Haryana state government has announced that it wants 75 per cent of private sector jobs in the state, till a certain salary slab, reserved for local candidates. In November 2020, the state Assembly passed the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 paving way for more employment opportunities for locals in the private sector. On March 2, the Governor gave his assent to the Bill.
The Haryana state assembly passed the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 seeks to reserve 75% of new jobs for local candidates in various companies, societies, trusts, and limited liability partnership firms situated in the state of Haryana.
This reservation will be for local candidates for all jobs with a compensation below Rs 50,000 per month.
According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, the Bill is desirable as there has been an influx of a large number of migrants in the state, competing for low-paid jobs.
As per 2011 Census, the net in-migration for Haryana during 2002-2011 was eight lakh persons, which was the fourth highest amongst states in the country (after Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi).
A state law providing for reservation in private establishments on the basis of residence may not be constitutional.
Reservation to the extent of 75% may violate the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court.
Constraints on private establishments in hiring may be detrimental to their efficiency.
The Constitution guarantees certain fundamental rights to all citizens. These include the right to equality before law, the right to freedom to reside in any part of the country, and the right to practice any occupation or business.
It prohibits any discrimination based on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. However, the state may provide for the advancement of certain sections of the society through reservation in education or employment. This reservation may be on the basis of domicile (residence), or backwardness.
For instance, the Constitution provides Parliament the power to make a law regarding employment to an office under the State providing requirements such as residence within that state (under Article 16(3)).
The State may make provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward class of citizens or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (under Article 15(4)).
Further, the State can make provisions for reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward classes of citizens who are not adequately represented in the services of the State (under Article 16(4)).
Haryana government claims that while Article 16 talks about the “public employment”, the Bill only pertains to “private sector employment”.
Article 16 of Indian Constitution state that (1) there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment under the State. (2) no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth or any of them, be ineligible for any office under the State.
Under Article 16, there were 3 sub-clauses dealing with the job reservation. They are,
Article 371 of the Indian Constitution is connected to granting special provisions for some states of the Indian Union.
As part of XXI and XXII of the Constitution of India, Article 371 grants some temporary, transition and special provisions to some states in the country.
Ranging from Article 371-A to Article 371-J, this Article gives special provisions for the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka.
The main objectives behind the Article 371 granting special provisions to some states are to meet the unique needs of the backward regions of these states, protect the economic and cultural interests of these regions, combat the local challenges and protect the customary laws in these regions.
