Standing Committee Report Summary

The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill, 2013

• The Standing Committee on Labour (Chairperson: Mr Dara Singh Chauhan) submitted its report on the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill, 2013 on February 7, 2014.
   
• The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on April 22, 2013 and referred to the Standing Committee on May 3, 2013.
   
• The Bill amends the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notifications of Vacancies) Act, 1959. The Act provides for the compulsory notification of vacancies to employment exchanges.
   
• The Committee recommended that the Bill be returned to the Ministry so that a more comprehensive Bill may be drafted.
   
• The Committee noted that the 956 employment exchanges in the country are able to place only four lakh candidates out of the four crore that are registered with them. It recommended revamping employment exchanges to provide one stop placement solutions to the unemployed.
   
• The Bill renames employment exchanges ‘Employment Guidance and Promotion Centres’. The Committee noted that while the nomenclature has been changed, no provisions have been made to transform employment exchanges into employment guidance and promotion centres.
   
• The Act defines an employee as a person employed in an establishment for the purpose of remuneration. To address the rise in employment on contract basis, the Bill seeks to amend this to include any person who is employed on a contract basis for a period 240 days or more. The Committee pointed out that: (a) employment may be offered on a contract basis for less than 240 days, and (b) employers may give a break after less than 240 days and re-employ the same people. It recommended that the definition of employee be made more inclusive.
   
• The Committee recommended that provisions for regulating placement agencies in the private sector be included in the Bill. While guidelines have been issued by the centre, it has been left to state governments to frame regulations.
   
• The Committee recommended that high end vacancies be excluded from the purview of employment exchanges. These cater to experienced candidates and the Committee recommended that employment exchanges focus on providing job opportunities to unemployed and first time job seekers.
   
• In addition, the Committee pointed out that the Bill has left contract farming out of its purview. It has not made provision for employers to notify employment exchanges at the same time that they place advertisements elsewhere, to assist those registered with employment exchanges.
   
• Short courses and vocational guidance should be provided to all registered candidates by qualified career counsellors. The Bill should aim at making the process of recruitment of private and public sector institutions more transparent.

 

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