...while killing with kindness

BS OPINION

 The political resistance to these reforms may appear somewhat illogical to people who argue that more than 90 per cent of the workforce is outside the purview of job security anyway. Nevertheless, it seems to have shackled the government into virtually invisible incrementalism.

 One move now being considered by the government is expansion of the scope of contract labour, which, if pushed through, will give employers greater flexibility in deploying workers.

 This amendment is still one step removed from implementation; it is to allow the government to make the process of expanding this scope simpler.

 But the apparent inevitability of its impact is motivating the ministry of labour to extract its pound of flesh in the form of a premium for the uncertainty that the contract worker would face in comparison with his permanent counterpart.

 This could happen in a number of ways. Mandated wages for contract workers would be higher. Or, the premium could be paid into an unemployment insurance pool, which would pay out to the worker when he is out of a job.

 The intentions and the concern that the ministry is showing towards workers cannot be faulted. Predictability of cash flows to workers is socially desirable, and highly so.

 But the proposals being considered become impractical when viewed in the context of the employment situation. In a word, this situation is bad