Posted on: 11 December 2017
Christmas came early in 2017, with Saralweb introducing a Free Single Login version for security services industries. From recruitment to compliance reporting, the solution covers the complete work process and digitizes the organisation in the industry employing 7.5 million people. Discussing the compliance requirement and wishing you a happy new year, 2018, we bring to you the 45th edition of our Saralweb research note.
As per the FICCI-PWC report-2017, 60 % of the industry’s operations are carried in an unorganised manner. While the sector is one of the largest employer in the country; technology integration, quality & skills of the workforce, widening gap between the large players and small players, and compliance requirements are some of the major challenges faced by the industry.
The government last year (2017) made significant policy changes that will directly or indirectly make an impact on all the organisations, irrespective of their size. Foreign Direct investment in private security has been revised to 74% through government approved routes, and 49% through direct route. This would mean foreign institutions can partner with Indian entities and operate within the country. The partnership would increase the competition levels in the industry, while injecting technological integration. One should not ignore the fact that foreign organisations, especially the ones operating in the west, are trained to work on Quick Response Team ( QRT) model.
The government also made changes in the Minimum Wages Act; recategorising security guards as skilled and highly skilled. Minimum wage distribution comes with compliance requirements of its own. We have talked about the impact of wages in our previous editions.
Another major notification that was introduced was “Ease of compliance to maintain registers under labour law rules, 2017”. In 2016, the Ministry of labour & employment made an amendment, making the submission of hard copies of registers before any of the statutory departments voluntary, if employers can submit soft copies of the registers. Following the changes, in 2017, 56 registers/forms under 9 central labour laws and rules were made into 5 common registers/forms.
Though the latest rules seem to favour the industry, experts vary on the impact and implications. The industry is going through a transition from unorganised to organised. Organisations considered as small and medium, on the basis of employee strength, will be affected more than the large organisations with dedicated staff. Theses firms will have to improve their quality of service while they adhere to policies. They face the decision to invest their limited resource in either improving their services or in coping with changing policies. Technological integration is also a challenge, which the experts believe, will play a crucial role in daily operations in times to come. We have already seen some examples in the form of recruitment kiosk being used in industry. While organisations are looking at the solution, cost seems to be a hurdle that demands decision makers' attention.
Cost effective automation of daily processes seems to be the solution for firms trying to cope with afore-mentioned challenges. The solution that seems to cost equivalent to hiring an employee can also be considered as cost-effective, provided, it can smoothen the daily working, save resources and gives a clear picture of the organisation to decision makers.