MNS trains its guns on industry

Says units in the state must reserve 80% of jobs for locals.

After its campaign against north Indians in February, Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) has said it wants industrial units in the state to reserve 80 per cent of the jobs for locals, raising strong protests from industry chambers.

A letter written by Manoj Chavan, president of MN Kamgar Sena (MNKS), the MNS labour wing, to various industrial units has accused industry of deliberately ignoring a state government rule to draw 80 per cent of its workforce from among locals.

The practice would no longer be tolerated, Chavan's letter said. Outsiders should be employed only after reasonable efforts to fill the vacancies from among sons of the soil have failed, it added.

Chavan was referring to a 1973 state government circular that made it mandatory for industries allotted land in state-owned industrial parks like MIDC or enjoying tax and duty concessions to reserve 80 per cent of jobs for locals. The rule, however, was never enforced.

This latest move comes just as industries in and around Pune and Nashik were limping back to normal after North Indian workers, who had fled following violence by MNS activists, started to return. Units now fear this fresh threat might encourage them to flee again.

When contacted, Chavan said: "We are in the process of writing a letter to all the 40,000-odd units spread across various industrial parks in the state and asking them to follow the government rule."

He added that the MNS did not intend to set a deadline but activists would keep a close watch on the recruitment process.

"If we find that a particular industrial unit is not following the rule, we will launch an agitation against it," Chavan said, but declined to explain what methods would be used.

The MNS agitation over the past few days has prompted Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to say the state government would implement the rule "earnestly" when he recently signed agreements with various industrial units.

Meanwhile, State Industries Minister Ashok Chavan said he would appeal to the MNS not to take the law into its own hands.

"If they feel that any particular industrial unit is violating the state government rule they should bring it to our notice and we will take action according to the rules."

Reacting sharply to these developments, Neeraj Bajaj, president of the Indian Merchants Chamber, said the demand was detrimental to the growth of industry in the state.

"So far, Maharashtra has been one of the top destinations for investment in the country and this will pollute the investment climate in the state," he added.

Bajaj also appealed to the state government to protect every Indian's constitutional right to move and settle in any part of India and earn his livelihood.