Rating system & Regulation of Recruitment Agencies

Government of India Moots Stricter Regulation of Recruitment Agencies - Protection of Emigrant workers - Rating system for Agents under consideration - The government is to amend the Emigration Rules, 1983 to make the eligibility criteria for recruitment agencies more stringent. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has under its consideration a proposal to this effect. The proposal seeks to introduce educational criteria (graduation or two year diploma) and enhance the financial soundness criteria for the Recruitment Agents (RA). It is also proposed to dispense with the requirement of affidavits sworn in before the Judicial Magistrate and also dispense with the requirement of the police verification. The new measures seek to enhance the amounts of bank guarantee, the registration fee and the service charges required from the agents. The Emigration Rules will be changed to specify the duties of the recruiting agents, and the facilities to be maintained by them. The move is intended to help revamp the recruitment system and better protect the emigrant workers.

The MOIA is working on introducing a rating system for the RAs to enable the market to encourage good practices in the recruitment industry and eliminate the wrong-doers. The Ministry will design a system of incentives and disincentives around the rating system. The rating system will be based on well defined performance parameters relating to quality of service and statutory compliance.

The Ministry has finalized a draft model contract for employment that could be suitably customized through a bilateral process to accommodate country specific laws. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is also working on the implementation of compulsory attestation of employment contract in respect of all categories of workers.

The Ministry is considering a tie up with the National Institute of Personal Management (NIPM), to introduce a programme of capacity building for the recruiting agents and their employees.

The government is also considering a proposal to introduce self regulation in the recruitment industry by constituting a national body of recruiting agents on the lines of the institute of chartered accountants and the institute of architects. The national body will be a professional institution which will encourage good practices and discourage malpractices in the industry, promote overseas employment as a tool of economic development and represent the recruitment industry at national and international fora.

The MOIA is implementing a comprehensive e-Governance project which will lead to emigration process re-engineering with a view to integrate recruitment and emigration processes, to eliminate possibility of misrepresentation and forgery, online validation of information and online verification of the attestation status, inter-linking of all stake holders including immigration counters and Indian Embassies.

No comments: