Karnataka minister urges MSMEs to pay dignified wages to retain workers
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Sharan Prakash Patil on Friday urged industries, particularly MSMEs, to pay workers wages that ensure a dignified life in Bengaluru.
Inaugurating the MSME and Employment Opportunities Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Patil expressed concern over low pay in the sector, saying it was causing high attrition despite the availability of skilled manpower.
"I have come across several cases where skilled and qualified employees from tier-two and tier-three regions of Karnataka quit their jobs here and return to their native places due to meagre salaries. How can a person from Kalaburagi survive here on a monthly salary of just Rs 20,000?" he asked.
The issue arose during an interaction session when several MSME industrialists flagged a shortage of skilled workers and said existing employees were leaving to join larger industries.
The state minister for medical education and skill development noted that MSMEs are the largest employment generators in Karnataka and across the country, but said talent retention remains a major challenge due to low wages.
"I am not asking MSMEs to match salaries offered by the tech sector, but employees must be paid decently in accordance with their skills and talent to live with dignity in Bengaluru," he said.
Acknowledging that industries need workers with diverse skill sets, the minister assured the industry body that his department would organise sector-specific job fairs to meet the needs of MSMEs.
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MP primary school teacher suspended for mimicking PM over LPG prices, uploading video of act
Shivpuri (PTI): A government school teacher in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district was suspended after a video of him mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi while making satirical remarks on LPG cylinder prices went viral on social media, an official said on Saturday.
Saket Purohit, a teacher at the government primary school in Adivasi Mohalla Semarkhedi under Pohri block, was suspended with immediate effect late Friday night under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services Rules, District Education Officer Vivek Srivastava told PTI.
In the video, Purohit can be heard stating that increase in gas prices would make people return to eating rotis cooked on traditional stoves, which would narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.
The probe by the district education office began after the video went viral, resulting in submission of a written complaint by Pichhore BJP MLA Preetam Lodhi.
In his complaint, Lodhi claimed such remarks and mimicry of the prime minister and public representatives by a government teacher violated service conduct rules and conveyed an inappropriate message to society.
Purohit was placed under suspension after the inquiry found that his act was contrary to the conduct rules applicable to government servants, Srivastava informed.
During the suspension period, Purohit would be posted at the block education office in Badarwas and he would be entitled to subsistence allowance as per rules, the official added.
A defiant Purohit, however, told reporters the action of suspending him was one-sided and that he neither received a show-cause notice nor was he given an opportunity to present his side.
"Action taken without a hearing is not justified," Purohit claimed.
