Caste in Employment
BJP Wooing OBCs, But Low Representation in All India Services in Last 5 Years
Data provided by the Narendra Modi government to the Rajya Sabha has shown that in the last five years, representation of OBCs, Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) in All India Services has been low. A perusal of the figures showed that of the total 4,365 appointment made to IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service between 2018 and 2022, only 695 candidates from OBC, 334 from SC and 166 from ST communities were appointed.
TN sanitation worker dies by suicide, panchayat officials booked for casteist abuse
The death by suicide of a 55-year-old sanitation worker in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi has led to an outcry in the district. Sudalaimadan belonged to a Scheduled Caste (SC) community (Arunthathiyar), and his family has alleged that on March 17 — the day he attempted suicide — a former panchayat official had abused him while referring to his caste.
Women in the Workforce
Toiling away without a toilet break
The most basic needs of accessing a toilet during working hours is a daily challenge and a health hazard for many women labourers in tea gardens in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal “During emergencies, I relieve myself right here,” Diya Toppo (name changed) says, indicating a very small gap between the densely planted, thorny tea bushes. “I was stung by a bee just this morning; you could also get bitten by snakes here,” she adds worriedly.
Women take the wheel for safer tourism in Satpura Tiger Reserve
As part of the ‘Safe Tourism Destination for Women’ project launched by the Madhya Pradesh government, women drivers have been appointed to take tourists on safaris at the Satpura Tiger Reserve. The initiative aims to provide employment opportunities to women from local communities, living in and around tourist destinations, while also ensuring the safety of women at these spots.
Nair Service Society wants teachers to compensate for taking maternity leave
The administration said the purpose of the circular was to ensure that the students do not suffer because of the loss of class hours and won’t affect maternity leaves. The Nair Service Society (NSS) colleges central committee, which runs several educational institutions, recently issued a circular which said teachers working in the colleges under it should submit a separate sheet showing the dates on which they have taken extra classes to compensate for the teaching hours lost during their leaves. This is applicable for those who have even taken maternity leave.
Blue- & grey-collar job participation: Women taking a backseat in frontline crew
The percentage of women working in India's blue- and-grey-collar workforce has increased just over one point in six years, according to data from BetterPlace. Women made up 13.2% of 102,905 workers in blue-collar roles at the end of 2021, compared to 11.96% in 2017. The challenges of women in the workforce are due to a lack of enabling support systems, cultural biases and stereotypes, according to experts.
India’s first Agniveers
First Agniveer batch to hold Passing Out Parade on March 28
The Indian Navy will conduct a first-of-its-kind Passing Out Parade at Odisha's INS Chilka. A total of 2,600 Agniveers, including 273 women soldiers, have completed their 16-week training programme in the Indian Navy.
India’s first Agniveers think big, look to become officers
INS Chilka (Odisha): Becoming Agniveers is not an end in itself for several bright young men and women who are set to pass out from the Indian Navy’s sprawling lakeside training facility, INS Chilka, in two days. Many of the trainees, aged between 17-and-a-half and 21 and India’s first Agniveers, have set their sights on becoming officers in the armed forces, and are focused on working their way up to more ambitious goals.
Layoffs and Hirings
Accenture to fire 7,000 in India as part of global cuts
Accenture Plc plans to fire at least 7,000 of its about 350,000 employees in India as the world’s largest technology services company prepares to let go of 19,000 people or 2.5% of its global workforce in the next 18 months.
Unacademy lays off 12 pc of workforce in its latest round of job cuts
New Delhi: Edtech major Unacademy has laid off 12 per cent of its workforce or over 350 employees in its latest round of job cuts. Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, announced the latest layoffs in a Slack message to employees, reports TechCrunch.
Google employees write open letter to Pichai on layoffs
More than 1,500 Google employees have signed a letter sent to CEO Sundar Pichai highlighting the global impact of Alphabet’s layoffs and urging greater consideration of workers’ perspectives. In an open letter to Pichai, employees asked the company to do a number of things, such as stop hiring new people, ask for voluntary layoffs before mandatory ones, give laid-off workers first choice for new jobs and let people finish paid time off, like parental and bereavement leave.
Wary IT companies may halve hiring of engineers from April: Experts
Net hiring of engineers by the Indian IT companies is likely to crash by close to half year on year in the next fiscal amidst rising caution among companies, hiring firms have told ET. Staffing firm TeamLease expects a 40% drop in FY24 headcount addition vis a vis FY23 addition, based on the current outlook from companies.
Worker-employer compact
Upgrade shopfloors, give workers more than a job
WHEN the pandemic led to a nationwide lockdown, leaving millions of workers in the unorganized sector stranded in cities, several business leaders were compelled to introspect on how fairly and lawfully their workforces were being treated… Thus was born the Social Compact, a voluntary coming together of industries, for which the Aajeevika Bureau and the Centre for Social Justice together with Dasra have been partnering over 60 companies and their supply chains across the country to achieve greater equity in workplaces.
Workers Battle Govt App
MGNREGA App: Baton Handed to Workers from Jharkhand in Over Month-Long Protest in Delhi
Workers from first Bihar, then West Bengal and now Jharkhand are protesting in the national capital against the mandatory app-based registration system. Workers from different states are landing up in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to protest. Most of the workers struggle to understand the new system, many did not even have smartphones until now, and the major issue is the long stuck payments that they have to deal with.
Government unlikely to budge on MGNREGS attendance
Capturing workers' attendance through the Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), was made mandatory since January 1. It triggered protests by a section of NREGS workers and activists, who said workers were being deprived of wage payments due to technical issues with the new attendance system. But the government is unlikely to roll back a mobile app-based mandatory attendance system for workers under MGNREGS despite ongoing protests. "The new system will continue. There is no plan to withdraw it," a senior official from the rural development ministry told ET.
NREGS attendance app rollout after one field visit, say minister
In a written reply to a question asked by Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said, “A field visit was made to Alwar district of Rajasthan for pilot testing of National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app and after checking its applicability, the NMMS App was launched.”
NREGA Sangharsh
Surekha Ji from Chapuli village, Khanapur Taluka in Belgam District of Karnataka is here to protest against Digital interventions in the #MGNREGS. She informs that her village is situated in a forested region where network is extremely poor and their attendance are not marked.