PM supports private job exchanges

Strongly defending the suggestion for allowing private employment exchanges in the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said it would introduce a "measure of competition" in the job information service.

He said employment exchanges and placement centres have existed in the public sector for a long time and observed that they "can do no harm to the country as a whole."

On privatisation of employment exchanges, Singh said employment information service was an "integral part" of matching demand and supply of various jobs and skills.

Earlier, the Minister of State for Planning M V Rajasekharan said the document on the mid-term appraisal of Tenth Plan suggested that the Employment Exchanges Act should be amended to allow private employment

exchanges to provide 'job placement services' to private and public sector and government establishments, and to collect the data on job opportunities.

This triggered a spontaneous reaction from the opposition benches and some Left party leaders too supported them, questioning the rationale behind allowing private employment exchanges.

The Minister informed the House that there were 918 private placement agencies in 19 states and union territories and most of them were in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Delhi.