Migrant Tragedies
Gujarat’s young men are migrating illegally to US, Canada. Only the dead get caught
Travel agents in Gandhinagar's Kalol have been illegally funnelling young people with near impunity for years. Until their clients started coming back in body bags…Dingucha, along with adjoining villages like Nardipur, Manasa, Mokhasan, Isand and Nandri in Kalol taluka of Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, is a thriving hub of travel agents who promise visas with minimal paperwork at a starting price of Rs 60 lakh.
The trauma of migrant workers stuck in Indian jails
If it were not for the grinding poverty he has faced all his life and the lure of a payment of Rs 2,000 – the most he had earned in a day – Sohan*, an undertrial from southwest Bihar’s Munger district, would not have had to spend 18 months in Nagpur Central Jail. He was arrested in January 2019 and charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control Of Organised Crime Act for a first-time offense of carrying firearms and accompanying an accused who was part of a gang. Lack of ties with the local community affects migrant undertrials’ ability to furnish bail and access timely legal aid.
News from States
Chhattisgarh Government to give unemployment allowance of Rs 2,500 per month from April
The Chhattisgarh Government has announced a provision of Rs 250 crore in the budget to give monthly allowance to the unemployed youth in the state. The applicant for the unemployment allowance scheme must be a native of Chhattisgarh. Under the scheme, unemployed youth in the age group of 18 to 35 years who have passed Class XII, and with an annual family income of less than 2.50 lakh will be given the allowance of Rs 2,500 per month. The unemployed will receive monthly payments of Rs 2500 on their bank accounts directly. The unemployed youth will also receive training for developing their skills, and consequently get assistance in finding work.
Bihar govt relaxes office timings for Muslims, BJP cries PFI link
Bihar govt relaxes office timings for Muslims, BJP cries PFI The Mahagathbandhan government on Friday allowed relaxed duty hours for Muslim government employees during Ramzan in Bihar, kicking up controversy over what BJP called “the politics of Muslim appeasement”. In an official order, Bihar’s general administration department said that government employees and officials from the Muslim community can join the office one hour before and leave it one hour before the scheduled time during the holy month.
“Millions of workers forced to pay exorbitant prices for air tickets,” Kerala CM writes to PM Modi
Kerala Chief Minister Pinaravi Vijayan on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that millions of workers are forced to pay exorbitant prices for air tickets, sometimes to the tune of several months of their meagre savings, from Gulf countries to Kerala, especially during peak seasons or festivals. “These fares are unaffordable to many, particularly migrant workers,” read the letter. “The airline operators have not responded favourably to various requests from migrant organizations and the Government of Kerala in the recent past to fix airfares at reasonable levels,” the letter stated.
Unused Welfare Funds
Construction workers: Rs 38,000 crore cess funds for welfare unused
Nearly half the Rs 87,478 crore collected so far as the building and other construction (BOC) workers welfare cess by states and union territories remain unutilised, even as such labourers complain of woeful working conditions and denial of welfare measures such as health, pension, insurance and accident cover, the minister of state for labour and employment, Rameshwar Teli, told Parliament last month. Unutilised or poorly utilised welfare cess funds are a pattern: in July 2022 a CAG report tabled in the Delhi Assembly said that the cess collected for providing social security, healthcare, etc was being poorly utilised. In 2017 the Karnataka government had collected ₹4,782.74 crore as cess from builders to be used for welfare scheme for workers, but the utilisation was an abysmal 2.44%. In 2016 the Supreme Court criticised the government for failing to implement welfare schemes meant for construction workers after squeezing thousands of crores in building cess from hapless property buyers.
Tailpiece
Amidst farm suicides, a gold rush in blogs
In a village in Marathwada, a region rife with farm suicides, hundreds are making a living off blogging. Kolgaon in Maharashtra has emerged as a ‘bloggers village’. Hundreds of people here have taken to blogging. Some make more money compared to what others make from farming.
Layoffs and Hirings
Red Cross to cut 1,500 jobs within the next year
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is planning to reduce its workforce by approximately 1,500 employees globally. The move comes as the organisation anticipates a decrease in the budget for humanitarian aid.
100 job cuts in gaming division: Amazon
Amazon has assured the impacted employees that they will be provided with certain benefits to support them during this time. These benefits include severance pay, health insurance benefits, outplacement services, and paid time to help them search for a new job.
5,000 GM employees accept buyouts saving the company $1B
The company is offering a month's worth of salary for every year served, up to 12 months, and COBRA health care as part of the buyout package.
Apple to cut some jobs; Walmart to fire more than 2,000, says report
The company is shedding positions in what it calls its development and preservation teams. Those groups are responsible for the construction and upkeep of Apple retail stores
White-Collar hiring falls in March amid global woes and shake-up in BFSI sector
The drop broke the sustained positive growth trajectory that was seen in the domestic job market since October, showed the data. The month closed with an active jobs count of 270,000 compared with 300,000 in February. March's active jobs count is also 13% lower than a year ago.
Meagre Wages
Kerala agricultural workers condemn low daily wage hike in MGNREGA
The hike in the wages for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has failed to enthuse the workers in Kerala. The wages in the state have been increased by Rs 22 as per the notification of the department of rural development. The new wage will be implemented from April 1, 2023. The wage has been hiked from Rs 311 to Rs 333 for Kerala, while the wage for Haryana has been increased to Rs 357. The minimum daily wage in Kerala is Rs 727 as compared to Rs 395 in Haryana and Rs 220 in Gujarat.
New NREGA wage rates akin to "slavery", say workers' organisations
Delhi: Workers’ organisations working with NREGA labourers have slammed the increase in wage rates announced by the Union Ministry of Rural Development for the scheme. As per new rates, a worker would get Rs 221 per day in Chhattisgarh, which is the lowest, and Rs 357 in Haryana, the highest. The organisations maintained that the rates remain lower than minimum wages in most states and cannot fulfil a family’s nutritional requirements
Telangana #highcourt issues notice in the matter of non-revision of #minimumwages[#ep76 #news]
इस अंक में - 1. यूनियन नेताओं के गैर-क़ानूनी निलंबन के ख़िलाफ़ हरियाणा में बेलसोनिका के मज़दूर भूख हड़ताल पर 2. उत्तर प्रदेश के देवरिया में ईंट भट्टी में हादसा, दो मज़दूरों की मौत 3. न्यूनतम वेतन में बढ़ोतरी ना होने के मामले में तेलंगाना उच्च न्यायालय का सरकार को नोटिस 4. रुस में अमेज़न सरीखी ऑनलाइन ख़ुदरा कंपनी वाइल्डबेरीज़ के मज़दूर हड़ताल पर, और 5. जर्मनी में महंगाई के अनुपात में वेतन वृद्धि के लिए आम-हड़ताल तेज़
Mobilising Workers
Watch | Thousands of farmers and workers protest at Ramlila Maidan
Thousands of labourers and farmers gathered at New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan from all over the country on Wednesday, April 5, with numerous demands to the Union government. The Wire spoke to farmers, union leaders, and anganwadi workers from different regions to understand their demands.
Manesar: Dispute between workers and Bellsonica management continues, 10 more workers suspended
The union says that on March 30, the workers staged a two-hour-long tools-down protest against the continuous crackdown by the management, which infuriated the Bellsonica management so much that it suspended 10 more workers until further orders.
Starbucks fired the employee responsible for igniting the Starbucks Workers United union campaign
Rizzo worked as a shift supervisor at Starbucks for 7 years and served as a leader at the Genesee St. store in Buffalo, New York, which was one of the first two stores in the country to win its union campaign. Starbucks Workers United announced Rizzo’s termination in a tweet Saturday and said in a corresponding GoFundMe page that “this is retaliation at its worst.”
Gig Worker Boom
Demand for gig workers increased by 10 times in 2022, says report
Around 49 per cent of gig workers on the company's platform are under the age of 25
Gig workers still on the treadmill
Uncertainties over the Social Security Code keep India's 7.7 mn gig workforce outside the purview of basic benefits. If you have seen Zwigato, Param Kumar's story will sound familiar. Laid off from his job as a repairman at a Gurugram-based water purifier provider, he now delivers groceries and food for a mobile-based delivery app, in Delhi. Kumar, who started making deliveries last August, told Business Standard that he is working longer hours than his older salaried job as an RO repairman, and has no paid leaves or health insurance. Kumar is part of India's estimated 7.7 million-strong force of gig workers. The number of gig workers is expected to grow to 23.5 million by 2029-30, according to a Niti Aayog report. Another recent report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry also points out that nearly 42.24 per cent of India's start-ups are looking to hire temporary and gig workers.
India’s gig workers score a big win. Rajasthan first to budget Rs 200 cr for protection
Gig workers with Uber, Zomato, Urban Company and more will come under the ambit of the act. For the estimated five lakh gig workers in Rajasthan, the announcement by Gehlot carves a path of a more stable future ahead. For months now, young men and women who work as drivers and delivery agents have been voicing their concerns through various unions and associations for a social safety net.
Missing Youth
33% of India’s youth aren’t in employment, education, or training. Most of them are women
Over 50% of Indian women in 15-29 age group are neither employed nor studying, shows NSSO survey. Most aren’t seeking a job either. Expert points to ‘burden of care’, marriage factor.