Employment News
Electronics sector sees women outpace men in employability
New Delhi: Female employability rates at 54 per cent have surpassed that of men at 51.5 per cent in the electronics manufacturing sector driven by gross enrolment in factories and pass percentages in apprenticeship programs, staffing firm Team Lease said… Female participation in the electronics manufacturing sector is the highest in the southern region of the country, with iPhone manufacturers, Tata Electronics, and Foxconn having some of the highest female employee base of over 80 per cent, industry experts said.
Employee Headcount of TCS Goes Down by 23,000 in FY26
In July last year, TCS, the country’s largest IT services exporter had said it would cut about 2% of its workforce, or around 12,000 employees, as part of a phased restructuring. The actual fall had suggested a sharper-than-expected correction.
Surveys
Jobs in informal manufacturing sector below 2015-16 levels: Survey
India's vast informal manufacturing sector has seen jobs stay flat for nearly a decade, while the formal manufacturing sector has seen an increase...An analysis of the latest unincorporated enterprises survey released last month showed that 3.5 crore people were employed in informal manufacturing in 2025, as compared to 3.6 crore in 2015-16, while the number of enterprises rose to 2.1 crore from 2 crore. In contrast, data from the latest annual survey of industries (ASI), which tracks the formal manufacturing sector, showed that a little under 2 crore were employed in 2023-24, up 37% over 2015-16.
In the Courts
'Govt Biggest Litigant Adding To Pendency' : Supreme Court Pulls Up Union For Unnecessarily Challenging Relief To CISF Constable
The Supreme Court today imposed cost of ₹25,000 on the Union of India for challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment that had set aside the dismissal of a CISF constable and granted him 25% back wages. The Court said that the dismissal of the constable for absence of 11 days was a disproportionate punishment.
Backward status no ground for favour in govt employment: SC
The Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a backward community cannot guarantee employment, emphasizing fairness in public recruitment processes. The judges said that “grace, charity or compassion ought to stay at a distance” in matters of public employment if a fair and level playing field is to be ensured for all aspirants.
Labour Demands
Gurugram DC urges revised wages’ rollout amid IMT Manesar protests
Gurugram: The Haryana government notified a significant hike in minimum wages across categories, effective April 1, 2026, with an increase of nearly 35%. Amid the IMT Manesar labour unrest over wage-related issues, deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar on Thursday urged industrial units to immediately implement the Haryana government’s revised minimum wages, calling it a crucial step towards addressing workers’ concerns and restoring normalcy.
How Social Media Propelled Workers’ Protests at Major Indian Energy Companies
A report launched by Migrant Workers Solidarity Network documents the ongoing wave of labour actions in India’s premier industrial hubs. February and March 2026 saw major protests at units owned or operated by Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Jindal Steel, Aditya Birla Group companies, construction giant Larsen & Toubro and Vedanta Group holdings, alongside major public sector undertakings (PSUs) such as Indian Oil, NTPC (formerly National Thermal Power Corporation), Western Coalfields and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The largest protests among these took place at the Indian Oil integrated refinery in Haryana’s Panipat. The protest saw over 30,000 people stop work for six days after two workers died on-site.
Wartime Crises
Massive Losses, Labourers Hungry: Despite Govt Claims Otherwise, the West Asia Conflict Is Hitting UP’s Export Clusters
Prayagraj: Even as the Union government claims that industrial LPG supplies remain largely unaffected by the US-Israel war in West Asia, exporters and factory owners across Uttar Pradesh say there is a crisis and that it has already begun to disrupt production, stall orders and push up raw material and transport costs. In Kanpur, which has 17,444 registered industrial units as per government data, about 50% of factories have shut down, another 30% are on the verge of closure.
Detroit of Asia sputters as LPG dries up, input costs spike, labour thins
In Chennai's auto nerve centre, Ambattur, prolonged conflict ripples through supply chains, delaying deliveries, raising costs, testing small manufacturers' resilience
India's textile industry grinds to near halt amid LPG crisis
India is grappling with a liquefied petroleum gas shortage due to the situation in the Middle East. It is causing major disruptions in the world's leading textile industry. The South Gujarat Textile Processors Association said on Wednesday that in the western city of Surat half the factories--about 200--have halted operations. The rest have cut their weekly days of operation from seven to five. It said half a million day laborers have lost their jobs due to the shortage and have left the city.
Fishing boats docked, livelihoods at sea: War ripples in Mumbai, Goa
As the Iran war stretches on for more than a month, leading to a surge in fuel prices and a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), fishing operations in Mumbai and Goa have been hit, with boats docked at shores for days and fishing trips curtailed. In Goa, at least 30 per cent of trawlers at the jetty remain docked, fisherfolk say
Layoffs and Hirings
AI Layoffs Are Backfiring and the Data Proves It
VIDEO: AI layoffs were supposed to make companies leaner, faster, and more efficient. Instead, Amazon lost 6.3 million orders in a single day. Twitter lost nearly half its ad revenue after cutting 80% of its staff. And Gartner is now predicting that 50% of companies will rehire the exact people they just let go. The data is in. And it isn't pretty.
Labour Reforms
Gratuity After Just One Year? Here Is What The New Labour Codes Mean For Fixed-Term Workers
The one-year rule is not a blanket benefit for everyone. Permanent employees still need to complete five years of service to claim gratuity, while exceptions exist in cases of death or disability. The new one-year rule applies specifically to fixed-term employees hired for a set period under a written contract.
Making the code on minimum wage work on the ground
A key insight in labour economics, highlighted by the ILO, is that minimum wages work best when workers have credible outside options, such as public employment programmes that pay at least the statutory minimum. The introduction of a statutory floor wage under the new labour codes is a welcome step but its effectiveness will hinge on three interrelated factors: The adoption of a transparent and inflation-responsive wage-setting methodology, the strengthening of enforcement capacity under the new facilitative framework, and the alignment of public employment programmes with statutory wage floors.
Election Issues
Assembly polls in Assam disrupt life in Kerala, Karnataka and UP
KOCHI/MADIKERI/LUCKNOW: Assam assembly polls have set off a cross-country labour vacuum, slowing plantation work in Karnataka's Kodagu, disrupting waste collection in UP's Lucknow and thinning workforces in Kerala as thousands of migrant workers return home to vote on April 9. Driving the exodus is not just voting. The SIR of electoral rolls has triggered anxiety among migrants over possible deletion of names and alleged risks to citizenship status.
Trains, buses and a tomtom: The long journey back home for Assam migrants to vote in the assembly election
DARRANG, Assam: It took Kitab Ali four days of non-stop travel to get from Bengaluru to his home in Darrang district’s Ghiladhari village. He arrived on April 3, just in time for the state election on April 9. Scores of migrants like Ali, working in faraway cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Delhi and Mumbai, headed home to vote in the Assam assembly election scheduled for April 9. Despite the long and arduous journey, Ali said that it was worth the trouble. “I can’t forgo the opportunity to vote. It is the only right poor people like us are left with,” he said.
Kerala fishermen seek political voice, press demands ahead of elections
Known for reacting strongly when their livelihoods are threatened, fishermen view elections as a critical opportunity to assert influence, especially in constituencies decided by narrow margins. Artisanal fishermen represented by the Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation (KSMTF) recently met LDF leaders M V Govindan and A Vijayaraghavan, as well as UDF’s V D Satheesan, presenting demands aimed at improving their lives and livelihoods and calling for these issues to be reflected in election manifestos.
Paid leave on polling days for all workers, including daily wage & casual staff: Election Commission
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday announced that all employees, including daily wage and casual workers, will be entitled to a paid holiday on polling days for the upcoming General Elections and bye-elections this month. The Commission further stated that wages will not be deducted on polling day, and violators will be fined.
Forest Workers
No Insurance, Little Sleep, Rs 10,000 A Month: Meet Chhattisgarh's Elephant Trackers
As habitat shrinks and conflict rises, Hathi Mitra Dal volunteers work with forest officials to keep elephants and humans apart. It is an initiative started by the state government in 2018 to manage human-elephant conflict better. In states such as West Bengal and Assam, this initiative is known as ‘Gaja Mitra.’