Uddhav Thackeray expressed concern about the dismissal of several workers by several industries.
Mumbai:
On Monday, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed concern over the layoffs of several industries despite the resumption of commercial activities in the state.
Thackeray made the remarks when he launched the state government MahaJobs portal, which aims to provide employment opportunities for “sons of the soil” or people who are domiciled.
The chief minister observed that migrant workers, who traveled to their country of origin due to the coronavirus blockage, began to return slowly to Maharashtra after his government authorized the resumption of commercial activities.
Meanwhile, in a later statement, the government said more than 13,300 job seekers had applied and 147 industrialists registered on the portal http: //mahajobs.maharashtra.gov.in within four hours of its launch.
“Today we have jobs available, but there are no workers. Although this is the factual position, I noticed a strange scenario yesterday.
“Several industries have started to cut or lay off workers’ wages,” said Thackeray.
“The sons of the soil or the migrant workers, who have not returned to their country and presented themselves at the workplace, are dismissed. It is not fair,” said Thackeray.
He said this issue needs to be discussed with industrialists as the state government tries to resolve the difficulties they face.
The MahaJobs portal is the need of the hour, he said, adding that the system works seamlessly.
Thackeray asked the authorities to regularly assess the usefulness of the portal in terms of the number of applicants who actually get jobs using the online platform, which will be managed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) .
The launch of the portal was attended by Minister of State for Industries Subhash Desai, Minister of Labor Dilip Walse Patil, Minister of Skills Development Nawab Malik and Minister of State for Industries Aditi Tatkare by videoconference.
Mr. Desai said that 17 sectors for which job seekers can apply through the portal include engineering, logistics, textiles and pharmacy.
Qualified, semi-skilled and unskilled candidates can apply for jobs by uploading their contact details to the portal, which employers / industries can also access, the government said.
