With economic slowdown leading to huge layoffs in certain sectors, the government today said jobs must be retained even if it meant cut in compensation.
"Jobs must be protected even if it means some reduction in compensation at various levels," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at International Labour Conference here.
He said the the government is making all out efforts to ensure flow of credit to boost trade and investment, consumption and to stimulate additional demand through public and private expenditure.
Mukherjee later told reporters that in the interim Budget he had talked of encouraging investments in infrastructure and in housing and real estate, adding that the government is providing adequate resources for programmes like NREGA and Bharat Nirman.
"If the work can be stepped up to a considerable extent, these are directly linked with employment creation and also demand creation. (If) more and more good roads are constructed, cement, steel, every thing will be required. They will get jobs. These type of programmes should be expedited and adequate resources will be provided," he said.
His remarks came as the government today informed Parliament that 5 lakh people lost their jobs during the four- month period ending December 2008, on account of economic crisis in sectors including textiles, automobile and IT.