After 90-hour row, L&T boss Subrahmanyan now finds it ‘funny’ that Indians don’t want to come to office or relocate for jobs
SN Subrahmanyan has ignited another controversy over a comment on relocation and job migration. Speaking at the CII South Global Linkages summit on Tuesday, he said Indian workers, including the techies, are hesitant to move for jobs, creating challenges for industry.
Highlighting the challenges of labour shortages in the construction industry, he stating that while many countries deal with migration issues, India faces a unique problem of people unwilling to move for work. L&T chairman said the workers are increasingly unwilling to take up jobs due to the availability of welfare schemes and financial assistance, said SN Subrahmanyan.
High attrition rates and changing mobilisation methods
Subrahmanyan explained that L&T employs around four lakh labourers, but due to attrition, the company has to mobilise about 60 lakh workers annually. He noted that the traditional methods of hiring workers have changed, with digital communication now playing a significant role. «To get carpenters for a new site, the company sends messages to the list of carpenters it's working or had worked in the past,» he said. However, he pointed out that persuading workers to take up assignments remains a challenge.
To address these workforce issues, L&T has created a specialised department, HR for Labour. «So we have created a separate department called HR for Labour which does not exist in the company but it does exist. And sometimes I even sit on that,» he said. He attributed the reluctance of workers to move to factors such as Jan Dhan
