Domestic Workers
Helping the help: At home or abroad, Indians treat domestic workers as exploitable, cheap labour
The Hindujas incident in Switzerland raises two important issues. First, domestic workers who go abroad for work are a vulnerable category. Second, the huge cohort of domestic workers in India continues to face exploitation because there’s no legal protection and social safety net.
Minimum wages, fixed hours: What a new law for domestic workers in Kerala proposes
The Kerala government announced Friday that it would bring new legislation to ensure the welfare of domestic workers. It would be the first such law in the country, the government said. The legislation is meant to ensure minimum wages, fixed working hours, rights of domestic workers, and responsibilities of the employer.
New salary transfer system for domestic workers in Saudi Arabia
In a move aimed at protecting both employers and domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, the Musaned platform, which oversees domestic worker services, announced a significant change to the salary transfer system. Starting July 1st, 2024, only employers will be able to directly deposit salaries into the digital wallets of newly arriving domestic workers.
Battles Won
Pimpri Chinchwad vs 310 women waste pickers—a 12-year battle, a trade union & Rs 7.5 cr
She attended every court hearing for twelve years to fight for her— and 310 other waste pickers’—right to receive minimum wages. And on 17 May 2024, the money finally hit their accounts: a whopping sum of Rs 7.5 crore in total, around Rs 3 lakh each. The waste pickers, mostly women, of Pimpri Chinchwad have won a rare battle: they were awarded the money in a first-of-its-kind legal victory against the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and its contractors in August 2023. This municipal corporation that has been consistently feted as one of India’s wealthiest.
Migrant Realities
A death on a melon farm sheds light on hard lives of illegal Indian migrants in Italy
Gurmukh, head of the Indian community in Lazio, has appealed to immigrant farm labourers in the region to stop work after 2 pm on June 25 and assemble at the main bus stand in the city of Latina for the protest march.
India asks Italy to take prompt action against persons responsible for Indian farm worker's death
India on Wednesday asked Italy to take prompt action against those responsible for the death of a 31-year-old Indian worker who died after he was dumped on the road without medical assistance by his employer after his arm was severed by heavy farm machinery.
The Kafala system will continue to treat workers as dispensable
Promises in the wake of the Kuwait fire need to be scrutinised, for it is far easier to replace labour than ensure safeguards for the migrant worker population.
Farm News
In charts: The toll of climate crisis on India's marginal farmers
Around 41% of the 6,615 marginal farmers who were surveyed across 21 states said their villages had seen a drought in the past five years, close to one in three had faced excessive or non-seasonal rains, 18% reported floods and 13% reported cyclones, each posing a significant hurdle to cultivation.
Sambhu stir: Ready for talks with Centre if invited, say farm leaders
Patiala : Farmers protesting at Shambhu border in Patiala district of Punjab on Tuesday said they are ready to restart talks with the Union government over various demands, even though they are yet to get any fresh formal invitation from officials concerned to resolve the ongoing deadlock.
Odisha: Women and Machine: How Gender-Friendly Equipment Bring Ease to Farmwork
Modifications in equipment to suit women millet farmers under the flagship Odisha Millet Mission reduce their drudgery, save time.
News from States
Tripura government’s social welfare department to move supreme court against high court order on payment of gratuity to retired ‘Anganwadi’ workers
It was on May 9 that the single bench of the high court of Tripura … had given an order mandating payment of gratuity to the retired ‘Anganwadi’ workers but this order has not been acted upon as yet, nor has the state government moved the division bench of the high court against the single bench order. But the minister for social welfare Tinku Roy said that the state government has decided in principle to move the supreme court against the high court order.
1,000 women and transgender drivers to get ₹1 lakh in subsidy to buy autorickshaws
Minister for Labour Welfare and Skill Development C.V. Ganesan on Friday said the Tamil Nadu government would provide ₹ 1 lakh in subsidy for buying new autorickshaws to 1,000 women and transgender auto drivers who had registered themselves with the Tamil Nadu Drivers and Automobile Workshop Workers Welfare Board.
A pink auto route to empowering women
The launch of 200 pink e-autos with a 90% subsidy in Amritsar was a significant step toward gender-responsive three-wheeler (3W) fleet electrification in India.
Bihar: Employment, Jobs Take Centre Stage in State Politics
Faced with the Opposition’s aggressive election campaign, Nitish Kumar and BJP are being forced to promise more jobs ahead of the Assembly polls in 2025… Both ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) are playing this card to reach out to people, mainly youths. They are also countering each other over taking credit for providing government jobs in recent years.
Labour Reforms
With Bengal, TN & Delhi yet to frame draft rules under 4 labour codes, rollout likely to take time
Union labour secretary chaired a meeting to assess states & UTs' preparedness in finalising draft rules. The 4 codes are aimed at economic reforms & welfare of unorganised sector workers.
Trade unions demand scrapping of labour codes, restoration of OPS
In a pre-budget consultation meeting with union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, trade unions on Monday demanded restoration of the Old Pension Scheme and scrapping of the four labour codes. K. Induprakash Menon, national president, Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC), said that they have recommended increasing minimum wages to Rs 26,000 per month.
Working Conditions
Govt pulls up Amazon for labour law violations in Manesar warehouse case
The union labour ministry in New Delhi criticized Amazon for inadequate occupational safety and working conditions at its Manesar warehouse. Labour secretary Sumita Dawra met with Amazon officials to address issues related to facilities like utilities and restrooms. The ministry found violations of labour laws impacting welfare and productivity of workers, leading to unrest among the workforce.
Women in the Workforce
Apple supplier Foxconn rejects married women from India iPhone jobs: Report
A Reuters investigation has found that Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant, on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. S. Paul, a former human-resources executive at Foxconn India, said the company's executives verbally convey the recruitment rules to its Indian hiring agencies, which Foxconn tasks with scouting for candidates, bringing them in for interviews and employing them.
Centre seeks report from TN govt over claims of married women denied work at Foxconn plant
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has requested a detailed report from the Labour Department of Tamil Nadu government on media reports claiming that married women are not being allowed to work at Foxconn India’s factory that makes Apple iPhones.
Snapchat settles gender discrimination lawsuit for $15 million
During its meteoric rise, Snapchat, the disappearing-photo app, found itself facing a different kind of vanishing act – its female employees were systematically overlooked. The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) stepped in, alleging that from 2015 to 2022, women at Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company, were denied fair pay and promotions compared to their male counterparts.
Average woman executive director takes home 40% less than men
Women executive directors make around ₹63 for every 100 rupees earned by their male counterparts. The gap appears to be widening, shows a Business Standard analysis of salary data sourced from primeinfobase.com. While a male executive director on average makes ₹7.6 crore at a company that is part of the Nifty 500 index, comprising some of India's largest firms, a woman executive director earns an average of ₹4.8 crore.
In the Courts
Patna High Court ends 65% quota hike for jobs, colleges in Bihar
Bihar had last year raised the quota for SCs, STs, EBCs, and other backward classes (OBCs) in educational institutions and government jobs from 50% to 65%. The Patna high court on Thursday struck down Bihar’s decision last year to raise caste-based quotas to 65%, underlining that merit could not be completely sacrificed at the altar of reparations in a verdict that delivered a blow to the state government and will have sweeping political and social ramifications.
Court orders pensionary benefits for Haryana staffer after 26 yrs, but neither he nor wife alive
CHANDIGARH: Quarter of a century after an employee of Haryana electricity department sought legal help for grant of pensionary benefits, neither he nor his wife are alive to enjoy the benefits granted to him after intervention of the Punjab and Haryana high court. The petition in the HC was fined in 1998.
Unapproved absence for years costs employee his job: Karnataka High Court Rules
In a decisive ruling, the Karnataka High Court has upheld the dismissal of an employee who remained absent from work for a staggering 922 days without seeking permission. This case underscores the importance of proper leave procedures and the consequences of neglecting them.
Policy Changes
Modi 3.0 Govt Deals a Blow to Workers' Hard-Earned PF/Pension Money: CITU
The central trade union has condemned the recent notification to drastically reduce penalty charges on employers defaulting in payment of EPF, EPS, EDLI contributions.
Employment data from Govt to be more frequent
Statistics ministry plans monthly survey for urban areas, quarterly for rural.
Govt Vacancies
Railways to fill 18,799 vacancies for assistant loco pilots
Amid an increasing number of major train accidents and pressure from trade unions to fill vacancies in the safety categories, the Railway Ministry has notified recruitment for 18,799 posts of assistant loco pilots in 16 zones across the country.
Employment News
L&T group facing shortage of over 45,000 labourers and engineers: Chairman Subrahmanyan
The flagship engineering, procurement and construction business is grappling with a labour shortage of 25,000-30,000 labourers, while the information technology and IT-enabled services business is facing a shortage of 20,000 engineers, he told reporters here.
Benefits for Workers
Centre amends rules to allow six months maternity leave for staff in case of surrogacy
Till now, there were no rules to grant maternity leaves to women government employees in case a child was born through surrogacy