PTI
New Delhi, October 11
The government needs to enact a ‘Right to Work’ legislation and invest at least 5 per cent of GDP, that is Rs 13.52 lakh crore, per year to ensure full employment in the country, as per a study by the People’s Commission on Employment and Unemployment.
The People’s Commission on Employment and Unemployment, set up by Desh Bachao Abhiyan, released its study ‘Right to Work: Feasible and Indispensable for India to be a truly Civilised and Democratic Nation’ on Tuesday.
The report stated that full employment cannot be achieved through a piecemeal approach as it requires drastic changes in the legal, socio-political and economic aspects.
It suggested that the government should enact a ‘Right to Work’ law to ensure decent livelihood for citizens.
It stated that creating employment for 21.8 crore people needs investment of Rs 13.52 lakh crore per annum or 5 per of the GDP (gross domestic product). It also stressed on increasing this expenditure by 1 per cent of the GDP per annum for the next five years.
Currently, 21.8 crore people immediately need work, which excludes persons benefitting from the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA.
Increasing employment will result in greater production as well as demand, it suggested.
Shortage of resources for achieving full employment is an invalid argument since it can be self-financing, the report said, adding that this runs counter to the elite perception that full employment would be a negative sum game for them.
It pointed out that at present about 30.4 crore workers have proper work.
If a workable alternative to the present system imposed by international finance capital is worked out in India, it can be a model which other developing nations can also follow, it said.
The report noted that achieving a more civilized and democratic society through moving toward full employment is feasible.
It regretted that markets not only do not guarantee full employment, especially in the short run, but also want unemployment to prevail so that labour is kept weak.
New technology being evolved in the advanced countries is appropriate for their needs but not necessarily good for a developing country like India, the report noted.
Higher technology is supposed to lead to higher profitability of a company. But it also lowers the employment potential. So, those who import technology and reduce employment need to pay a tax which could be used to finance employment, it suggested.
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