The Employment Exchange Act, 1959

The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 provides for compulsory notification of vacancies and submission of employment returns (ER-I and ER-II) by the employers to the employment exchanges. According to the Act, the term ’employment exchange’ means “any office or place established and maintained by the Government for the collection and furnishing of information, either by keeping of registers or otherwise, respecting:- (i) persons who seek to engage employees; (ii) persons who seek employment;and (iii) vacancies to which persons seeking employment may be appointed”. Thus, the main activities of the employment exchanges are registration, placement of job seekers, career counselling, and vocational guidance and collection of employment market information.The Act applies to all establishments in the public sector and such establishments in the private sector as are engaged in non-agricultural activities and employing 25 or more workers. The employer in every establishment in public sector in any State or area shall furnish such information or return as may be prescribed in relation to vacancies that have occurred or are about to occur in that establishment, to such employment exchanges as may be prescribed. But, it shall not apply in relation to the vacancies in any employment:-

• • In agriculture (including horticulture) in any establishment in private sector other than employment as agricultural or farm machinery operatives

• • In domestic service;

• • The total duration of which is less than three months;

• • To do unskilled office work;

• Connected with the staff of Parliament.

Unless the Central Government otherwise directs by notification in the Official Gazette in this behalf, this Act shall not also apply in relation to:- (i) vacancies which are proposed to be filled through promotion or by absorption of surplus staff of any branch or department of the same establishment or on the result of any examination conducted or interview held by, or on the recommendation of, any independent agency, such as the Union or a State Public Service Commission and the like; and (ii) vacancies in an employment which carries a remuneration of less than sixty rupees in a month.

Also under the Act, if an employer fails to notify to the employment exchanges any vacancy in contravention of the Act, he/ she shall be punishable for the offense.

In the Ministry of Labour, Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET) operates the National Employment Service (NES). NES works through the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act 1959 and rules framed thereof. It operates through a network of 947 employment exchanges and carries out the following functions:-

• Registration and placement of job-seekers so as to ensure a proper balance between demand and supply.
• Collect comprehensive Employment Market Information on a quarterly basis for creation of a database for use ineffective management of the demand and supply of labor, preparing career literature for counseling and vocational guidance.
• Career Counseling and Vocational Guidance.
• Conduct area-specific specialized study/surveys to have an assessment of skills available and the marketable skills required for encouraging the job-seekers for self-employment, particularly in the rural informal sector.
• Some of the State Governments arrange disbursement of unemployment allowance to certain specific categories of job seekers out of their own resources through the employment exchanges as registered with them.