95 per cent job for Sikkimese in private sector Bill passed

Gangtok, Mar 10 (UNI) The Sikkim Promotion of Local Employment Bill, which puts a 95 per cent local employment obligation on the private sector operating in the state, was unanimously passed in the State Legislative Assembly today.

The Bill was endorsed even by the lone Opposition MLA Acharya Tshering Lama, who said during the fourth day of the Budget Session at the Assembly that the Sikkimese educated youths will benefit from this 'good' Bill.

''Presently, our educated youths were targeting only government jobs creating unemployment problem, but I believe that now they will get jobs in private sector, said Lama while welcoming the Bill.

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling had introduced the Bill on March 8 in his capacity as the minister of Department of Personnel and Administration Reforms.

On his part, Mr Chamling said the main objective of the Bill was to ensure that Sikkimese people get jobs and business from all the opportunities created in the state.

''Our objective to give protection to the Sikkimese people,'' he said.

Highlighting the deficit of skilled manpower in the state, the chief minister said the objectives of the Bill would be defeated if human resource is not prepared.

''We must prepare skilled manpower to enable them to tap the opportunities,'' he said.

The Bill seeks to bind all the private business sector operating within the state to give 95 per cent employment in its vacancies to the Sikkimese people.

All companies registered under Registration of Companies Act, Sikkim 1961 or Companies Act of 1956 having their operational unit in Sikkim and organizations, including private commercial institutions, hotels, shops, factories or manufacturing units or industry having more person or employing more than ten person comes under this Bill.

The targeted beneficiaries, who are the local people, have been defined as those possessing Certificate of Identification or Sikkim Subject Certificate in the Bill.

It shall be obligatory on the part of all the organisations to give employment and preference to local people in 95 per cent of its vacancies or jobs or position and employment in the organisation, the Bill states. The private sector can only consider non-locals in those cases where local people are not available due to technical or lack of adequate technical qualifications.

A designated authority will be overseeing the implementations of the Bill once it becomes an Act. Discussions and Voting on the Bill will take place on Monday.

The Bill is a legislative bid of the state government to ensure employment to the locals as more and more industries are coming to Sikkim to tap its natural resources and exploit the exemptions of Northeast Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007. Among them, private power developers and hotel industries are the most prominent.

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