Page 99 - Labor

Max Life Insurance amongst top 15 BFSI companies to work for in India

Max Life Insurance, one of the leading life insurance companies in India, has been recognised as one of the top 15 'Best Workplaces in BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance Sector)' in a study conducted by the prestigious Great Place to Work institute.What makes the recognition even more significant is the fact that more than 600 companies participated in the survey this year, out of which 55 were from the BFSI sector.The achievement is a testimony to Max Life's values-driven culture and strong practices around employee engagement and talent development, which have been the bedrocks of sustained business success."It is indeed a proud moment for us. The recognition strengthens our commitment to raising the bar on building a great workplace. Any organisation across any sector stands tall basis the passion and dedication its employees have for their company and the business it is engaged in. It is the culture of excellence, customer centricity and meritocracy along with a ...

Low skilled workers to face disadvantage as robotics, AI take over: ADB

As newer technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) take over, workers need to upskill or face the risk of lower wages and unemployment, ADB warned today. ADB's 'Asian Development Outlook, 2018' has called for government action on skill development coupled with steps in labour regulation, social protection and income redistribution. It said jobs which require repetitive, routine tasks and workers who do not have the education or training to move easily to other occupation, may face slow growth in wages. "New technologies alter the skills required of the workforce and may cause unemployment as some firms downsize or close. They make the less-skilled more likely to experience lower wage growth, exacerbating income inequality," it said. Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said the application of new technologies will boost productivity but displace certain jobs. He added however that rising demand and higher output will create jobs, thereby outweighing .

Punjab to rope in banks to provide soft loans for startups: CM

The Congress-led Punjab government has decided to rope in banks and other financial institutions to provide soft loans to youth for launching startups, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said today. Addressing a two-day convention and exhibition on Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovation, organised by the Industries Department in collaboration with PHD Chamber, the chief minister stressed the need to motivate youth to shift towards self-employment under the government's startup programme. Amarinder, while underlining the need for a mindset change among the youth, urged the PHD Chamber to become a knowledge partner with the government for programmes aimed at inculcating the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst youngsters. "Startups not only facilitate gainful self-employment for individual youth but also help provide jobs to other youngsters," he pointed out. Referring to the success of his government's flagship Ghar Ghar Rozgar' programme, under which he said over 1.62 lakh jobs had been ...

There should be no delay in pension disbursal in name of Aadhaar linking: CIC

There should be no delay in the payment of pension to senior citizens on the pretext of Aadhaar linking, the Central Information Commission noted today. The observation of Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu came on the petition of an Ahmednagar-resident, Nirmala Nishikant Dhumane, who had sought to know from the postal department why her pension for March, 2017 was withheld for want of a copy of Aadhaar card. Through another application, she had demanded the copy of the orders that made it mandatory to link Aadhaar card for availing pension. There are 61.17 lakh central government pensioners in the country, according to official data. The Central Public Information Officer of the post office explained that, out of 757 pensioners, 640 pensioners had submitted their Aadhaar details to the Senior Postmaster which were uploaded in the computer system on April 3, 2017. The officer claimed that pension was not withheld. However, there was delay in crediting pension to their saving ..

Microsoft to drive skill development with Azure-powered solution

Reinforcing its commitment to bridge the widening skill gap, Microsoft is expanding the capabilities of its Project Sangam to emerging markets across India, Middle East, and Africa.Project Sangam, first launched in India, is a cloud-hosted platform that leverages Azure services and the power of LinkedIn to support new entrants to the job market and enable key stakeholders across the skilling ecosystem including candidates, training organisations, employers and the government.As part of the expansion, Microsoft South Africa and the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) recently launched Thint'iMillion, an online mass learning system, as part of the Tshepo 1Million Digital Mass learning programme. The Thint'iMillion programme will be deployed on Project Sangam allowing young people to access content via an on-phone app (Android only), tablet mode (Windows and Android) as well as an interactive web portal.Through the wider Tshepo 1Million initiative, GPG aims to provide one million young ..

Over 800 Lufthansa flights cancelled due to strikes

More than 800 international flights, including 58 long-haul flights, operated by German airline Lufthansa are cancelled on Tuesday as a consequence of industrial action, the trade union ver.di announced on Monday.

IMF tells policymakers to raise productivity for growth

The IMF today urged policy makers to raise productivity towards supporting their goal of equitable growth, as the declining share of manufacturing jobs in overall employment has been a concern for policymakers and the broader public alike in both advanced economies and some developing economies. "The goal of supporting equitable growth would be better served by policy efforts to raise productivity across all sectors and make the gains from higher productivity more inclusive," the International Monetary Fund said in its release of the World Economic Outlook ahead of the annual spring meeting of the IMF and World Bank next week. Facilitating the reallocation of labour to productively-dynamic sectors, including by removing barriers to entry and trade in the service sector and supporting the reskilling of workers affected by structural change, is crucial to raise productivity and combat inequality, the IMF said. It said there is new evidence on the role of manufacturing in the dynamics of

Lufthansa cancels 800 flights Tuesday in German airport strikes

German airline giant Lufthansa said it will cancel "more than 800" flights today as public-sector workers walk out on strike for more pay, hobbling major airports like Frankfurt. "Lufthansa must cancel more than 800 of its planned 1,600 flights tomorrow, including 58 long-distance services, because of the strike," the group said in a statement, adding that around 90,000 passengers would be affected. Service would be back to normal on Wednesday after the strike, which will see groups like support staff and airport firefighters walk off the job between 05:00 am and 6:00 pm local time (0300 to 1600 GMT), Lufthansa added. Frankfurt airport -- Germany's largest -- warned on its website of "significant delays and cancellations" affecting many airlines, asking travellers to check with their carrier whether their flight would go ahead before departure. The Tuesday "warning strike" will also hit Munich, Cologne and Bremen airports, as well as local transport, kindergartens, rubbish collection .

Labour leaders at Thyssenkrupp demand more clarity in Tata JV talks

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Labour leaders at Thyssenkrupp are seeking more clarity from management over a planned European joint venture with India's Tata Steel, warning of possible fallout at the German group's sites.

Bangladesh sentences man to death for murder of union leader

A Bangladesh court today sentenced a man to death in absentia for murdering a union leader who led strikes in the powerful garment industry. A court in the northern district of Tangail ordered that factory worker Mustafizur Rahman be hanged for kidnapping and murdering high-profile unionist Aminul Islam in 2012. Trade union groups rejected the sentence, saying Rahman was being singled out to cover up for powerful groups involved in Islam's murder. Islam's mutilated body was found by the roadside in Tangail a few days after he disappeared from Ashulia, the major garment hub on the outskirts of Dhaka. All his toes had been broken and his legs bore serious puncture wounds. State prosecutor Multan Uddin said Islam was likely targeted as a prominent labour activist who spearheaded major strikes over wages at garment factories. "Aminul waged a struggle for the interest of workers. Perhaps the people whose interest was affected murdered him in a pre-planned manner," Uddin said. Police have ..

CM Chouhan doubles monthly honorarium of MP Anganwadi staff

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today doubled the monthly honorarium of Anganwadi workers and assistants to Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. He was attending an orientation workshop, held at his official residence, for these workers who had gathered from all parts of the state. In another sop, Chouhan said that the retirement age of Anganwadi workers would now be 62 years, at par with that of state government employees. He said that each Anganwadi worker would get Rs 1 lakh and an assistant Rs 75,000 at the time of retirement. Financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh would be given in case of the death of a worker or assistant in an accident. A 10-point preference would be given to sisters and daughters of Anganwadi workers and assistants during fresh recruitment, he added. He urged them to manage Anganwadis properly in order to eradicate malnutrition from the state.

NDMC sanitation workers call off strike

Sanitation workers of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation today called off their strike after the NDMC agreed to meet "most of their demands", officials said. They were on strike since March 20, the NDMC said. North Delhi Mayor Preety Agarwal said, "We are very sensitive towards the demands of the staff, specially sanitation workers, as we want to keep them happy and healthy so that they can deliver the best results to achieve the targets of the 'Swachh Bharat Mission'." She said that "most of the demands" of aggrieved sanitation workers have been accepted after taking into consideration many factors and deliberations. The mayor said since their working conditions are such that there was a need of "cashless medical facility", so it has been accepted. She made an appeal to the sanitation workers that now that the demands have been agreed upon, they must do their best for the citizens of the city by making additional efforts on holidays even to make the city clean, the NDMC said in a .

Air France cancels 30 per cent of flights due to strikes

Air France said today that hundreds of its flights have been cancelled as pilots, cabin crew and ground staff pursued a fifth day of strikes aimed at securing higher pay. The walkout has affected international and domestic travel, with a quarter of long-haul flights cancelled. Around a third of medium-haul flights to and from Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport have not taken off. Thirty percent of short-haul flights have been cancelled to and from Pariss Orly airport and French regions. Unions say workers deserve to benefit from years of belt-tightening that have brought the carrier back to operating profitability, after seeing their wages effectively frozen since 2011. Saturday saw the highest cancellation rate since unions called for the daylong work stoppages in February in pursuit of a six percent pay raise. Air France managements offer of a one percent raise this year has been rejected. Management estimated 34 percent of pilots walked out, 26 percent of crew and 19 percent of ...

Cap for H-1B visa reached: USCIS

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it has reached the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2019 and would conduct a lottery to decide successful applicants for the work visa popular among Indian IT professionals. The fiscal year begins October 1, 2018. 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. The USCIS has also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa cap for advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, a statement said. The statement did not mention the exact number of H-1B petitions it received since April 2, when it started accepting applications for the popular work visas for highly skilled Indian professionals. "We will not have exact petition receipt ..

Patkar backs agitation of Century Mill workers

Social activist Medha Patkar today came out in support of workers of Century Mill, and led a protest outside the company's head office in Worli here today. Members of the local unit of the Aam Aadmi Party also supported the protesting workers. "The crony capitalist society has always exploited the poor and laboureres, and the state has failed to act against them...we will not let ourselves become victims of exploitation until we get our justifiable dues," Patkar said. Hundreds of men who once worked at Century Mill travelled from Santrati village in Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh to take part in the demonstration. According to Rajkumar Dubey, an AAP leader from Madhya Pradesh who led these protesters, workers were denied their wages after the mill was sold to another company. AAP Maharashtra unit also extended its support to the mill workers, who are agitating under the banner of Century Mill Kamgar Ekta Manch, said AAP Maharashtra leader Dhananjay Shinde.

Assam assembly passes Bills to hike salaries of MLAs

Assam assembly today unanimously passed three Bills to increase salaries of all lawmakers by up to 50 per cent without a single amendment. Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami said usually the Amenities and Facilities Committee recommends revision of salaries of the MLAs, but this is the first time the pays were revised by a Pay Committee headed by former chief secretary P P Varma. As per the three Acts, the salaries of the Assembly Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chief Minister, all Ministers, Leader of the Opposition, other lawmakers and pension of former MLAs have been increased with effect from April 1. The salaries of the speaker and the deputy speaker will be raised to Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh per month from the existing Rs 80,000 and Rs 75,000, an increase of 50 per cent and 33.33 per cent respectively. Besides the salary component, both will get Rs 30,000 as parliamentary assistance and sumptuary allowances, according to one of three Acts. For the chief Minister, the salary ..

MSME Min seeks to create 4 lk jobs per year in 800 villages

The government will create a model whereby 4 lakh jobs will be generated annually in 800 villages across the country through clusters, MSME Minister Giriraj Singh said today. "We have decided to create a model to provide employment to those residing in 400 villages each in two phases, through clusters. Once ready, the model will help generate 4 lakh jobs every year in the 800 villages covered," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of KVIC Board meeting here. Besides, a mobile application was launched by the minister for locating 4,000 Khadi stores in the country. "There are more than 8,000 Khadi stores in India, the rest of the stores will also be available on the store locater by the end of this month," VK Saxena, Chairman KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission) said. The chairman further said KVIC expects to surpass the sales target of Rs 5,000 crore for 2017-18. KVIC is also setting up export cells to promote overseas sales of Khadi products in order to make Khadi an ...

Air India staff unions write to PM; flag concerns about stake sale

Eight employee unions of Air India have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising serious concerns about the disinvestment of the national carrier and have sought an alternative revival plan. In a letter, signed by representatives of the eight unions, they have also flagged possibility of job losses in case of privatisation. Air Corporation Employees Union, All India Service Engineers' Association, Air India Employees Union, Aviation Industry Employee Guild, Air India Aircraft Engineers' Association, All India Aircraft Engineers' Association, Air India Engineers Association and United Air India Officers Association have written the letter. Together, these unions represent more than 10,000 Air India employees. The Civil Aviation Ministry has sought Expression of Interest (EoI) from potential bidders for a 76 per cent stake sale in loss-making Air India as well as divestment of two of the carrier's subsidiaries. "We strongly protest Government of India's move to privatise or ...

Investment proposals worth Rs 554 cr cleared in Uttarakhand

The Uttarakhand government today cleared investment proposals worth Rs 554 crore through a single window system, which are expected to generate employment opportunities for 500 people. Companies which have been given clearance will invest in Kashipur, Roorkee, Narayan Nagar industrial area and Sitarganj. Clearing the proposals at a meeting of theauthorised committee of the single window system here, state Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh asked various departments concerned to set a timeframe in this regard to boost investment and generate employment opportunities.

Delhi govt directs regularisation of sanitation workers of MCDs

Delhi Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain today directed the department's principal secretary and the director of local bodies to issue instruction to the three municipal commissioners to regularise the services of contractual sanitation workers of the BJP-ruled civic bodies. The development came a day after the Delhi Assembly passed a resolution asking the North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporation or NDMC, SDMC and EDMC to make the sanitation workers permanent. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had directed Jain to issue necessary directions in this regard. "It is hereby instructed the immediate directions be issued to the Commissioners of all the three municipal corporations...that action be initiated for regularisation of services of all sanitation workers engaged by them," Jain said in his written instruction to UD principal secretary and director of local bodies. Barring, the SDMC, both NDMC and EDMC have been cash-strapped. The three were formed after the division of