No escape from quota, Meira tells industry

New Delhi, June 1 (UNI) Reaffirming the UPA Government's commitment to provide quota to weaker sections in private sector jobs, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar today refused to buy the industry's argument that it need not introduce reservation as it was already employing a sizeable number of employees from these segments.

There are certain jobs like that of cleaning etc for which no castes other than Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes apply, so the moot point was whether these sections were adequately represented in higher jobs, Ms Kumar said in an interview with the CNBC TV to be telecast tonight.

The Minister was asked as to why the government was insisting on reservation when a number of industrial houses had declared that they were already employing substantial number of people from these classes.

She said first of all representatives of the industry, whom she had met so far on the issue, had made no claims about the employment of weaker sections in their organisations, but if at all they were employinmg these people, it is to be examined what kind of jobs were being given to them.

Replying to a question, Ms Kumar said legislation to provide reservation to SCs/STs in the private sector was the last thing the Government would do.

''We want the industry to introduce quota voluntarily, but if they do not do so, the government will have to take some action.

There is no third way out,'' she said.

This is a commitment included in the Common Minimum Programme(CMP) of the UPA Government, Ms Kumar asserted.

She replied with a firm 'yes' when asked if the CMP included affirmative action and reservation.

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