PG holders apply for sanitary workers’ job
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:05.02.2019
Tamil Nadu is a highly urbanized and industrialized state, but it may not be creating adequate job opportunities for its educated youth. Sample this, of the 4,607 people who responded to the advertisement put out by the Tamil Nadu assembly secretariat to fill up 14 posts of sweepers and sanitary workers recently, there are scores of graduates, post-graduates, diploma holders and professional degree holders.
The profile of the applicants shows that they belong to all sections of society, caste and geographical regions. They are from rural, semi-urban and urban areas. Some are from Chennai city too. The secretariat has rejected 677 applications as the applicants did not comply with the age criteria. High demand for government jobs could be the primary reason for highly educated youth applying for such jobs, feel economists.
“First of all, we are surprised to see so many people applying for the post of sweepers and sanitary workers. Presence of professional degree holders among them is more intriguing,” said a senior official in the assembly secretariat. All the applicants had approached for the job through the employment exchange. “The salary is ₹17,000 per month. Some could have been attracted by the pay package. Only after the Lok Sabha polls will we finalise the selection,” said the official.
A vast majority of applicants, out of the 3,930 received, have studied only up to 10th or 12th standard. Many have not passsed 10th standard. Sasi, (name changed) a Chennaibased graduate, has applied for the job. “I am employed in a private company and I get ₹7,000 plus a travel allowance of ₹2,000 every month. But I heard the salary for a sanitary worker in government is more than double of what I get now. So I did not think twice to apply for the post,” he said.
Labour economist M Vijayabaskar said a large number of engineers and other graduates are jobless in Tamil Nadu. “We may be an industrialized state, but companies are shifting from labour-intensive production to machine-centric production. The number of job aspirants is much more than the job opportunities available in the state,” he said.
Government job has become more attractive after the implementation of the new pay commission recommendations. Moreover, it entails pension. “When the government invited applications for temporary teachers’ post during the strike of government employees and teachers, in a single day itself about 3 lakh people submitted applications. They also knew that it is not a permanent job. It reflects the level of unemployment in Tamil Nadu,” said Tamil Nadu Government Employees’ Association general secretary M Anbarasu.
High educational qualification does not stop them from applying for lower level jobs.
“All they want is a secured job with a good salary. They are not bothered much about the nature of work,” said Anbarasu.
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:05.02.2019
Tamil Nadu is a highly urbanized and industrialized state, but it may not be creating adequate job opportunities for its educated youth. Sample this, of the 4,607 people who responded to the advertisement put out by the Tamil Nadu assembly secretariat to fill up 14 posts of sweepers and sanitary workers recently, there are scores of graduates, post-graduates, diploma holders and professional degree holders.
The profile of the applicants shows that they belong to all sections of society, caste and geographical regions. They are from rural, semi-urban and urban areas. Some are from Chennai city too. The secretariat has rejected 677 applications as the applicants did not comply with the age criteria. High demand for government jobs could be the primary reason for highly educated youth applying for such jobs, feel economists.
“First of all, we are surprised to see so many people applying for the post of sweepers and sanitary workers. Presence of professional degree holders among them is more intriguing,” said a senior official in the assembly secretariat. All the applicants had approached for the job through the employment exchange. “The salary is ₹17,000 per month. Some could have been attracted by the pay package. Only after the Lok Sabha polls will we finalise the selection,” said the official.
A vast majority of applicants, out of the 3,930 received, have studied only up to 10th or 12th standard. Many have not passsed 10th standard. Sasi, (name changed) a Chennaibased graduate, has applied for the job. “I am employed in a private company and I get ₹7,000 plus a travel allowance of ₹2,000 every month. But I heard the salary for a sanitary worker in government is more than double of what I get now. So I did not think twice to apply for the post,” he said.
Labour economist M Vijayabaskar said a large number of engineers and other graduates are jobless in Tamil Nadu. “We may be an industrialized state, but companies are shifting from labour-intensive production to machine-centric production. The number of job aspirants is much more than the job opportunities available in the state,” he said.
Government job has become more attractive after the implementation of the new pay commission recommendations. Moreover, it entails pension. “When the government invited applications for temporary teachers’ post during the strike of government employees and teachers, in a single day itself about 3 lakh people submitted applications. They also knew that it is not a permanent job. It reflects the level of unemployment in Tamil Nadu,” said Tamil Nadu Government Employees’ Association general secretary M Anbarasu.
High educational qualification does not stop them from applying for lower level jobs.
“All they want is a secured job with a good salary. They are not bothered much about the nature of work,” said Anbarasu.
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