Page 105 - Labor
Strike by ambulance service employees enters 2nd day
The indefinite strike called by employees of the 108 ambulance service in Rajasthan demanding hike in salary entered the second day today. Ambulance services employees in state capital went on strike yesterday on 15-point demands and more employees from across the state have joined the stir. The strike comes at a time when state government, through a notification on March 16, had declared the 108 emergency service, 104 Janani Express and base ambulances as essential services under the Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act (RESMA), 1970. "Nearly 6,000 ambulance services employees in the state have joined the strike. Employees have not got any salary increment for the last five years whereas there is a 10 per cent increment clause in the contract. We have been raising the issue for long but of no avail," president of Rajasthan Emergency Ambulance Employees Union Virendra Singh said. He said the employees will continue to remain to strike till their demands are met. Considering ...
Healthy office spaces promote healthy lifestyles (Health Tips)
Managed and serviced co-working spaces go an extra step to promote a healthy lifestyle. Studies have shown that employees who work in a healthy environment usually enjoy good well-being, increased productivity and a positive outlook towards the company.
Not a Happy New Year: Unemployment rate continues to remain elevated
In February, the unemployment rate had shot up to a 14-month high. Recent trends suggest that in March it may continue to remain as high or could even rise higher
SC slams states, UTs for not implementing construction workers' rights
The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the state governments and union territory administrations for their antipathy towards the statutory rights of the construction workers who not only assist in building infrastructure but the nation also.
Brexit transition deal will let firms invest, hire: UK employers group
LONDON (Reuters) - A deal announced on Monday by the European Commission and Britain for a nearly two-year Brexit transition period will allow British firms to move ahead with investment and hiring decisions, an employers group said on Monday.
4.8 lakh skilled workers certified under PMKVY
Aligning competencies of the informal workforce to the mainstream, over 4.8 lakh skilled workers have been certified under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojanas (PMKVY) Recognition of Prior Learning programme, an official statement said on Monday.
Candidates, hiring managers open to freelance jobs: Survey
Freelance roles are on a rise in India and other Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries, as people looking for work are more likely to be seeking flexible contract-based roles than traditional permanent full-time roles, says a survey. According to a survey by Kelly Services, 39 per cent of the surveyed candidates and hiring managers in India are open to freelance roles. Among other APAC countries, 55 per cent of those surveyed in Hong Kong are willing to work on freelance or contract jobs, while in Vietnam it is 50 per cent and in Malaysia (37 per cent). Across APAC region, the top reason candidates prefer freelance roles is because they value flexible working. In India, besides flexible working, the other top reasons are more money and skill alignment. The survey noted that across the region and industry, technological, demographic and market forces are driving these changes and they are more likely to accelerate than slow down. "Employer organisations need to align to these changing times ...
Ex-FBI deputy director McCabe fired: Attorney General
Former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe has been fired for misconduct, the attorney general said today, just days before he would have been eligible for full retirement benefits. "I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately," Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
Trump admin urged to keep work permits for H-1B spouses
Six Democratic lawmakers from the Silicon Valley have urged the Trump administration to retain Obama-era rule allowing spouses of H-1B visa holders to work legally in the US, according to a media report. A 2015 rule issued by the Obama administration allows work permits for spouses who otherwise could not be employed while H-1B visa holders seek permanent resident status -- a process that can take a decade or longer. Indian-Americans were a major beneficiary of this provision. More than 100,000 H-4 visa holders have been beneficiary of this rule. More than 104,000 spouses have been granted work authorisation since the H-4 visa rule was enacted, according to DHS's Citizenship and Immigration Services. Democratic Congressmen Anna Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna, Mark DeSaulnier, Barbara Lee and Jerry McNerney in a letter to the Homeland Security Secretary urged to "reconsider" his plan, saying it would "create significant uncertainty and financial hardship for many highly skilled ...
Deposit in court hiked wages payable to cluster bus drivers: HC to govt
The AAP government was today asked by the Delhi High Court to deposit the entire amount that would be payable under the increased minimum wages to the drivers of buses plying under the DIMTS cluster scheme, as hundreds of drivers remained on strike for a second-day over poor pay. The direction to the Transport Department of the Delhi government came from a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar which noted that the general public must be in great difficulty due to the strike and it needs to be brought to an end. The bench asked the transport department to deposit in court the money by March 19 in accordance with its order of December 6 last year and listed the matter for further hearing on March 21. The order came on a plea moved by some concessionaires, who run around 2,000 buses in the national capital under the cluster scheme, claiming that the court's December 6 order to pay the hiked minimum wages to their drivers has not yet been implemented by the
Cluster bus drivers intensify stir
Passengers in parts of the city faced hardship as scores of drivers of buses run under the city's cluster scheme today intensified their strike seeking hike in minimum wages. Some of the drivers of the nearly 1,700 buses operated as part of the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), had gone on strike yesterday, but it was today that a large number of them joined the stir under the umbrella of the Audyogik Kamgar Vikas Union. "Buses at depots in Seemapuri, Kanjwala, Sunheri Pula, Rajghat, Kushak Nala, remained in the depot as drivers of these vehicles protested, demanding the hike in minimum wages," a member of the Union said. He alleged that the wages have not been increased since March 3, 2017. And, despite a high court order last year it has not been implemented, the Union later said in a statement. The court in its December 6 order had said the Delhi government cannot treat the drivers, provided by concessionaires running the cluster buses, differently from the ...
Tribals to take out 'protest march' on March 18
Tribals will take out a 'protest march' from Thane to the Maharashtra Legislature in Mumbai, which will start on March 18 to press for their various demands, it was announced here today. "The protest march will be taken out under the banner of Shramajivi Sanghatana," its president Vivek Pandit told reporters here. Pandit, a former MLA, said that tribals from districts like Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Nashik will take part in the march which will commence from March 18. "We will highlight issues like the plight of tribal students and employment facilities which they are deprived of," he said.
Kerala HC stays govt decision to hike nurses' salary
The Kerala High Court stayed the release of the final notification on fixing the minimum wages of nurses.The state government had earlier decided to release it by March 2018.A petition was earlier filed by private hospital managements requesting not to release it as per the schedule.But acting on a petition filed by hospital management, the high court prevented the nurse associations from going for a strike. As the court's order came against the strike, the nurse association decided to change the form of protest and they planned to take mass Leave from duty.Later, the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan intervened and assured them that the final notification would be released on March 31, this year.In November 2017, the government had fixed the minimum wages as Rs 20,000.A committee appointed by the Supreme Court had concluded that the private sector nurses must be paid a minimum salary of Rs 20,000.The nurses association had called off a strike announced for March 6 in view of the ...
Hry Assembly passes Bill to rationalise pension and allowances of ex-MLAs
The Haryana Assembly today unanimously passed a Bill to rationalize the pension and allowances of former members of the state Legislative Assembly. The Haryana Legislative Assembly (Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members) Amendment Bill, 2018, was passed by the House on the concluding day of the budget session. Speaking before the Bill was passed, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the wrongs done by the previous regimes while fixing their pension and dearness allowance at the cost of public money, had been set right. "It appears they were rewarding themselves only," he added. He said that as per the amendment, a member who completed first term after January 1, 2016 and became a pensioner would be entitled to draw Rs 50,000 per month as pension for his first term, and Rs 2,000 for each year or part thereof subsequent to the first term. The ex-MLA would be entitled to dearness relief at the rates prescribed by government from time to time for the state government's post-2016 ..
HC order on minimum wages for cluster bus drivers not implemented: Transport Commissioner summoned
Irked over non-compliance of its direction to raise pay of the drivers of buses run under the DIMTS cluster scheme in accordance with the hike in minimum wages, the Delhi High Court directed the transport commissioner to be present before it tomorrow. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said non-compliance of its December 6, 2017 order had led to over 700 cluster buses being off the city roads today as the drivers were on strike. "You (Delhi government) cannot be at war with everyone, the citizens, your officers. Don't do this to the citizens of Delhi. This is clearly contumacious," the court said after it was informed that while the transport minister was in favour of hiking the drivers' pay, the department officials had not taken a decision. Warning of initiating contempt action against the officials concerned, the bench directed that the transport commissioner be present before it tomorrow morning. The direction came on an application by one of ...
Railways' good work portal gets 600 ideas in less than a month
The 'Rail Good Work' portal launched by the railways last month to record the innovations and good work done by its employees has received a warm welcome with 600 such ideas being shared on the platform from across zones, an official statement said today. The portal has motivated the employees from various zones, production units and divisions of Indian Railways to freely share the good work done by them, it said. "Within a month of launch of this portal (in early February), over 600 works have been shared by employees from across the railway zones. Employees are enthusiastically describing and sharing the initiatives taken by them in various areas of their work like safety improvement, cost reduction, operations improvement, maintenance improvement, improving customer experience, energy conservation and environment improvement, digital initiatives and human resource development," the railway ministry said in the statement. The work samples uploaded by the employees are supported with
Ramco to launch Workforce Innovation Centre in Australia
The state-of-the-art innovation centre will be located at Ramco's oceania headquarters in Melbourne's Southbank district, which has in the recent years emerged as a technological hub and one of Asia-Pacific's most promising start-up ecosystems.
TN Govt to replace buses more than 10 years old: Dy CM
Tamil Nadu government would replace buses operated by State Transport Undertakings which were more than 10 years old and a sum of Rs 600 crore would be infused as share capital, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said today. "In 2018-19, the State government will infuse share capital of Rs 600 crore in state transport undertakings for purchasing and inducting 3,000 new buses," he said in his budget speech in the assembly. With the 2,000 new buses sanctioned in 2017-18 and with the proposal to induct 3,000 new buses, the government would replace all the 4,593 buses that have been in use for more than 10 years, he said. Stating that the government was committed to provide efficient and effective public transport system, he said, "the general price rise and increase in salary adversely affected the operations of state transport undertakings." It may be recalled that transport workers in December last, went on an indefinite strike pressing for various demands including ..
Infosys to open Technology and Innovation Hub in Connecticut
Global leader in consulting, technology and next-generation services Infosys on Thursday announced that it will open its next Technology and Innovation Hub in Hartford, Connecticut and hire 1,000 American workers in the state by 2022.The Connecticut Technology and Innovation Hub will have a special focus on insurance, healthcare and manufacturing.It will bring Infosys closer to its Connecticut clients and serve as the global hub for Infosys' InsurTech and HealthTech efforts.Infosys' investment in Connecticut is a continuation of the company's commitment to accelerate innovation for American enterprise by amplifying top local talent with the best global talent and shrink the IT skills gap in the marketplace."Today marks yet another landmark day in Connecticut's economic development efforts, at a time when our investments are bringing new life and vigor to our capital city," governor Dannel P. Malloy said."I am thrilled to welcome Infosys to Connecticut and congratulate them on their ...
17 child labourers rescued in Hyderabad
As many as 17 child labourers, all hailing from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand states have been rescued at Secunderabad Railway station here, officials said today. Based on a tip-off that over 150 children were being brought to Hyderabad in a passenger train, teams from departments of Labour, Women and Child Welfare, Police and NGOs carried out searches in all the coaches after the train's arrival at Secunderabadstation after 11 PM, Child Protection Officer (Hyderabad district) Mohammed Imtiyaz Raheem told PTI. "After verifying the age of about 80 of them who arrived, as many as 17 of them were found to be aged below 18, including two children aged 7 and 11. They belong to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand," Raheem said adding the children were rescued and sent to a Home for Children. He saidone person who employed these children has been picked up for questioning and a complaint will be lodged with Telangana CID to nab the traffickers who had brought these ...