News from States
Tendu leaf collection rates raised to Rs 4,000 a bag in Madhya Pradesh
In one of his first decisions after taking over the reins of Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav increased the rate of tendu leaf collection by Rs 1,000 per standard bag. The new rate for a standard bag of tendu leaf now stands at Rs 4,000. The decision will provide relief to more than 3.5 million tendu leaf collectors, who will now get an additional remuneration of Rs 162 crore.
Bengal: Grassroots Women Workers of Border Town Bongaon Want Jobs not ‘Alms’
Kolkata: Anna Sarkar, 23, is a mother of two children and does menial jobs like plucking gourd flowers from the fields that fetch her only Rs 40 a day. She goes to the field at 5 a.m everyday and works till 12 o'clock to get this meagre wage, which is grossly inadequate to support her family. Her husband, a labourer, seldom gets work, with the 100-day rural job guarantee scheme, MGNREGA, completely at a halt due to non-release of funds by the Centre.
Haryana To Recruit 10,000 Workers For Israel, Opposition Trains Guns On BJP
The advertisement comes at a time when Haryana has the highest unemployment rate in the country, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, and Israel is facing an acute shortage of construction workers.
Punjab govt hikes DA by 4%
After a 40-day pen-down strike by the Punjab State Ministerial Service Union (PSMSU), Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressed their concerns in a meeting held in Chandigarh. The announcement of a four per cent hike in dearness allowance (DA) for government employees, effective from 1 December, 2023, came as a positive outcome of the deliberations. The decision prompted the union to suspend their strike, making way for constructive dialogue.
Maharashtra government employees withdraw strike over OPS scheme
Around 17 lakh state government employees have gone on an indefinite strike since Thursday demanding that the old pension scheme be returned. However, after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s assurance, the employees have decided to return to work from Friday morning.
Contract Workers
Shashi Tharoor flays contractualisation of public sector jobs
Tharoor alleged that employees were being taken on contract in public sector institutions such as the Indian Space Research Organisation. Those being hired were not getting their basic labour rights.
Women in the Workforce
‘Allow me to end my life’: Woman judge in UP writes to CJI over ‘sexual harassment’
A lady judge in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh has asked for permission from the Chief Justice of India to end her life, following the “abuse” and “harassment” she had endured in her career. In her letter to the CJI, the civil judge says she is writing to her “eldermost guardian” in “extreme pain and despair”. “In the short time of my service I have had the rare Honour of being abused (the dreaded Hindi mother curse word) on Dias in open court. I have been sexually harassed to the very limit. I have been treated like utter garbage. I feel like an unwanted insect.”
'Harassment', Pleas and a Petition Dismissed in 8 Seconds: Behind Woman Civil Judge's Letter to CJI
“I have been sexually harassed by one particular district judge and his associates. I was told to meet the district judge at night,” the civil judge wrote in her letter. After the letter was widely shared on social media on Friday, December 15, CJI Chandrachud sought a status report from the administration of the Allahabad high court on the inquiry being conducted into allegations of sexual harassment raised by the woman judge.
India Inc sees alarmingly high unresolved sexual harassment cases at workplace
The number of pending sexual harassment cases at workplaces in India's largest ESG compliant companies shows a rise of 101 percent in the year ending March 2023, indicating a huge backlog of complains, and companies' inability to resolve such cases in a timely manner.
Sexual harassment at workplace must be viewed seriously, says SC; sets aside HC order granting relief to former employee.
Observing that sexual harassment in any form at workplace must be viewed seriously, the Supreme Court has quashed a Gauhati High Court verdict setting aside an order of penalty of withholding of 50 per cent pension of a former employee of the Service Selection Board in a sexual harassment case levelled by a woman subordinate.
Sexual Harassment At Workplaces : Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain PIL Seeking Directions To Protect Complainants/Witnesses From Retaliation
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to issue directions to protect complainants/witnesses/persons in cases of complaints of sexual harassment from acts of retaliation/victimization by the accused persons or concerned organizations.
Jobseekers
Economic Slowdown Affects Placements at IITs, Hiring Declines by 15% to 30%: Report
According to the Economic Times, the hiring at IITs – in the final placement week which began on December 1 – has declined by anywhere between 15% and 30% compared to previous years. Even after a week of the placement drive has passed, most students are yet to land a job, and the situation ahead looks bleak.
Authorities told the newspaper that even students from the Computer Science stream, who would have usually received multiple job offers, are struggling to get even a single offer. “Recruiters who used to hire 8-10 students are now taking 1-2 students each; some are coming to campus but leaving without recruiting,” a student at IIT-Kharagpur told ET.
International Migrants Day: Fake Foreign Job Recruiters Can Finance Three Chandrayaan-3 Missions or Buy Three Rafale Jets Annually
A document placed in the Parliament reveals that the external affairs ministry had identified 2,295 illegal or fake recruitment agencies by October 30 this year.
Domestic Workers
From working hours to minimum wages, Gurgaon to soon have charter of rights for domestic helps
Gurugram domestic help charter: The administration is studying charters implemented by foreign governments. The Gurgaon district administration is planning to take a significant step to address the growing cases of torture and abuse faced by domestic helps. In a latest incident, a 13-year-old domestic help was rescued from Sector 67 after members of the employer's family allegedly beat her up and held her captive in a room with mouth taped. In response, officials from various departments including law, labour, and health are working together to create a charter of rights aimed at protecting the interests of domestic workers, Times of India reported.
Burnt, stripped, filmed: Teen help brutalised for 5 months in Gurgaon
A 14-year-old girl from Bihar was rescued after being held captive and subjected to brutal treatment by her employer's family in Gurgaon. The girl was sexually assaulted, tortured, blackmailed, burned with acid, and confined in the basement.
Tailpiece
How govt agency nursed their dreams and cemented careers
Their careers took off all thanks to a government agency, the National Skill Development Corporation International, which in the current year has placed 25,300 young Indians across the globe in a profession of their choice. The NSDCI, a year old entity, now connects with the best places globally, provides pre-interview training and requisite skilling and even processes all the documents for the candidates free of cost.
Distressed Workers
Daily wagers worst affected by suicide, numbers for housewives twice that of farmers — NCRB data
The number of daily wage earners reported to have died by suicide rose continually from 30,124 in 2018 to 32,559 in 2019, 37,657 in 2020, 41,997 in 2021 and 45,185 in 2022. On the other hand, the combined numbers for farm labourers and cultivators hovered between 10,000 and 11,000 in four of these five years.
With pending wages and not enough work, MGNREGA workers migrate in big numbers; launch letter campaign to PM
Workers in as many as 16 districts of Karnataka have written to Narendra Modi seeking payment of pending wages and increase in man-days to 150.
Labour in Parliament
In last 5 yrs, 361 railway workers died in train accidents while doing maintenance work on tracks
Rlys minister Vaishnaw provided this data in response to a question in Rajya Sabha. He also said 'approaching train' warning system RAKSHAK not effective in hilly terrain, tunnels etc. A maximum of 44 deaths occurred in the Central Railways during the period under review, followed by 40 deaths in Northern Railways, 31 in North Central Railways, 30 in East Central Railways and 24 each in North Western and South East Central Railways.