2.7 lakh jobs reduced in PSUs in 10 years: report

Where there were 17.3 lakh employee in these PSUs in March 2013, it decreased to 14.6 lakh in March 2022. 

New Delhi: In the last 10 years, as the employment in the public sector enterprises (CPSEs) has decreased on the one hand, the trend of contractual employment has increased to a great extent. An all India news media claimed that these facts have emerged in the official report. Analyzing the 'Public Enterprise Survey' report for the period from 2012-13 to 2021-22, a dire picture of employment in government organizations has emerged.

The survey covered CPSEs, its statutory corporations and subsidiaries in which the government holds more than 50 per cent stake. Where there were 17.3 lakh employees in these organizations in March 2013, it decreased to 14.6 lakh in March 2022. The survey covered 389 CPSEs, out of which 248 are operational. It has been observed in the survey, that apart from a decrease of more than 2.7 lakhs in total employment, there has been a significant change in the pattern of employment. As of March 2013, out of a total of 1.7 lakh employees, 17 percent were on contract and 2.5 percent were employed as temporary or daily wages. In 2022, the share of contract workers increased to 36 percent, while the share of temporary and wage workers increased to 6.6 percent. Overall, as of March 2022, 42.5 percent of those employed in CPSEs fell under the contract non-commercial worker category, compared to 19 percent in March 2013.

Enterprise-wise analysis shows that there are seven CPSEs where total employment has decreased by more than 20 thousand in the last ten years. The list is top by BSNL, where employment decreased by around 1.8 lakh. After this, more than 30,000 people lost their jobs during this period in both the SAIL and MTNL. It is worth mentioning that, among the companies which have given the data of job loss, there are both profit-making and loss-making companies. For example, MTNL and BSNL have named in the list of 10 unprofitable CPSEs in the country. The loss-making, debt-ridden Air India was liquidated. On the other hand, SAIL and ONGC, two CPSEs made it to the list of highest profit making organizations in the financial year 2021-22. That is, the only reason for reducing the staff in the companies is not the loss, of most of the companies.

Indian Oil Corporation has topped the list by employing maximum 80,000 workers in the last 10 years among the state-owned companies. Ten state-owned organizations employed 10,000 workers every ten years. Apart from this, 13 state-owned organizations have reduced their number of employees by 10,000 ten years. Significantly, the total revenue of the profit making companies was Rs 2.6 lakh crore, while the total loss of loss making companies was Rs 1.5 lakh crore. This study debunks the popular myth that most of the state owned organizations have become white elefents.