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Apex chambers to appoint ombudsmen on job quotas

By IANS

New Delhi : India’s three apex industry lobbies Saturday agreed to appoint ombudsmen with regional chapters to ensure that their members adhere to their respective codes of conduct on affirmative action.

The decision was conveyed during a meeting the Coordination Committee to Promote Affirmative Action in the Indian industry chaired by T.K.A. Nair, principal secretary to the prime minister.

The representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as well as the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said they already had in place a code of conduct on affirmative action for adoption by members.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) also said it was in the process of evolving a similar one soon.

“There was also agreement that an ombudsman with regional benches will be set up by each apex chamber to monitor the compliance of the voluntary Code of Conduct by its members,” a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Addressing the annual general meeting of CII in May, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that industry must become pro-active in offering employment to the less privileged sections of the society at all levels of the job ladder.

“The representation companies give to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, other backward classes, minorities and women in their workforce must increase. I am encouraged by CII’s Report on Affirmative Action,” he had remarked.

In the report, prepared by CII and Assocham and submitted last July, the idea of a law on reservation had been summarily rejected in favour of a responsible code of conduct for individual companies.

Realising the need to enhance job prospects for members of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), Saturday’s meeting agreed to intensify India Inc’s efforts to develop the skills sets of such underprivileged employment seekers.

The chambers are already participating in public-private partnership launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to adopt around 300 Indian Technical Institutes (ITIs) this year and develop them as centres of excellence.

“It was agreed that the presidents of the chambers of industry will deliberate what further action needs to be initiated to make the programme of affirmative action more responsive,” a statement by the three chambers said.

CII said 345 SC/ST members were being trained to become entrepreneurs at seven centres with help from the Entrepreneurial Development Institute in Ahmedabad and that such numbers would go up to 500 members by the year end.

FICCI, on the other hand, announced the four entrepreneurial development centres and said each of them will train 600 members of SC/ST per annum, while Assocham said its schemes had already trained 300 of the 1000 candidates selected by it.