Policy Changes
India to protect poor fisherpeople, push for two-tier dispute resolution system at WTO meet
India will secure the interests of its poor fisherpeople at the upcoming WTO ministerial conference. New Delhi proposes allowing developing countries to give subsidies to their fisherpeople in their exclusive economic zone. India emphasizes polluter-pays and differentiated responsibility principles. India opposes the developed countries' proposal for top subsidisers to notify the WTO of new subsidy programs. India will push for the WTO's two-tier dispute resolution system and restoration of the independent nature of the dispute settlement body.
In the Courts
Calcutta HC orders formation of team for verification of MGNREGA job cards in Bengal
The court ordered that a genuine verification process of job cards for MGNREGA be done district-wise by a team of four officers - one to be nominated by the central government, one by the West Bengal government, one from the office of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and one from the office of the Accountant General, West Bengal.
Layoffs and Hirings
100 Indian startups axe 24k jobs in 2023: Report
Mumbai: More than 100 Indian startups are esimated to have laid off over 24,000 employees data shared by market research firm TheKredible showed. Troubled edtech startup Byju’s, ShareChat, Swiggy and Unacademy are among unicorn firms which have fired the highest number of employees,
Google CEO tells employees to expect more job cuts this year
Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employyes to expect more job cuts at the Alphabet-owned company this year as it focuses on removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas.
Women in the Workforce
Shift in India’s female workforce sees increase in salaried women but gender wage gap persists
Moving up the salary ladder reduces the gap. A compositional shift away from casual wage work toward regular wage employment narrows the gender earnings gap because the gap tends to be larger in the former. In 2021-’22, the average monthly earnings of a regular salaried man was approximately Rs 17,910. A salaried woman earned about Rs 13,666. In casual wage work, the earnings disparity was higher, with women earning only 60% of what men earn. Policy responses that encourage improved access to education for girls and expand formal employment can help.
Honouring Workers
Patna’s Sanitation Workers to Attend Republic Day Parade in Historic First
In an unprecedented move, four women sanitation workers hailing from Patna, have been granted the honour of attending the Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi. The members of ‘Swachhangini,’ a group committed to mechanized cleaning of Patna’s municipal area, are set to represent the city’s sanitation workers at this national event.
PM Modi honours workers who toiled for years, carved tonnes of stone to build Ram Temple
Rohit Bhatiya is seated in a special enclosure in the Ram Temple complex. Bhatiya is one of nearly 4,000 workers who worked to shape 2.1 million cubic feet of stone into the Ram Temple, where a 51-inch tall iron idol of Ram Lalla was consecrated on Monday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged their efforts after completing rituals inside the temple’s sanctum sanctorum, showering petals on the workers.
Tailpiece
Police performed Myra at the wedding of a sweeper: Said- He is a family member of our police station; Handed over 85 thousand rupees and clothes
The human face of Jaitpur Police was seen in Pali on Sunday. The policemen reached the house of police station sweeper Dinesh Valmiki with Myra. Dinesh, who cleans the police station, is getting married on Monday. When Dinesh, who became the groom, saw the entire staff including the police station in-charge, there was no limit to his happiness.
News from States
50 lakh youths queue up for 60k constable posts in UP
LUCKNOW: Over 50 lakh youths have applied for 60,244 posts of constable as UP Police carry out their biggest recruitments drive so far. Senior officers said this is the highest number of online registrations received by UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) since its formation in 2009.
Sanitation workers stage protest, say they are paid less than minimum wage
Sanitation workers at the Delhi government’s Burari Hospital tonsured their heads and took out a mock funeral procession of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. The workers, who were appointed through a private contractor, have been staging a demonstration against the termination of services of some of them and alleged sexual harassment of women workers by supervisors, according to Safai Kamgar Union (SKU), which represents the workers.
Travails of Fisherfolk
Distress Alert Transmitter-Second Generation: An ISRO initiative for aiding Search and Rescue Operations in Maritime Domain/ Indian waters
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed an indigenous technological solution namely Distress Alert Transmitter (DAT) for the fishermen at sea to send emergency messages from fishing boats. The messages are sent through a communication satellite and received at a central control station (INMCC: Indian Mission Control Centre) where the alert signals are decoded for the identity and location of the fishing boat.
Election Issues
Invisible voters
'Nothing like voting, I vote for sure’. EC’s ‘theme’ for National Voters Day 2024, observed today, draws attention once again to that large population of seasonal or circular migrants, who simply cannot vote.
Meagre Wages
In Viksit Bharat, rural real wages are in decline
The litmus test of employment hinges on real wage rates, and we have seen from the government data that in rural areas, real wages have had negative growth in the last five years of the Modi-2 period. This needs urgent attention and further research to create more employment-intensive growth processes.
Despite rural inflation narrowing till October wages are yet to recover
Real rural wages contracted in 21 of the 23 months to October 2023, signalling that consumer demand in the hinterland remains weak.
For the rich: Editorial on Oxfam’s report on global inequality showing a wealth divide
Oxfam’s report on global inequality, Inequality INC., has been published at the onset of the Davos meeting, which is considered to be a conclave of the richest among the rich. Some numbers in the report are truly startling...The biggest firms earned $1.8 trillion in profits during 2022-23 — a 52% jump compared to the profits earned during 2018-21. At the same time, 791 million workers failed to keep up their real incomes in the face of stiff consumer price inflation. Collectively, they lost $1.5 trillion in wages.
Battling Air Pollution
Air Pollution Pain For All, But Informal Workers Worst Hit
New Delhi: A new study on the impact of air pollution on informal settlements in Delhi says that 94% of respondents believed air pollution had a detrimental impact on human health and 91% reported feeling sick or uncomfortable when air quality deteriorates. The study, which was conducted jointly by Help Delhi Breathe and Mahila Housing Trust, has revealed that informal workers, especially those residing near landfill sites in Delhi, are the most impacted by the pollution.
Livelihoods
Police, teacher, doctor are top career options for rural kids
India's rural children eye a career path in police, teaching medicine, Army, and engineering, while the least preferred areas are sports, agriculture, bureaucracy and household work. However, professional aspirations are clearly driven by gender, with Army (13.8%) and police (13.6%) emerging as top two choices among the boys. Teachers (16%) and doctors (14.8%) were the most common choices, with police (12.5%) emerging as the third most popular choice among girls.
Labour Laws
Who will the Labour Codes serve?
The existing laws that were subsumed in each of the 4 Codes have been ‘simplified’ by transferring power to amend laws from the legislature to the executive. In the name of simplifying and establishing uniformity, legislatively protected rights can now be changed arbitrarily by government, thereby strengthening the power of government while reducing the power of parliament/ state assemblies, and hence indirectly of the people.
Battles Won
Anganwadi staff call off strike as govt agrees to concede more demands
VIJAYAWADA : The agitating Anganwadi workers and helpers called off their strike late on Monday night after the State government agreed to fulfil some more of their demands. The union leaders explained that the government agreed to look into the issue of enhancing their salaries in July and also to give the same to them in writing.
What the 42-day strike by Andhra Anganwadi workers tells us
The success of the workers' strike was preceded by weeks of anger. TNM spoke to several Anganwadi workers in Vijayawada to better understand how despite a promise made by CM Jagan before the 2019 elections, their demand for better pay fell on unyielding ears.