Organised Flexi Staffing to employ 9 million by 2025

Oct. 11, 2012 - PRLog -- With organic growth in the organized sector Indian Staffing Federation estimates the flexi staffing industry to grow to represent 10% of the organized workforce by 2025. That would take the current size of the industry from 1.3 million to 9 million

Honorable Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Shri Mallikarjun  Kharge unveils first of its kind industry report during the Indian Staffing Conclave

Key Findings of the ISF Report
   India is among the five least protected countries when it comes to flexi workforce inspite of having an elaborate regulatory framework
   Retail, Telecom, Manufacturing, Pharma, Hospitality and Agriculture sectors are increasingly going flexi
   Of the total flexi workforce, 82% is under the age of 30 years
   Average salary of a flexi worker is around INR 10,000 a month. 94% of flexi workers get paid through banking channels
   India is among the top five nations in terms of flexi worker base, but among the lowest in terms of penetration at 0.32%
   27% of Indians joined the flexi workforce due to lack of any alternative opportunity in the formal sector
   92% preferred to approach agencies instead of hiring permanent workers in order to find the right man for the right job
   Most flexi jobs in India continue to happen at the lower end of the skill spectrum such as data operations, accounts, sales, back end operations, administration and marketing

New Delhi, October 10, 2012: Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), an apex body of leading staffing companies in India, today unveiled a first-of-its-kind comprehensive industry report on the Indian Flexi Staffing industry during the Indian Staffing Conclave, in the city today.  Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Hon’ble Minister of Labour & Employment, Government of India, who was the Guest of Honour , unveiled the report. The research for the study was conducted by Indicus Analytics.  The report covers the size of the Indian Flexi staffing industry, its growth drivers and prospects, its benefits to employers, the challenges involved, the regulatory scenario, some internationals trends and ISF’s recommendations for the betterment of the industry.
Some of the key recommendations include –

   Reduce the clutter of labour laws, unifying them into a limited number of cognate groups.
   Enforce best practices and ethics among both organised and unorganised players.
   All flexi staffing agencies to be registered with a designated central body, and must have minimum capital of INR 10 million
   Companies that default on timely payment of wages or statutory dues to be barred from setting up Flexi staffing Companies
   Legal recognition to the Industry so as to prevent the entry of  non-compliant operators
   Legal provisions to spell out obligations of both the flexi staffing intermediaries and user companies  
   Provisions to protect interests of workers, with clear delineation of responsibilities of both staffing agencies and user  companies
Honorable Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Shri Mallikarjun  Kharge said while unveiling the industry report,  “Am hopeful that this report and its findings will enable healthy industrial relations and well being of the temporary staffing workforce in India. Even the Labour Ministry is working towards it and we are providing training to almost 13.5 lakh people till 2011-12 with almost 10,000 ITIs being modernised. All this will ensure better skills in the workforce resulting in better employability.” The tripartite labour conference focused on creating 500 million jobs by 2022 he added.

Upon the release of the Report, K Pandia Rajan, President, ISF said, “The survey showcases India as among the top five nations in terms of flexi worker base which is currently at 1.3 million and is projected to grow to 9 million by 2025. Companies need flexibility to remain competitive, and in the absence of the right environment that supports flexibility in an organized manner work tends to go casual thereby denying the employee a secure job. “

Rituparna Chakraborty, Vice President, ISF, said, “The survey has also brought to light that due to lack of regulation specific to this industry there is a huge prevalence of unorganized players who are playing outside the ambit of labour laws. Hence the time has come to take proactive steps to regulate the flexi staffing industry, as a first step India should seriously consider ratification of ILO Convention 181. This single move can provide higher security and protection to the Indian flexi worker.”

The role of flexi staffing agencies is gaining more importance in addressing many unemployability and unemployment related issues. A legal framework to protect the interest of this vast number of workers and many more ready to be tapped is the need of the hour. Keeping all these in mind, the topics covered during the Conclave include, Analysis and Roadmap Ahead for the Indian Flexi-Staffing industry; international experience in the space and how it can act as an enabler of skills.