Govt firm’s ‘incompetence’ delaying migrant workers & employment surveys, says expert panel head
Governance

Govt firm’s ‘incompetence’ delaying migrant workers & employment surveys, says expert panel head

Professor S.P. Mukherjee, chairman of panel constituted by Modi govt, says BECIL, a Miniratna public sector enterprise tasked with key pan-India surveys, has shown 'lack of experience'.

   
Representational image of migrant workers | File photo: ANI

Representational image of migrant workers | File photo: ANI

New Delhi: A government firm hired by the Labour Bureau to carry out field work, collect data and develop software for surveys on migrant workers and employment in the unorganised sector has been deemed “incompetent” for the job by the head of an expert panel constituted by the Centre.

This is leading to continuous delays in completion of the surveys, Professor S.P. Mukherjee, emeritus professor, University of Calcutta, and chairman of the expert panel, told ThePrint. The panel was set up to oversee and provide technical guidance for the pan-India surveys.

The firm in question is the Broadcast Engineering Consultant India Limited (BECIL). Established in 1995, it is an ISO 9001:2008 certified Miniratna public sector enterprise of the Government of India, under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The Labour Bureau, which is attached to the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, had in March 2021 signed a service-level agreement with BECIL to conduct the All-India Survey of Migrant Workers, and the All-India Quarterly Establishment-based Employment Survey (AQEES). While the former is a one-time survey, the latter is to be held every quarter for five years.

The BECIL is tasked with developing software for the surveys, carrying out field work, collecting data, tabulating it and preparing reports based on the data. It signed the deal for Rs 50 crore, said a senior Labour Bureau official, who did not wish to be named.

“They (BECIL) have shown incompetence and lack of experience in carrying out these responsibilities,” Prof. Mukherjee told ThePrint. 

He further said that, initially, there was delay on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, but BECIL’s “poor HR practices that resulted in shortage of manpower” and “technical glitches in the software” led to slippages in the schedule.

“The agency does not have an idea about how to go about this kind of all-India survey. They lack experience,” another member of the expert committee told ThePrint on condition of anonymity. 

The migrant workers survey is ongoing and a report on the same is likely to be completed by October. As far as the AQEES is concerned, reports for just two quarters (April-June 2021 and July-September 2021) have been released. 

A BECIL spokesperson said the surveys were going on according to schedule: “Data for all the four quarters (till March 2022) for the AQEES has been collected within the time given by the Labour Bureau. Two rounds of quarterly reports have been published. About 80 per cent listing for the migrant workers survey is done and we expect to complete within the timeline.” 

ThePrint sought comments on the matter from Labour Bureau Director General I.S. Negi via calls and email, and from Union Labour Secretary Sunil Barthwal via email, but did not get any response. 


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What the surveys are about

In April 2021, the Centre gave the Labour Bureau the task of conducting five major All-India surveys All-India Survey of Migrant Workers, All-India Survey on Domestic Workers, All-India Survey on Employment generated in Transport Sector, All-India Survey of Employment generated by Professionals, and AQEES.

A senior labour ministry official told ThePrint that the surveys on the transport sector and professionals were later dropped after the finance ministry did not sanction the required budget. In all, the finance ministry sanctioned Rs 120 crore for conducting the remaining three surveys, the official added. 

The objective of the AQEES is to provide employment estimates for establishments employing 10 or more workers, as well as those employing nine or fewer workers. This survey will provide “crucial data on the changes in employment situation across the selected sectors on a quarterly basis”, according to a labour ministry statement issued in April 2021.

The AQEES had two parts a Quarterly Employment Survey to provide employment estimates for establishments employing 10 or more workers, and an Area Frame Establishment Survey (AFES) to cater to the need for data-driven labour welfare policy formulation. The AFES is also being conducted by BECIL.    

BECIL was initially supposed to conduct the All-India Survey on Domestic Workers as well. However, the Labour Bureau changed the scope of its work in September 2021 following a review meeting, the bureau official quoted earlier told ThePrint.  

The surveys have been developed and designed by the Labour Bureau under the technical guidance of the expert group, which includes economists, statisticians, government functionaries and officials of the Labour Bureau. Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor Amitabh Kundu is the panel’s co-chair.

‘Fallen short on its commitment’

The issue of the BECIL “falling short” in doing its job was also raised by members of the expert group at a meeting held in early March. According to the minutes of the meeting, seen by ThePrint, the chairman had said: “BECIL certainly has fallen short on its commitments and has shown poor organisational skills.” 

However, the chairman also made it clear at the meeting that “engaging any other agency at this point may be ruled out” to avoid further delay in completion of the ongoing survey. But the expert group members suggested engaging a new “panel of agencies” for conducting the AQEES after its fourth quarter is completed.  

Sources in the labour ministry told ThePrint that they are considering a proposal to hire another agency, or a panel of agencies, to conduct the quarterly surveys from the fifth round onwards. However, no decision has been taken as yet, they added. 

‘Will complete frame survey within timeline’

More than 800 personnel are said to be working on the AFES. “We have 3-4 months to complete this survey. We expect to complete it within the timeline,” the BECIL spokesperson quoted earlier said. 

The spokesperson added that, before October 2021 (when the revised contract was signed), the Labour Bureau had initiated a soft launch of all surveys with field testing, testing of software, training of over 2,000 personnel, and finalising of scrutiny points.  

“This is the first time that an IT-based project has been undertaken in India, in which end-to-end technology is being used, including advanced dashboard, geo-tagging, Artificial Intelligence and analytics,” the spokesperson said. 

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)


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