There was seething outrage.
Someone on social media came across an advertisement by a multinational company based in Goa, advertising outside Goa, to interview people outside Goa for their plant in Goa. And yet, every year, thousands of Goans are forced to leave their homes and move outside Goa to make a living. Some of them move to other parts of India, some to other countries itself and some even take the extreme step of adopting a different nationality. They leave behind their families, their aged parents and take with them the heart wrenching pain of that separation.
At the same time, more and more of our limited lands are being acquired for Industrial estates under the excuse that they need to provide employment to Goans. Earlier at Verna, Khorlim, Kundaim, etc and now Tivim & Tuem.
Where is the disconnect? There are certain myths that need to be dispelled once and for all
Myth#1: Goans do not want to work in Goa
Most companies look at Goa as a place where they can recruit people for less. I have worked in the manufacturing sector for many years. Salaries in Goa are very low. Companies cruelly recruit people, then give them a ‘break’ and recruit them again. This way, they do not have to regularize them and pay them the fair wage that the law recommends. Unions are not very strong in Goa and this practice has been going on for decades. So, as a way out, these companies then recruit people from outside Goa. This way, you maximize profits.
Myth#2: There are no qualified people in Goa
In one of my earlier roles, I was meeting a vendor manufacturing in Goa for the first time at my office in Bangalore. Before I was formally introduced, I asked him why his whole team that had accompanied him had no Goans. He said that Goans are not educated enough and lack qualifications. I then gave him my business card. The sad situation is that not only are Goans ignored for jobs, many of the manufacturing units have become ‘camps’ for people from other regions. A company will have predominantly people from Karwar, another one will have people from Kerala and another will have North Indians. There is an unstated preference given by recruiters to those of their own regions. Anyone who has worked in Goa can verify this.
Myth#3: New policies will ensure that preference is given to Goans
There has always been talk of a percentage reservation to Goans. Whenever vast tracts of lands are acquired there is an assurance by the politicians and businessmen of X% or ‘preference’ to Goans. This has and is a promise by the BJP. This was a promise by the Goa Forward. Most Goans believe this. I once had a chat with one of the architects of the Industrial Promotion Board which is on a crazy spree to bring ‘development’ to Goa. I asked him if there is no mechanism to monitor how many Goans are employed. He said there are employee lists. Does the government monitor them? Can they be summoned if there is a complaint that a company is not hiring Goans ? Is there a body to monitor this? Shamefully, No, No and No.
We give up our lands in the hope of employment. Companies come to Goa using our land and resources and yet find that Goans are ‘not ready to work’, ‘not qualified’ or unwilling to work at very low wages, lower than those prescribed by law. It is time to force companies to share their employment statistics. High time.
Then why come to Goa ? Goa is not a free for all place that you exploit to crookedly maximize profits. Operate elsewhere where cheap but skilled labour is plentiful. Let us be.
