The Hindu : Kerala / Kannur News : Employment avenues drop in Kannur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 31, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Kannur

Employment avenues drop in Kannur

By Mohamed Nazeer

KANNUR, MAY 30. The trend of declining employment in the organised sector in the district known for its traditional occupations and wood-based and textile-related industries continues to worry employment seekers as many industrial units here have either closed down or are in deep financial crisis and the traditional sectors are struggling to survive.

According to the figures provided by the District Employment Exchange (DEE), the employment rate under the organised sector in the district has been showing a decline since 1999-2000. While no new industrial unit has been set up in the district, many industrial units here have either become sick or are facing closure in the near future owing to various factors.

The Thiruvepathy Mills and the Western India Cottons had already downed their shutters as have many timber mills and plywood factories. The Cooperative Spinning Mill and the Cannanore Spinning Mill are in deep crisis.

The Employment Market Information Report 2002-2003, prepared by the DEE, reveals continuing drop in employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors. The number of employment rose from 92,658 in 1998-1999 to 93,511 in 1999-2000, but it came down to 91,329 in 2000-2001, 90,596 in 2001-2002 and 88,675 in 2002-20003. The number of employment in the public sector went up from 37,659 in 1998-1999 to 38,122 in 1999-2000, but dropped to 36,830 in 2000-2001, then climbed to 36,909 in 2001-02 and dropped to 35,485 in 2002-2003. In the private sector, it increased from 54,999 in 1998-99 to 55,389 in 1999-2000 and then decreased to 54,499 in 2000-2001, 53,687 in 2001-2002 and 53,190 in 2002-2003.

"Apart from the crisis facing some of the industrial units in the district, the employment market in the traditional sectors is also struggling for survival in the face of new challenges," the District Employment Officer, P. Karunakaran, said. But the fact that there are new arenas of employment to be explored gives hope of a better employment market in the coming years, he added.

There is also a considerable drop in the total number of employment seekers in the district during 2002-2003, according to the DEE figures. Their number has decreased to 2,17,763 in 2002-2003 as against 2,48,527 during the previous year. Of the total 2,17,763 employment seekers, 1,42,643 are matriculates, 19,800 below matric, 37,222 pre-degree/intermediate, 71,701 graduates and 397 post-graduates. As many as 763 vacancies were notified in the DEE in 2002-03 and 887 vacancies were filled. In the previous year, 1,247 vacancies were notified and 1,299 filled.

The total number of women employed in the organised public and private sectors decreased from 34,125 in 2002-2002 to 33,600 in 2002-2003. While women outnumbered men in sectors such as agriculture/forestry/fishing and health/social work, they were far outnumbered by men in the mining/quarrying, manufacturing food and other products, electricity/water, construction, sales/catering, transport/storage/communications, finance/insurance/banking and public administration/education sectors.

While the legacy of labour disputes was often mentioned as one of the causes for the industrial crisis here, which has led to the gradual decline in employment opportunities, trade union circles here say that the crisis in the traditional handloom and beedi sectors is a major factor that contributed to the decline in employment.

"This trend is applicable only to the organised sector as there is no employment scope in the traditional organised sectors such as handloom and beedi-making. But there are a large number of people working in the unorganised sector in the district," says the INTUC district president, K. Surendran. There are dozens of entrepreneurs, especially in the garments sector, who prefer to run their establishments as small units, each with less than 10 workers, especially women, to evade labour rules, he said adding that such units do not figure in the official report.

According to the report, the district has 2,065 firms, including 737 in the public sector and 1,328 in the private sector. While 89.3 per cent of the public sector units responded to the questionnaire, it was 95.78 per cent in the case of the private sector units.

The employment market watchers in the district say that the declining trend in employment opportunities in the organised sector need not be a cause for concern. There are many self-employment units in the district. "Many projects under Kudumbashree are successful," says Mr. Karunakaran.

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