Caste in Employment
The Politics over California’s Anti-Caste Bill
In 2020, Cisco was sued by California state regulators on allegations that two high-caste Indian managers had discriminated against a Dalit engineer by subjecting him to lower pay and inferior terms of employment. In 2021 the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) faced a lawsuit in New Jersey on charges of luring mostly Dalit labourers from India to work on temple construction in conditions that resembled forced labour.
Women in the Workforce
Venomous snakebites, an occupational hazard for women tea workers
Each year, especially in summer, Assam’s tea plantations witness numerous incidents of venomous snakebites and snakebite-related deaths. The women tea workers are more vulnerable to venomous snakebites, as they are the ones primarily harvesting tea leaves in the fields, which exposes them to frequent contacts with venomous snakes.
In the Courts
Women's Gratitious Services In Household To Be Considered In Motor Accident Compensation Claims: Himachal Pradesh High Court
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that though gratuitous services rendered by women in managing households and families cannot be equated with money, such services should be properly considered while deciding a claim for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act.
Regularise 24 health worker jobs, labour court directs Delhi govt
NEW DELHI: A labour court has directed Delhi government to regularize the job of 24 women working as auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) since 2001 from their initial date of joining on a regular pay scale with all consequential benefits, either monetary or otherwise. "The management is directed to implement the award within 60 days of its publication, failing which it will be liable to pay interest @ 8% per annum from the date of accrual till the till the final payment is made.”
Rajasthan High Court quashes marital status condition for Anganwadi workers’ appointment
An unmarried woman, Madhu, had challenged a circular of 2016 and an advertisement of 2019 laying down the marital status as an eligibility criterion for the job.
Contractual staff also have right to maternity leave: Delhi HC
The order underscored that it is a woman’s constitutional right to pursue both a professional and personal life, and workplaces should strive to foster an atmosphere conducive to these choices.
The Gig Economy
Karnataka labour minister proposes 5% cess on vehicles to support informal and gig workers
Karnataka labour minister Santosh Lad has proposed to impose a 5% cess on newly-registered vehicles to support the welfare of more than 45 lakh informal and gig workers in the state. Lad said the state government has proposed to impose a cess to ensure the welfare of informal and gig workers and their transition into the organised sector by providing social security benefits such as health, education, and insurance.
About 2 lakh+ gig workers in Karnataka to enjoy health cover
The Labour Department has received funding worth Rs 10 crore, which will be used as a corpus fund to provide Rs 4 lakh health insurance cover to gig workers. A government order has been issued by the Karnataka Labour Department to this effect.
Employment News
India added 5.2 crore new formal jobs in FY20-23: Report
India created 52 million formal jobs in the last four years, 47% of which were first jobs, the State Bank of India said in its latest Ecowrap report, citing payroll data of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and the National Pension Scheme (NPS). The government has since April 2018 releasing monthly payroll data from the Employees Provident Fund Organisation or EPFO, the National Pension Scheme or NPS and the Employees State Insurance Corporation or the ESIC, based on the recommendations given by the Ghosh & Ghosh report.
AI and Jobs
Total share of AI/ML workforce in Telcos at 20 pc in just a year
People involved in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML)-led work now make up 20% of the workforce of telecom service providers as compared to 7% in the July-September 2022 period on the back of 5G rollout, staffing experts have said. The proportion of AI/ML-led jobs is expected to reach 23% by the end of fiscal 2024 with the telcos sustaining hiring momentum for these profiles, they said.
Pending Wages
Workers suffer penury with delay in MGNREGA wages
Delays in the disbursement of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme wages in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur have led to severe financial stress, people here say, with some being forced to borrow money from private lenders at high interest rates. There are approximately 25,000 MGNREGA workers in the district with their wages pending despite having completed the work assigned to them. Some workers say they haven’t been paid for as many as five months, making it difficult to afford two square meals daily.
Workers who made circuits for #adityal1 remain #unpaid HEC staff who built key equipment for Aditya L1 unpaid for over a year!
The Ranchi-based Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) is in the news once again in less than two months — albeit for not so pleasant reasons — as the workforce that played a crucial role in making India’s ‘Moon Mission’ and the launch of Aditya L1 mission to study the sun successful events, have not received salaries for over a year now. An official said that the horizontal sliding door, folding-cum-vertical re-positionable platform, mobile launching pad, among other vital parts, have been manufactured at HEC.
Dying at Work
Three guest workers electrocuted while dismantling pandal in Alappuzha
Alappuzha: Three guest workers were electrocuted from a high-tension power line while dismantling a wedding pandal in Kanichukulangara, Cherthala. The victims are Adityan and Kashiram from Bihar and Dhananjayan from Bengal.
Tailpiece
Police, politicians, parents, psychiatrists—everyone’s at work to stop the next Kota suicide
Eight months. Twenty-three students. It’s the highest number of suicide deaths in the three decades since Kota emerged as India’s coaching hub for aspiring doctors, engineers and other professions. And the year isn’t over yet, murmur worried teachers.
White Collar Stress
Why are students concerned over Tech Mahindra’s placement offer terms?
A tweet by an NIT Jalandhar student highlighted Tech Mahindra's campus placement offer with two key points: 24x7 shift work and a Rs 1 lakh penalty for leaving before two years.
Labour Laws
New Labour Law Will Mandate Companies To Pay Employees For Their Unused Leaves
A lot of changes are in store for employees and employers as four new labour laws are awaiting implementation. Experts say the new rule will do away with the system of unused leave getting lapsed beyond a certain limit. As per the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 the annual leave for workers cannot lapse under the labour codes and will have to be availed or carried forward or encashed. This will be only applicable to those not in supervisory or management roles.
Why some states in the US are weakening child-labour restrictions
New laws generally make it easier for kids from 14 to 17 years old to work longer and later – and in occupations that were previously off-limits for minors.
Research
What did they say? Respondent identity, question framing and the measurement of employment
In developing countries, a precise approach to measuring women’s employment remains elusive. Emerging evidence underscores the pivotal role of survey methodology, encompassing respondent selection and question framing, in shaping the assessment of women’s employment. Drawing from two labour market experiments in rural India, this study offers insights on the influence of survey design on the measurement of women’s employment.