Over a lakh regular jobs were lost in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in five years because of privatisation, data provided by the government in Parliament shows.
The number of regular employees has declined from 9.2 lakh in 2019-20 to 8.12 lakh in 2023-24 in the CPSEs after disinvestment and privatisation, minister of state for social justice and empowerment B.L. Verma said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
A labour economist said the loss of opportunities had worsened the unemployment crisis in India.
CPM Lok Sabha member Sachithanantham R wanted to know how many jobs had been lost to privatisation of CPSEs in the last five years and the job losses among Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
According to data shared by the minister, the number of regular employees declined from 9.2 lakh in 2019-20 to 8.6 lakh in 2020-21 and 8.39 lakh in 2021-22. In 2023-24, the strength of the regular employees was 8.12 lakh.
The absolute number of SC and ST staff decreased, while the number of OBC
employees increased from 1.99 lakh to 2.13 lakh in this period.
“The representation of SCs has increased from 17.44% in 2019-20 to 17.76% in 2023-24, representation of STs has increased from 10.84% in 2019-20 to 10.85% in 2023-24 and representation of OBCs has increased from 21.59% in 2019-20 to 26.24% in 2023-24,” the minister said.
Labour economist Santosh Mehrotra, a visiting professor at the University of Bath, said the data showed a steady decline of 1.08 lakh regular employees in the CPSEs within five years. It means the strength of regular employees has fallen by 12 per cent in this period due to disinvestment, worsening the employment scenario.
“Because the total strength has declined by 1.08 lakh, the proportionate representation of SCs and STs has marginally increased. It is not that the government has appointed more people from SC and ST communities.
“The absolute number of SC and ST employees has also declined by about 28,000. It means disinvestment of CPSEs has led to a reduction in opportunities in public employment where reservation applies. It has worsened the unemployment situation in the country,” Mehrotra said.
According to the monthly report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate in India for those 15 years and above was over 5 per cent for April, May, June and July this year. The average annual unemployment rate was 3.2 per cent in the 2022-23 survey report.
Ashok Bharti, chairman of the National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), said the minister gave misleading data on the share of SCs and STs increasing marginally.
“When the absolute number of SCs and STs has declined, the minister is citing misleading data of a marginal increase in their share among employees. The MP had not asked about the share of SCs and STs. After privatisation, there is no reservation in the private sector. SCs and STs are worst hit by privatisation,” Bharti said.
The government carried out strategic disinvestment, which means the entire or substantial sale of government shareholding of a CPSE, along with transfer of management control, in the case of 10 CPSEs since 2016.
In a separate reply in the Rajya Sabha on December 10, 2024, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said: “Since 2014-15, an amount of about ₹4,36,748 crore (as on 04.12.2024) has been realised as disinvestment proceeds using various modes/instruments.”