India’s laws are very pro-labor, so that it’s almost impossible for employers to fire someone. Case in point:
One day in 1990, A.K. Verma went on what you might call “extended” leave from his job as a senior bureaucrat at India’s Central Public Works Department.
He’s been a no-show ever since. And it finally caught up to him: Verma was sacked for his absence — on Jan. 8.
Blame (or credit) India’s tough labor laws: They are some of the most pro-worker in the world and make it nearly impossible for employers, including state and local governments, to fire for anything short of criminal misconduct.
As Bloomberg Businessweek wrote in 2011, for Indian companies with more than 100 employees, “it is impossible to fire anyone without government permission. Such laws have long deterred foreign investors, hampered manufacturing, and prevented the nation of more than 1 billion people from experiencing an industrial takeoff similar to China’s.”
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