News from States
NHRC notice to Gujarat, Haryana governments over death of 7 sanitation workers
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo moto cognisance of media reports about the deaths of seven sanitation workers in two different incidents in Jhajjar and Bharuch districts of Haryana and Gujarat, respectively on April 4. It has issued notices to the state governments through their chief secretaries and DGPs, calling for reports into the incidents within six weeks, it said.
Union Leaders Accuse Yogi Govt of Betraying Weavers Ahead of Eid, Despite BJP's 'Flat Rate' Power Claims
Lucknow: Conceding to the weavers' demands, the Uttar Pradesh government approved a proposal on Wednesday to impose a "flat" electricity rate on powerloom units with connections of up to 5 kilowatts in the state. But, according to the new proposal passed by the Cabinet on April 5, the handloom owners will have to pay Rs 300 instead of Rs 42 in rural areas and Rs 600 instead of Rs 72 in urban blocks.
Punjab youth are unemployable. The state doesn’t have a Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune or Noida
Young people of Punjab are perennially trapped in disenchantment with their state and in an irrational yearning to migrate. 'There is no scope in Punjab. So why spend time studying?'
Despite AAP’s tall claims on salaries, civic employees yet to receive payment for March
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) employees have not received last month’s salaries. A senior municipal official said the civic body “lacks funds” to clear the salary backlog of ₹774 crore for March. A week earlier, AAP had claimed to have delivered on its promise, made before the civic polls, of providing timely payment to MCD employees.
In the Courts
Prohibition Of Manual Scavenging: Supreme Court Asks Centre To Convene Meeting With Secretaries Of All States, Union Territories
The Court was considering a plea to seeking steps to curb hiring manual scavengers in the country. In February, the Court directed the Union of India to place on record the steps taken by it to prevent the employment of manual scavengers as per the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act 2013.
Supreme Court Dismisses Plea To Complete Previous Recruitment Processes To Army & Air Force Which Were Cancelled After Agnipath Scheme
The petitions were filed against the Delhi High Court's judgement upholding the Agnipath Scheme, as per which those between 17-and-a-half and 23 years of age were made eligible to apply for armed forces to be inducted for a four-year tenure.
Two Men Clear GPSC Recruitment 26 Years After Taking Test, but Lose Out on Jobs
Two men in their late 50s, who were found ineligible for a government job 26 years ago due to upper age limit criteria, once again missed the opportunity after the Gujarat High Court disposed of their petition citing that though they had cleared the recruitment test, they can’t be given jobs now because of their age today.
Andhra Pradesh High Court Upholds Labour Court's Decision To Reinstate Terminated Workman For Violation Of Principles Of Natural Justice
The Labour Court on 05.01.2009 held that no enquiry was conducted before passing the termination order and even before the Tribunal, no evidence was placed in support of its termination by the petitioner. It was held respondent workman’s service was put to an end without following the procedure.
Employment News
PM Modi To Distribute 71,000 Job Letters To Newly Inducted Employees This Week
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will distribute about 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted employees on April 13 via video conferencing and also address them on the occasion, according to a statement issued by his office today. The programme is part of the 'Rozgar Mela' drive, under which 10 lakh people are expected to be given jobs.
India’s unemployment rate rose to 3-month high of 7.8% in March, says think tank CMIE
The development is compounded by a simultaneous fall in the labour force participation rate, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s managing director said.
MGNREGS spending dips by 5% in 2022-23
Expenditure under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) declined by five per cent to Rs.1.01 trillion in 2022-23 as compared to Rs.1.06 trillion spent in the previous fiscal. Also, work generated under the rural job guarantee scheme in 2022-23 was down by 19.3 per cent from a year before.
Tata-owned Air India hires over 3,800 employees in six months
Air India announced on Thursday that, as part of the initiative under its five-year transformation plan, it had hired more than 3,800 staff across crew and other roles and had implemented more than 29 new employee policies in the previous six months.
Phone manufacturing companies to add 150k jobs in India; Global Shift to go beyond China
The report says out of the estimated 120,000-150,000 new jobs to be created this fiscal in this space, about 30,000-40,000 are likely to be direct jobs and the remaining indirect roles mostly on the manufacturing side, staffing company officials said.
Hospitality sector on a hiring spree
A spokesperson for Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts said the chain is looking to hire around 800-900 associates to support its expansion plans this year. "We are looking at enhancing our senior leadership portfolio with female general managers, executive chefs and department heads while continuing to strengthen overall diversity ratios across all hotels in all departments," the spokesperson added.
Tailpiece
In China, young people trading high pressure white collar jobs for manual labour
Liu is part of a phenomenon that is attracting increasing attention in China: young people swapping high-pressure and prestigious white-collar jobs for blue-collar jobs. The extent of this trend is hard to measure, but posts have spread across social media documenting a tech employee turned grocery store cashier, an accountant selling hot dogs on the street, or a content manager delivering food at home. On Xiaohongshu, an app similar to Instagram, the hashtag “My first experience with ephysical work” has more than 28 million views.
Profiles
In remote TN, women ushering mental care
For 30 years, Shanthi Sesha scoured the villages of Kancheepuram district to help persons with mental illnesses. But rural health workers like her face many roadblocks while also dealing with personal difficulties
Envelope makers’ lives: folding up
In the old city area of Ahmedabad, envelope makers are busy all day – cutting, folding, creasing and sealing square and rectangular pieces of paper. They work in dismal conditions for low wages. Sameeruddin Sheikh’s workday day begins and ends in a 10 x 20 room in the basement of a shopping complex in the old city, an area called Khadia. He works with about 10 others like himself, crafting envelopes. His personal best has been 6,000 to 7,000 in one day.
Mobilising Workers
Nurses of private hospitals in Thrissur to go on 72-hour strike from Tuesday
The United Nurses Association (UNA) has called for the agitation seeking minimum wages of at least ₹40,000. They are also demanding that nurses in the private sector be paid salaries on a par with the salaries of nurses in public sector hospitals. They are seeking scrapping of contract laws and enforcing labour laws, besides implementing the latest recommendations of the Pay Commission.
Pension Demands
Finance secretary-led panel to review pension for government staff
The government has formed a four-member committee led by the finance secretary to look into ways of improving the pension benefits of government employees under the National Pension System (NPS) without compromising on fiscal prudence, showed an official order. The move comes at a time when some of the state governments have announced going back to the old pension scheme with assured pension as a share of the last drawn salary.
Why ’17 lakh’ Maharashtra govt staff are demanding Old Pension Scheme & how CM Shinde plans to tackle it
With govt employees on strike & opposition piling on pressure, Shinde govt has announced formation of a 3-member committee to study pension demand.