Mayawati makes reservation mandatory in private sector

Considering reservation as the sturdiest weapon for facilitate the dalit voters, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati came out with the first to make reservation mandatory for private organisations to which the government and semi-government agencies outsource works.

The new law guarantees reservation in all outsourcing firms and also the individual, who employ staff for carrying out jobs in government and semi-government departments and agencies will have to abide by this reservation policy.

The construction agencies, which takes contracts from various departments like Public Works, Irrigation department and other sectors will also come under the reservation ambit.

The reservation pattern will be same as the quota system in government services for the Schedule Castes, the Schedule Tribes, the Other Backward Classes, and the economically weak sections among the upper castes.

The decision was taken at the state cabinet meeting on Thursday, but revealed on Friday, while attending press conference, Chief Minister Mayawati said all establishments interested in doing business with government, public sector undertakings, boards and government-aided bodies will have to implement the reservation.

“Owing to the scarcity in government jobs, steps are being taken so the deprived sections of society also get their due share in the growing economy,” the chief minister said.

She said that the government jobs were shrinking and the private enterprises were mushrooming. Added further, in such circumstances unless reservation for the deprived section are not extended to the private sector firms chosen as service providers by the government, social justice would remain a distant reality.

Currently, the total reservation in state government jobs is around 50 per cent out of which 22 per cent for SCs and 27 per cent for OBCs.

Last year On August 10, 2007, the Mayawati government had made obligatory 30 per cent reservation out of which 10 per cent each for SCs, OBCs and the weaker sections from upper castes in new industrial units. The government had also implemented reservation for SCs and OBCs in units coming up under the public-private partnership formula.