Thousands showed up to apply for positions at India’s Mumbai airport
The Indian financial center of Mumbai witnessed chaotic scenes when a reported 25,000 people turned up to interview for 600 vacancies at the local airport.
The sought-after vacancies were for the posts of ‘handyman’ and ‘utility agent’, Indian media reported. Applicants were asked to leave their biodata and vacate the area to prevent dangerous overcrowding. Videos of the location teeming with applicants have gone viral.
George Abram, general secretary of the Aviation Industry Employees Guild, claimed that over 50,000 people had turned up for the walk-in interviews, said that the recruitment had been “mismanaged.” “There was a 1km-long queue and police had to be called,” Abram was quoted as saying by India Today.
The high number of applicants has been explained by the fact that the qualification level for the positions was relatively low. Anybody who has passed the 10th class could apply, and if selected the candidates would reportedly be paid Rs 22,500 (around $270). The recruitment drive was conducted by Air India Airport Services, a company providing ground handling services at the airport.
This is Mumbai's Kalina, where a massive crowd of job seekers emerged as the Air India Airport Services Ltd announced walk-in interviews.
— Vani Mehrotra (@vani_mehrotra) July 16, 2024
The situation soon went out of control and the candidates were asked to leave their CVs and vacate the area.#Mumbai #AIAirportServices pic.twitter.com/vZoLDf40iz
However, many candidates with advanced degrees also turned up for the interviews. Some had reportedly traveled several hundred kilometers to apply. “What do we do? There is so much unemployment,” a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student who had traveled to the interviews told NDTV. He urged the government to “create more job opportunities.”
The state of unemployment in India is very worrisome clearly. And worsening it seems.
— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) July 16, 2024
Video of walk-in interviews for airport services jobs at AI Airport Services in Mumbai :
✈️ pic.twitter.com/sdiaThdkRB
Despite being the fifth largest economy in the world, India, which is also the most populous nation, is facing challenges to generate adequate employment opportunities for its people, experts note.
According to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), an independent think tank, the unemployment rate in India stood at 9.2% in June 2024 – a sharp increase from 7% in May. Notably, the rural unemployment rate rose to 9.3% in June from 6.3% in May.
Lack of employment opportunities for young Indians was a central part of the campaign by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) opposition bloc during the recently concluded parliamentary election. While the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win an absolute majority, it formed a government along with its allies.
Meanwhile, thousands of Indians are starting to venture overseas in search of better wages. Apart from traditional destinations in the Middle East and Europe, this year thousands of Indian workers were recruited to work in Israel, mainly in the construction sector, as the country faces labor shortages amid the war in Gaza.
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