more than doubled and rose from 19 per cent in 2013 to 42.5 per cent in 2022. In the meantime, the number of casual and daily workers rose from 40,000 to 1 lakh, and contract workers from 2.9 lakh to 5.2 lakhs.
It was a double edged sword cutting both the number and quality of employment, which compelling the people to accept low quality jobs reducing the level of social security coverage which was otherwise to be made available under law to workers employed in regular jobs having social security coverage like ESI or PF.
Just before Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country, the total number of casual or daily workers in the CPSEs of the country was about 30,000 as on March 31, 2014, while the number of contract workers were 3.1 lakh. These rose to 1 lakh and 5.2 lakhs respectively by March 31, 2022, making the total share of such workers to 42.5 per cent of the total employed in the CPSEs. It goes without saying that the quality of employment in the CPSEs are deteriorating, in which decent works are declined to 57.5 per cent.
The policies adopted by the Modi government are to blame for such a large number of job losses, which included privatisation of or disinvestment in the Public Sector Enterprises among others. For example, Air India Ltd, was privatised due to which 27,985 jobs from PSEs just erased. There are number of other such PSEs that was privatised or underwent disinvestment as per the Central plan.
Neglect and apathy have been another cause of overall deterioration of the performance of PSEs. The Centre allowed them to become bad performing enterprises so that the government can present a case of disinvestment or privatisation in favour of big corporate friends. Public Sector undertakings were systematically sabotaged and maligned, by interested parties, lobbies, and corrupt officials from the PSEs and the government. Irrefutable examples are there.
Worst case of job losses due to neglect and apathy of the government is BSNL and MTNL. While both the companies were allowed to deteriorate or rather deterioration was effected by design, PM Modi had launched digital India in 2015 and encouraged a private sector company Jio of Mukesh Ambani. Jio has now grown up as the top private telecom operator in the country while BSNL and MTNL is struggling for their survival. In MTNL, there were 39,283 employees in March 2013, but 34,997 of them lost their jobs by March 2022. The job loss was third largest in India among PSE. Highest job loss of 1,81,127 occurred in BSNL. There were 2,55,840 employees in BSNL in 2013, but by March 2022, only 74,713 were in service.
The SAIL was the second largest PSEs in terms of job losses. A total of 61,928 employments were lost between 2013 and 2022. The number of employees came down from 1,86,207 to 1,24,279 during this period. Other PSEs that suffered decline in employment over 20,000 included South Eastern Coalfields Ltd with 29,140 job losses, FCI 28,063, and ONGC 21,120 job losses.
What are the reasons of job losses? The leaders from the ruling establishment and officials always say that jobs were cut in loss making PSEs, especially in those which were no longer able to afford the burden of such a huge employment. However, it veils the real reason that Modi government has not been putting people or workers at the centre of planning and development or even of job market recovery, despite the UN and ILO has been urging for the same while requesting the government all over the world to provide social security coverage for the working people. SAIL and ONGC is among the highest profit making PSEs in India, which proves this fact. Central policies are aloof from workers well being and focusing on profiteering and the cost of jobs in general, and quality jobs in particular.
According to the latest Public Enterprises Survey of 2021-22, taken as a whole, profit making PSEs are making profit of Rs 2.6 lakh crore, while loss making companies are making loss of 0.15 lakh crore. After assessment of 305 PSEs in the country, the survey finds that the net profit has been on the rise from Rs 93,51,610 lakh in 2019-20 to Rs 1,57,57,559 lakh in 2020-21, to Rs 2,48,78,154 lakh in 2021-22. Had the Modi government wanted to improve the PSEs, there would not have problem in the way. However, the government is more interested in privatisation and disinvestment of the PSEs.
There are 13 CPSEs employing over 20,000 workers, each 22 over 10,000, 34 over 5000, and 71 over 1000, and 148 over 100. Each. The rest 147 PSEs have less than 100 workers employed, as on March 31, 2022. (IPA Service)