Page 34 - Labor

Odisha govt hikes remuneration of Anganwadi workers, helpers

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced a hike in monthly remuneration of Anganwadi workers and helpers.

Mumbai BEST strike to continue as meet fails to break deadlock

The ongoing BEST bus strike in Mumbai is set to continue as a meeting chaired by Maharashtra chief secretary Saturday between striking unions and the management of the civic-run transport undertaking failed to break the impasse. The meeting was held after the Bombay High Court Friday directed the union leaders to talk with a state government committee, comprising Maharashtra chief secretary DK Jain, BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, secretaries of the transport and urban development departments and BEST general manager Surendrakumar Bagde, to find a way to end the strike. Over 32000 employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) are on strike since Tuesday and its fleet of 3200-odd buses are off the metropolis' roads, causing severe inconvenience to several lakh commuters. Shashank Rao, president of the striking BEST Workers' Union Saturday said the committee heard out to their demands but did not give any response. "We put our stand before ...

Mumbai: 2,000 private buses deployed as BEST strike enters day 5

In the wake of the ongoing strike called by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST), School Bus Owners' Association has announced that a total of 2000 private buses will provide service to passengers in Mumbai."1000 school buses and 1000 private buses will provide services to passengers in the light of the strike by BEST bus employees," said Anil Garg of the School Bus Owners' Association.Furthermore, Garg said passengers travelling up to 10 km will be charged Rs 20, beyond which BEST rates will be applicable. "Differently abled and senior citizens can travel free of cost. Service is being provided by School Bus Owners' Association and Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana," he added.BEST, the lifeline of Mumbai, has a fleet size of as many as 3200 buses and comprises around 32,000 employees. It is the second largest transport system in the metropolis after local trains. More than 70 lakh people commute via BEST buses on a daily basis.The indefinite strike is a ...

SpaceX to layoff 10 percent of workforce

(Reuters) - Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX will reduce its workforce by about 10 percent of the company's more than 6,000 employees, it said on Friday.

SpaceX to lay off about 10 percent of its workforce - source

(Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX will lay off about 10 percent of its more than 6,000 employees, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Ford plans to axe 1,150 UK jobs: union

Ford plans to cut 1,150 jobs in Britain, a union announced Friday, one day after the US car giant unveiled a major restructuring of its European operations. The company on Thursday said it planned a major revamp in Europe, including job cuts to boost profitability, but did not specify numbers. It hinted at possible cuts in France, Germany and Russia. "The plans are for a total of 1,150 job losses in the UK," Britain's largest union Unite said in a statement. Unite said it had been briefed regarding plans to axe 1,000 positions in two stages over two years at Ford's Bridgend engine plant in Wales. The remaining cuts would be at Ford's transport operations, affecting lorry drivers across the UK, the union added. "It is a devastating blow for our members and their families, as well as having grave implications for the Welsh economy and the supply chain," Des Quinn, Unite national officer for automotive industries, said in a statement. Also Thursday, Jaguar Land Rover said it would axe ..

French court backs Uber driver in key gig-economy case

Ride-hailing giant Uber said Friday that it would appeal a fresh legal setback in Europe after a French court ruled a former driver who sued the firm effectively had a work contract, potentially undermining a pillar of the US group's business model. The driver's lawyer Fabien Masson hailed the appeals court ruling as a "landmark decision," though it was unlikely to force Uber to recognise its French drivers as fully fledged employees anytime soon. Uber has long argued that it merely a service provider with drivers who are self-employed, able to work when and where they want. That strategy has drawn a flood of private drivers who now operate alongside established taxi services worldwide, which often bristle at what they consider unfair competition. "We're going to appeal this decision" to France's top Court of Cassation, an Uber spokeswoman told AFP on Friday, insisting on the need to maintain "flexibility" with its drivers. "Drivers choose to use the Uber application for the freedom .

Ford plans to cut 1,150 jobs in Britain, Unite union says

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. carmaker Ford plans to cut 1,150 jobs in Britain, the Unite union said on Friday, with nearly 1,000 job losses at its Bridgend engine plant in Wales.

Andhra doubles old-age pension to Rs 2,000

The Andhra Pradesh government Friday said old-age pension has been doubled to Rs 2,000 from January benefitting 5.4 million pensioners in the state. "In a major welfare move, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announces enhancement of the old-age pensions Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 from this January," said an official statement. Soon after coming to power in 2014, Naidu increased the pension to Rs 1,000 from Rs 200.

French court rules against Uber in 'employment' contract case

Ride-hailing giant Uber has lost an appeal in France brought by a former driver who wanted his terms of employment recognised as a fully-fledged work contract. Fabien Masson, a lawyer for the plaintiff, hailed Thursday's ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal as a "landmark decision". It follows a similar court decision last month in Britain that Uber should grant workers' rights, including the national minimum wage and holiday time, to its drivers. Uber said Friday it would challenge the ruling in France's highest appeal court, La Cour de Cassation. "Drivers choose to use the Uber application for the freedom to connect to it when they want," a spokeswoman said. "Drivers can decide to connect in real time and without any requirement of exclusivity," she said, adding that the company was appealing the ruling so as to "preserve... this flexibility." Uber says it is precisely this flexibility, giving its drivers freedom over when they work, which means they are self-employed and that there

Gem and jewellery body to issue ID card for artisans

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the apex body of the gems and jewellery industry, has introduced identity card for artisans in West Bengal which will be rolled out nationally later this month. GJEPC is holding advanced talks with the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MoSDE) for national classification of gem & jewellery sector workers/ craftsmen under LMIS (Labour Management Information Systems). This segment-wise classification of workers, craftsmen and artisans will provide additional benefits under relevant MoSDE schemes, it said. The council has also created Swasthya Kosh, a special fund to offer health insurance to identity card holders and their families. The card would benefit the entire gem & jewellery industry and ensure proper authentication for social security purposes, it said. The objective of this project was to create a verified and well-crafted database for gem & jewellery workers to provide them ...

Air France reaches pay deal with ground staff

(Reuters) - Air France said on Friday it had reached a pay agreement for 2019 with unions representing ground staff, as it seeks to move on from labour disputes which weighed on its results last year.

Call a meeting, end strike: Bombay HC tells BEST union

The Bombay High Court on Friday asked the BEST Workers' Union to "take the first step" towards resolving its dispute with the state and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and end the civic bus service employees' strike, now in its fourth day. The court also asked the union to hold a meeting of its office-bearers in the evening in a bid to break the stalemate. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the court that the Maharashtra government had set up a committee, headed by the chief secretary, to hold talks with the union. Secretaries of the urban development and transport departments are also part of this committee, he said. BMC and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) officials will also attend the meeting, he said. Lawyers of the BMC and the BEST said they were open to resolving the issues of the civic bus service employees as long as the union "cooperated" and stopped "holding a gun" to their heads. At this, a bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and N M Jamdar noted

Goa govt eyes to set up IT, ITES parks in each taluka in state

The Goa government, which has initiated the process of setting up Information Technology (IT) and IT Enabled Services (ITES) parks near Panaji, is now eyeing to establish such units in all the talukas in the state. State IT Minister Rohan Khaunte told this to reporters here on Friday. The state government has conceptualised IT and ITES parks at Chimbel, a village near Panaji and Porvorim, a suburb of the capital city. "The entire focus of these parks is to generate employment for the local youths, who have to go to other states in search of jobs," Khaunte said after presenting details of the IT parks to MLAs and other stakeholders. He added that the state government wanted to set up IT parks, which would be smaller as compared to those in metro cities. "We would like to have these parks in each taluka so that the local youths get employment opportunities," he said. Khaunte said the government was joining hands with multinational companies to set up "skilling ...

Australian Broadcasting Corp admits to underpaying staff

The Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) on Friday admitted to underpaying 2,500 casual staff over the past six years.

Mumbai: BEST employees refuse to end strike until their demands are met

There seems to be no end to woes of scores of commuters in Mumbai as an indefinite strike called by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) continued for the fourth consecutive day on Friday.At least 32,000 employees of Mumbai's civic transport from a long time have been demanding for merging of BEST budget with 'A' budget of BMC. They are also seeking resolution of the issue of employee service residences and recruitment. When the talks with the authorities failed, the employees resorted to the strike.BEST, the lifeline of Mumbai has a fleet size of as many as 3200 buses. It the second largest transport system in the metropolis after local trains which ferry more than 70 lakh commuters on a daily basis.

Cabinet approves two new AIIMS for Jammu and Kashmir, One for Gujarat

People in the region will have Super specialty healthcare closer to their homes: J P Nadda

BEST strike to continue on Friday

The indefinite strike by employees of the city's civic transport undertaking Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will continue Friday, as talks between union leaders and officials remained inconclusive. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party controls the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), met the BEST union leaders in the presence of Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta and the BEST commissioner Surendra Kumar Bagde at the Mayor's bungalow Thursday. The negotiations went on for nearly seven hours but failed to break the deadlock. "The officials have refused to relent on our demands to merge the budget of BEST with that of the BMC. Therefore, the strike will continue. They did not agree to even give us a written assurance about our other demands," BEST Workers Union president Shashank Rao told reporters after the meeting. He added that while Thackeray tried to find a middle ground, he did not succeed. The Union has written to ..

Gujarat to launch app for employment exchange enrolment

The Gujarat government will be coming up with an Android application for students to register themselves in employment exchanges, an official said.

U.S. weekly jobless claims point to strong labor market

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing applications for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, pointing to sustained labor market strength that could further ease concerns about the economy's health.