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Google won't renew Pentagon AI project after employees protest
After facing employees' anger over Google's involvement in an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered US Defence Department project, the tech giant has decided not to renew the current contract after it expires next year, the media reported.
New India more open for international scrutiny: Kailash Satyarthi
Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Friday said the Indian government is no more hesitant at the scrutiny of international laws and his struggle will continue till children can live their childhood without fear.
Centre forms Cauvery Water Management Authority
The Centre today constituted the Cauvery Water Management Authority in compliance with a Supreme Court order to address the water dispute involving the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. A notification by the Water Resources Ministry said the authority will be headed by a chairman and it will have two whole time and as many part time members. While the whole time members will be appointed by the Centre, the other two will be nominated by it. Besides this, the four states will nominate one representative each as additional part time members of the committee. The secretary of the authority shall also be appointed by the Centre. The notification comes weeks after the Supreme Court while disposing of all applications regarding Cauvery dispute on May 18, approved the proposed 'Cauvery Water Management Authority' and asked the Centre to notify it in the official gazette and give effect to it with "promptitude before onset of impending monsoon".
J-K govt agrees to include IVF in Medical Attendance-cum-Allowance rules
The Jammu and Kashmir government today agreed in principle to include In-vitro Fertilisation treatment (IVF) under Medical Attendance-cum-Allowance rules for women employees. This was stated by Minister for Finance, Labour and Employment Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari here. A proposal in this regard has been moved by the state finance department to include the treatment in the said rules, the minister said. He said the inclusion of IVF will be beneficial for the women employees as the expenses for this treatment in select hospitals will be covered under rules. The minister said the inclusion of IVF in the Medical Attendance-cum-Allowance rules was the long pending demand of the employees. Bukhari said the present dispensation is committed to redress the grievances of the government employees and all possible measures are being taken in this regard. After formal inclusion of IVF in the relevant rules, every woman government employee shall be allowed reimbursement of the amount, if any, ...
US unemployment rate falls to an 18-year low
America's unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 per cent from 3.9 per cent, the lowest in 18 years, as 223,000 new jobs were added in the month of May, according to the latest figures released today. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8 per cent in May, and the number of unemployed persons fell to 6.1 million. Over the year, the unemployment rate was down by 0.5 percentage point and the number of unemployed persons fell by 772,000, the bureau said in its monthly jobs report. The average hourly pay of private sector workers increased 2.7 per cent year-on-year, compared with 2.6 per cent in April. However, the mainstream media accused President Donald Trump of breaking the protocol by tweeting about the monthly report about an hour before it was released. "Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning," Trump tweeted, which the mainstream media alleged was breaking of the protocol as no president in the past has ...
US unemployment falls to 3.8% in May, lowest in 18 years
The US unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 18 years in May as hiring was far stronger than expected and the size of the workforce continued to shrink, the government said today. With a shortage of workers reported throughout the country and across many industries and skill levels, the latest data confirmed wages are rising. The jobless rate fell to 3.8 per cent from 3.9 per cent in April, the lowest level since April 2000, the Labour Department reported. The economy added 223,000 non-farm jobs last month, stronger than the consensus forecast of economists, and better than the increase of 159,000 in the prior month. However, the pool of available workers -- defined as those working or actively looking for work -- continued to decline, with the participation rate falling to 62.7 per cent, the report said. The size of the labour force and the participation rate influences the direction of the unemployment rate. Even so, the jobless rate for black or African American workers ...
Shah assures BMS on tripartite talks, ministerial panel on labour reforms
RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) said today that BJP President Amit Shah has assured it of a ministerial panel to look into the amendments in labour laws and reforms. At a meeting, Shah gave assurance to leaders of the central trade union on a host of issues related to workers, BMS said in a statement. The union said that the BMS leaders also discussed anti-worker reforms which have created resentment among workers. As per the statement, Shah said that any changes in labour laws and reforms will be made only after proper consultation with trade unions. Shah also said that there will be special efforts to strengthen tripartite mechanism to settle labour issues and a ministerial group will be formed for the purpose. However, a ministerial panel headed by union minister Arun Jaitley with labour minister on its board is still in existence. The panel had met all trade unions together in August, 2015. But panel had met BMS separately last November after the protest by the ...
58 pc Indian office-goers work remotely every week: Report
Around 58 per cent office-goers in India work remotely at least once week, indicating that flexible workplace has reached a tipping point, says a report. According to an IWG study on flexible working attitudes that surveyed over 18,000 professionals from a range of different industries across 96 countries, two-thirds of global employees work remotely every week. IWG, the parent group of leading workspace companies including Regus and Spaces, said in India more than half (53 per cent) work remotely for half of the week or more, while more than one in 10 (11 per cent) people work outside of their company's main office location five times a week. The survey highlighted that 40 per cent Indian professionals believed that their companies are wasting significant amounts of money through underused office space. Moreover, 95 per cent believe flexible working helps their business grow by enabling employees to be more productive while on the move. The flexibility also allows companies to ...
'HC sets aside policies to regularise services of contractual employees in Haryana'
The Punjab and Haryana High court today set aside the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government's policies to regularise services of contractual employees. The previous Congress-led government had framed policies to regularise thousands of employees in group B, C and D in 2014. "The exercise for framing the aforesaid four policies in June and July 2014 was to please voters as the state was in election mode and assembly elections were due in October 2014. "For gaining personal benefits, the bosses were not concerned about any order or judgment of the court, hence they dared to violate the same," said the HC bench of justices Rajesh Bindal andAnil Kshetarpal in the order. "We find that policies having been framed in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court deserve to be quashed. Ordered accordingly," the order said. "Under no circumstances, any ad-hoc/contract/work charged/ daily wages employees shall be allowed to continue further," it added. However, the high ...
CM administers oath of tobacco-free Maha
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today administered an oath against consumption of tobacco to state government officers and employees at secretariat here to commemorate "World No Tobacco Day". Besides the officers and employees, students also took the oath. State Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil, Health minister Deepak Sawant were present. An exhibition related to the bad effects of tobacco consumption was also organised on the occasion, a government release stated. "All those present on the occasion took oath for making houses, premises, areas, offices, Mantralaya and entire Maharashtra tobacco free," it said. Senior bureaucrats of Health department were also present on the occasion.
HC sets aside Hooda government's regularization policy
In an order that could affect hundreds of serving Haryana government employees, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday set aside the policy of the state's previous Congress government headed by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
The rise of the apprentice: a European tradition comes to the U.S
(The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.)
Job-seekers duped, two held
Two persons who allegedly duped about 40 job-seekers of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of offering them employment in Hyderabad Metro Rail, Eastern Railways and Indian Airforce on outsourcing basis, were arrested here today, police said. Ajay Kumar, who is running a computer Training and Spoken English Institute and P Satish, working as administrative staff in the institute along with three other accused, who are absconding, collected Rs 50,000 to Rs 3.5 lakh from each aspirant, they said. The accused promised them jobs, but failed to do so and cheated about 40 unemployed youth of Rs 70 lakh, police said. The Institute was being run without any licence from the government, they said. On the modus operandi of the accused, police said Ajay claimed that he got the contract of inducting the outsourcing employment in Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited, Eastern Railways and Indian Airforce and colluded with other accused and collected the amount from the unemployed youths. After ...
US receives over 5,000 tips on H-1B visa fraud on dedicated e-mail helpline: Official
More than 5,000 complaints of H-1B visa fraud and abuse have been received by a federal agency on a dedicated e-mail helpline that was launched by the Trump administration last year, an official said. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. "As of May 21, 2018, the USCIS has received over 5,000 tips to the dedicated H-1B email address," Philip Smith, a Spokesperson for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) told PTI. After US President Donald Trump signed the "Buy American, Hire American" executive order last year, the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) established email addresses dedicated to receiving information about suspected H-1B and H-2B fraud or abuse. The FDNS leads USCIS's efforts to combat ...
Johnson & Johnson India enhances flexi-working norms
With a view to accelerate diversity and inclusion, Johnson & Johnson India today said it has enhanced its flexible working provisions, and sabbatical arrangements programmes. Johnson & Johnson India is enhancing its human resources policies to address the needs of its multi-generation workforce, a company release said, adding that "these policy changes reinstate the importance of employees being able to champion work-life integration". Under the flexible working provisions, Johnson & Johnson employees can take up the option to work remotely once a week and/or choose flexible hours to meet their daily work and personal responsibilities, a company release said. The Nurturing Family Bonds Program, is designed to support expectant mothers, from early pregnancy stages until way after the baby is born. The program also addresses fathers, as they step up to play an active role in nurturing the baby. The sabbatical arrangements program supports employees in taking time off from ...
German jobless rate hits record low in May
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's unemployment rate hit a record low in May as jobless numbers fell, data showed, reflecting the robustness of a labour market that has become a key driver of a consumer-led economic upswing.
Premium temporarily suspends operations at Chinchwad plant
With effect from 30 May 2018
Two-day strike hits banking services in Tripura
Banking services were badly affected in Tripura on Wednesday as most of the major banks remained closed due to a nation-wide employees' strike.
Nobel laureate Satyarthi pitches for NGT-like children tribunal
Child rights activist and Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi today advocated the setting up of a National Children Tribunal for quick delivery of justice in crimes against children. Speaking to reporters here, Satyarthi also asked the Centre to pass a law against human trafficking in Parliament before the 2019 general elections. "Crime against children are rising in the country. Sexual exploitation of children has gained the proportion of an epidemic in society," Satyarthi said. "The National Green Tribunal has brought some fear in the minds of those who violate environmental laws. So, on the lines of the NGT, we demand that there should be a National Children Tribunal for quick delivery of justice in crimes against children," he said. Stating that child trafficking was a big issue, Satyarthi said, "We urge the Union government to pass the anti human trafficking law in Parliament before the 2019 polls" he said. He urged Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Governor O P Kohli to ...
Eight hurt in MSEB transformer explosion
Seven powerline workers of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and a contractor were today injured, two of them seriously, in a transformer explosion in Nallasopara area in Palghar district, an official said. The incident occurred at Dhaniv sub-station when the powerline workers were repairing a feeder cable, said Vasai Superintending Engineer Arun Phapadkar. He said the cause of the incident is being probed. The injured workers were admitted at private hospitals in Vasai and Nallasopara. "The incident occurred when the workers were testing the feeder cable," Phapadkar added.