#Ministry of Labour & Employment

[townpostin]

Tata Steel Signs MoU with DTNBWED for Workforce Development

Partnership aims to enhance safety, productivity, and innovation at the workplace. Tata Steel Technical Services Ltd (TSTSL) and Tata Steel Support Services Ltd (TSSSL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers’ Education and Development (DTNBWED), under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. NEW DELHI – Tata Steel…

[worldnewscom]

1.69 million formal jobs created under EPFO in August

Formal job creation under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation remained static in August this year at 1.69 million compared to August last year while it declined by 10.6% compared to a 1.87 million subscribers added to EPFO in July this year, shows the provisional payroll data released on Friday. Of the 1.69 million workers added to EPFO in August, 58.3% of the net new workers or 0.92…

[aicsm-franchise]

[lesbianchemicalplant]

Home Office 213/926 or HO 213/926 is a Home Office file which records the secret deportation from the United Kingdom of thousands of seafarers to China in 1945 and 1946, permanently separating them from their families. It was officially entitled "Compulsory repatriation of undesirable Chinese seamen."[1]

[...] As soon as World War II ended, Blue Funnel Line reduced the wages of Chinese seamen to a level that it internally admitted was too low to live on. Chinese seamen were also barred from seeking employment ashore.[8] On 19 October 1945, two months after the end of the war, Courtenay Denis Carew Robinson, Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office, chaired a secret meeting at Whitehall, joined by representatives of the Foreign Office, the Ministry of War Transport, and the Liverpool City Police and immigration inspectorate. In the meeting, the Home Office finalised a policy titled "Compulsory repatriation of undesirable Chinese seamen," under a file designated HO 213/926.[9] The policy was kept secret in part because it was illegal, as only sailors who had been discharged due to criminal convictions could legally be deported, and only a tiny number of the seamen targeted for deportation had faced any charges during their time in the service. The Home Office had also internally acknowledged that even among the small number that had faced charges, minor gambling and opium offences were commonplace in dockside life and did not warrant deportation.[9] After the policy was finalised, Home Office officials, along with Liverpool Police, worked with shipping companies in the UK to arrest Chinese seamen and forcibly deported them to China. Some of the workers were forced to sign discharge papers that would have them discharged in China, with no way to return to the UK.[10] To deport the seamen, Blue Funnel modified some of its ships, including the steamships Diomed, Menelaus, Priam, Sarpedon and Theseus, installing makeshift bunks to hold the seamen who had been brought directly by the police. By the end of 1945, the police increased their efforts to round up remaining Chinese seamen, searching through homes in night raids and asking police chiefs elsewhere in the country to report any seamen. One immigration office memo stated that "It should not be difficult, if energetic steps are taken, to weed these out of the restaurant kitchens, laundries, etc." Deportations continued until at least December 1946.[9] In the War, many of the seamen based in Liverpool had settled in the city, falling in love and starting families with local women. Those families were neither notified of the deportations nor given any information as to the fates of the seamen, leaving many to assume that the seamen had simply abandoned them.[11] By mid-1946, rumours of the deportations had spread through the Liverpool community. The Liverpool Echo published a report under the headline "British Wives of Chinese." A group of the seamen's wives protested against the government that summer, stating that they were left destitute and that "we are left to live on public aid, charity and the help of our families."[12] However, the government refused to acknowledge the protest.[8] Labour MP Bessie Braddock wrote to the Home Office in support of the protesting wives, but was told that the deportations would continue since, if they didn't, "it might embarrass the immigration officer, Liverpool, the police and the shipping companies concerned."[9]

the british government denied this up until 2022

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil and ILO sign a new agreement to promote labour rights and decent work

The agreement was signed during the XI Annual Evaluation Meeting of the Brazil-ILO Trilateral South-South Cooperation Programme

The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) signed the South-South Cooperation project "Decent Work and Social Justice" on Monday 14 October 2024, aimed at promoting decent work, social justice, social dialogue, and labour rights in developing countries of the Global South.

The new project with the MTE and ILO will be implemented under the Brazil-ILO South-South Cooperation Programme: Social Justice for the Global South, signed in 2023 by ABC and the ILO to support the promotion of decent work and social justice in Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The programme focuses on eradicating child labour and forced labour, strengthening occupational safety and health (OSH) and labour inspection, promoting gender, racial, and generational equity, fostering equality in the workplace, and advancing social protection.

The new agreement was signed during the 11th Brazil-ILO South-South and Trilateral Cooperation Meeting, held at the Itamaraty Palace, in Brasília. The high-level meeting aimed to discuss the future of the Brazil-ILO South-South Cooperation (SSC) Programme, the main results from 15 years of partnership, and new cooperation prospects. Topics such as wage equality, the care economy, combating child labour, and modern slavery were also debated.

Acting Minister of Labour and Employment, Francisco Macena, ILO Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ana Virgínia Moreira Gomes, Director of the ILO Office for Brazil, Vinícius Pinheiro, and ABC’s Head of Trilateral South-South Cooperation with International Organizations, Cecília Malaguti, opened the event, reinforcing Brazil and the ILO's commitment to promoting decent work and social justice—essential priorities for addressing pressing challenges in the world of work.

Continue reading.

[mariacallous]

Serbia is seeing a growing trend of poverty that disproportionately affects women, particularly single mothers, retirees and those living in rural areas. This ‘feminisation of poverty’ limits their ability to participate actively in civic life and democratic processes.

“What can you do with 23,000 dinars?” asks Emilija* derisively about the 196 euros a month she receives as a welfare recipient.

Sitting on an improvised couch in front of a house constructed of pallets, boards and tarpaulin, the flag of the Roma people hanging above her head adding some colour and vibrancy to the otherwise gloomy exterior of the place she calls home, Emilija, 25, answers her own question with a shrug: “Almost nothing”.

Emilija and her friend Nada*, 31, live in an informal settlement on the outskirts of Belgrade made up of shacks and containers. Emilija has three children; Nada has five.

“We wait a whole month for the money and end up spending it in one day,” Emilija tells BIRN. “For example, when a child asks for a toy, or when we go out with the children, a child is a child and will say, ‘Mom, I want this’. But he can't have it; that's very hard for me.”

Nada finds it difficult to afford food because it’s now very expensive. “Sure, I can find clothes [in bins], but sometimes you have to buy something,” she says.

And if they do manage to buy something, they rarely get anything for themselves. Menstrual pads, a product that is taxed as a luxury item in Serbia, put a huge strain on their budgets, especially for Nada, who has a teenage daughter.

And it is proving almost impossible for them to find a job, they tell BIRN. “This is not an environment where you can leave your children behind. I would like to work, why not? It’s easier for men to find manual work, but as women we have to make a choice, we have a house and children to look after,” says Nada.

Emilija tried to find a job a few times, but it is difficult for women like her given that they will lose their social welfare if they get a job, and none of the jobs on offer last long enough to enable them to stand on their own two feet.

“I worked in the countryside a few years ago. And I worked in the Gallery [a shopping mall in Belgrade] as a cleaner. They paid 750 dinars for three hours [6.40 euros]. I would get 27,000 dinars a month, but they would not pay the whole amount at once. They give you half and keep the other half for themselves so they do not ‘lose’ you,” says Emilija.

Sarita Bradas, a psychologist and sociologist, tells BIRN that Nada and Emilija epitomise what she terms the “feminisation of poverty”, where the poverty rate among women is higher than among men because of gender inequality in all its various guises.

“To get out of poverty, you have to earn an income. To earn an income, you have to be employed. And of course, whether you are poor or not also depends on the amount of income you earn,” says Bradas.

Uneven playing field: the gender dimension

Emilija and Nada are just two of the 89,024 women who receive social assistance in Serbia, out of a total female population of about 3.4 million. According to data provided to BIRN by the Serbian Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, women make up more than half of all benefit recipients.

A welfare recipient receives a monthly payment of 11,674 dinars, less than 100 euros. Additional benefits are paid for other family members and children, but according to the basis for determining the amount of social assistance, a family of three (mother and two children) would receive about 18,000 dinars (153 euros). That is three times less than the amount needed for the minimum basket of goods in Serbia.

Data from Serbia’s Statistical Office shows that women of all age groups, except for those aged 55 to 64, are at a higher risk of poverty compared to men. And last year’s report from the EU’s Commissioner for Human Rights found that employed women hold lower positions even in the public sector or are less likely to be employed on a fixed-term basis, even when they have higher levels of education. The report also expressed concern about longstanding gender inequality in property rights.

In Serbia, only 25 per cent of women have property registered in their own name. The reason for this is that women are excluded from the order of inheritance in favour of male family members in more than 40 per cent of cases; on the other hand, only 0.5 per cent of men are excluded in favour of a woman. The situation is even worse in rural areas, where more than 80 per cent of women do not hold any property in their own name, while the rest typically have plots of land less than 2 hectares that are not intended for housing.

Sarita Bradas, the psychologist and sociologist, tells BIRN that the gender gap in employment is most pronounced in the group of unqualified and uneducated people. By way of illustration, Emilija has only completed four grades of elementary school, while Nada is currently in the sixth grade of elementary school for adults.

“Among women, 39.4 per cent have no qualifications, compared with 29.1 per cent of men,” she explains.

In terms of education, Bradas says the data shows that uneducated men are more likely to be employed than uneducated women. “63 per cent of men without a degree are employed, compared with only 40 per cent of women. Men are more likely to be employed in jobs that do not require qualifications. They have easier access to the labour market, regardless of their level of education, with these differences decreasing as the level of education increases,” she says.

The gender dimension is also evident in the informal sector. This sector includes the self-employed, undeclared workers, moonlighters and unpaid family workers. “If you look at the structure according to this status, 70 per cent of women are among unpaid family members, while this figure is 25 per cent for men. This means that 75 per cent of men earn an income from informal work, while only 30 per cent of women do,” explains Bradas. “As a result, they have no income and are more at risk of poverty.”

As far as social welfare recipients are concerned, women are rarely able to earn an income because they have to stay home and look after the family. “You should bear in mind that people in developed countries can live on social assistance. But here, a family has less than 20,000 dinars (170 euros). What can you do with 20,000 dinars? Can you buy food, not to mention anything else?” asks Bradas.

For Nada’s five children and Emilija’s three, the chances of escaping this vicious cycle of poverty are slim.

“The probability of attending college is 11 times higher if the parents have a high level of education than if the parents have only completed elementary school. Children from these lowly educated families are poorer, have no money for education, and of course poverty reproduces inequality,” notes Bradas.

“On the other hand, we have the problem that children from marginalised groups and poor families have almost no support for education. In rural areas, children are involved in the work process from a very early age in order to support their families,” she adds.

Man’s work for women

Even where women are employed, the discrimination is all too evident.

Mirjana is 51 years old and works in a factory that manufactures electronic components for the automotive industry. It is a physically demanding job that she describes as “man’s work”, though the factory mainly employs women.

Despite the tough nature of the work, Mirjana tells BIRN the salaries are pitiful. “Those who work on Saturdays and Sundays are paid more. I got 61,000 dinars for the whole month after 13 years, without a single Saturday. But there is also a hot meal, there are also bonuses. The hot meal is 5,000 dinars a month. One bonus is 3,500 dinars; another is 1,500 dinars. If you have Saturday and Sunday, then these bonuses are higher,” she says.

Mirjana puts up with it because she’s a mother, but feels sorry for the younger women who work there. Her daughter also worked there for a while, but left.

The long-term health consequences of working at the factory are serious. “I get injections in my elbows. I was in the hardest part of production, where women work on knots, bend their fingers, break their joints. After eight years, I had no more functioning elbows – my arms were cramped. As we were pulling the cables, I got a hernia. It’s not harmless at all, it’s not easy,” Mirjana says.

She reckons 90 per cent of the older workers are sick or injured. “One colleague suffered a vertebral fracture while pulling the system and now has screws in her neck. She’s still working. We also have colleagues who have had spinal surgery, where cysts and tumours have formed due to the physical exertion, because we all hold our hands up all the time. The women return to the line after operations,” Mirjana complains to BIRN.

There are several factories in Serbia that produce secondary raw materials and components. Most of them have received state subsidies to open their plants here. These companies mainly employ women. In March last year, two female workers died within a short period of time in two of these factories. As the media reported and their families testified, both women had shown symptoms of exhaustion, but were sent back to work even after complaining. No irregularities were found during the inspections.

Lara Koncar, an anthropologist, tells BIRN that the position of women in the labour market is unfavourable compared to men, which keeps them in a state of poverty and subjects them to different types of bullying and abuse in the workplace, including sexual abuse.

“Poverty is not exclusively due to economic relations. It also has to do with relationships between partners, kinship and family, among other things, which is especially important when women are affected by family violence… If you are in a situation where your freedom of movement in the labour market is definitely restricted, you are very likely to stay in that situation because there is no possibility of getting a job elsewhere, and that will keep you in a situation of bullying,” she says.

Koncar says women suffer many types of bullying and abuse in the workplace. There are the hidden forms of bullying, such as the inability to advance in the workplace. “We know what happens to… women who return after maternity leave, that they often return to their own position but that the advancement that was supposed to follow does not happen,” she says.

Nada Padejski, head of the Safe House for Women in Novi Sad, also sees a clear link between violence against women and their financial situation. As she explains to BIRN, this can be viewed from three angles.

“Firstly, economic dependence influences whether you leave the perpetrator or not. Secondly, whether women with a lower economic status in particular are housed in safe accommodation. And thirdly, how violence in general affects the housing and economic situation of victims of domestic violence,” she says.

Padejski says it is not uncommon for women to be unemployed precisely because of the influence of the violent offender. “In the sense that he says: ‘You do not need to work, there are two small children here, why should they go to kindergarten, it’s better to stay at home, I will give you money’. So, she stays at home with the child, they are both housed and looked after. But when violence escalates, it always turns out that the woman is unemployed and doesn’t have the right to say anything,” she says.

Padejski also cites cases where women have had to take out loans to pay off their husbands’ debts or to help them start a business, only to be left with nothing.

Padejski emphasises that domestic violence leads directly to homelessness among women. Without permanent housing offered in Serbia as a social protection service, a woman who has decided to leave a violent relationship often has nowhere to go.

“Most of these women have two or three jobs and have not made the property claim they applied for because the process has either taken too long or has not yet been completed, or they have not even started it,” she says.

Property law proceedings are also lengthy, complicated and disadvantage women. “The courts do not take into account the fact that there has been domestic violence when deciding on property law proceedings. No woman ever receives everything she has invested. The abuser usually does not pay maintenance. If she files a lawsuit, it takes too long, or it’s not paid properly, or her lawsuit is dismissed,” she explains.

Looking at the example of Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, the data shows that women rarely initiate property division proceedings – and even when they do, the courts are unlikely to rule in their favour. From 2019 to 2022, there were 2,551 divorces in Novi Sad, yet during the same period, women initiated only 17 property division proceedings, with judges ruling in favour of women in only six cases. By contrast, during the same four-year period, as many as 367 proceedings were initiated due to non-payment of child support.

Feelings of powerlessness

“Powerlessness,” Padejski concludes, “contributes to the reproduction of powerlessness.”

Mirjana, the factory worker, wonders how she can convince her children that Serbia is a good place to live, when no one, not even the mayor or state officials, speak out when workers, especially women, are clearly being exploited.

At the same time, there is a public pressure on those who are being exploited to participate in the democratic processes of the state, by staying informed and voting for change.

Bradas, the psychologist and sociologist, says that demanding the poor and marginalised bring about political change is deeply unfair. “What I resent about the so-called elites is that they blame the poor for selling their votes and warn that it is a crime. Poverty is a violation of human rights – that is the basic thing,” she says. “If you are focused on surviving and looking for any way to do that, you do hard jobs, you work in harsh conditions, for low wages to survive, and you cannot think that your vote is important. Your life is not important in this society, so who cares about that vote?”

In his first speech as prime minister earlier this year, Milos Vucevic of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) devoted a large part of his speech to women – but not as equal members of society, rather as “sanctities for every patriot”.

“A woman must always be shown due respect, because she is a symbol of renewal, birth and victory. A woman brings new life into the world, and that makes her a being who is actually most like God,” Vucevic said.

Although he vowed that “women in Serbia will have the same rights and the same starting positions as men”, he emphasised the government is not interested in trying to creating a society of “equal incomes”.

“This is not and will not be a government that will promote the ideas of self-managed socialism,” Vucevic stressed.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has also spoken several times about the importance of women for the state and for SNS, estimating – without providing evidence – that more than two-thirds of the women who voted in the last elections supported SNS.

How much support women have received in return is open to debate. Between 2021 and 2023, for example, Serbia fell from 19th to 38th place on the Global Gender Gap Index.

When it comes to asking for their support, however, women interviewed by BIRN say the authorities don’t hesitate. Emilija and Nada say that “people from the ‘city’” come to their settlement before every election to warn them that if they don’t vote, they will be fined.

Asked if they receive any gifts or offers of assistance when asked to vote, they both reply: “Not this year.”

“But we did get them in the past, honestly, they even gave us as much as 3,500 dinars,” Emilija tells BIRN. “They give us a pen, we sign with that pen, return it, and then if you return the pen, you get the money.”

Nada says they both voted this year too, voluntarily, even though they didn’t receive anything in return. “We voted. Who else are we going to vote for and how? Vucic will win for sure. We have our own problems on our doorstep, we don’t have to worry about him too. Authority is authority.”

*Names have been changed

[sankhlaco]

Industrial relations labour law

The term "industrial relations" describes the interactions that occur between employers, employees, and the government or trade unions, as well as the relationship that exists between employers and employees inside an organizational setting. It includes all facets of the working relationship, such as discussions, collective bargaining, resolving conflicts, and the general atmosphere of harmony or discord in the office.

Government Control: Through laws, rules, and regulatory bodies, governments have the power to control labor relations. Labor departments or ministries supervise compliance and enforce rules, and labor laws set minimum requirements for working conditions, worker rights, and collective bargaining procedures.

Employer-Employee Relations: Industrial relations refers to the daily exchanges that take place between employers and workers, encompassing activities like dialogue, handling conflicts, managing performance, and promoting employee involvement. Good interactions between employers and employees are a prerequisite for a productive and peaceful work environment.

Social Dialogue: Economic policies, social justice, labor market issues, and the place of work in society are all topics covered in industrial relations talks and debates. Government, business, and labor representatives come together through social conversation to discuss common issues and build social cohesion. Maintaining a balance of labor relations requires effective industrial relations.

Important elements of labor relations consist of: Collective bargaining is the process of negotiating terms and circumstances of employment, such as pay, benefits, working hours, and workplace policies, between employers and labor unions or employee representatives. For employees who are members of a union, collective bargaining agreements are legally binding contracts that set forth the terms of employment. Labor Unions: Labor unions bargain on behalf of its members' collective interests with employers to get better pay, benefits, and working conditions. fits and operational circumstances. Additionally, they could take part in organizing, lobbying, and advocacy campaigns to uphold the rights of employees and further their interests.

Employee Representation: Employees in non-unionized companies may have appointed or elected representatives speak on their behalf while speaking with management. These delegates may speak on matters pertaining to employee welfare, workplace regulations, and grievances.

Conflict Resolution: Among various stakeholders or between employers and employees, industrial relations encompasses procedures for settling disagreements and conflicts. This could involve filing a lawsuit through labor courts or tribunals, mediation, arbitration, or grievance procedures.

Workplace Consultation and Participation: A number of companies implement procedures that ask workers for their opinions on issues impacting their jobs and include them in decision-making processes. This may promote a feeling of trust, collaboration, and ownership.

To know about labour laws click here

[southeastasianists]

In 2023, a significant demographic milestone emerged with broad social and economic impacts: the global population of adults aged 50 surpassed the number of children under 15 for the first time. Brunei Darussalam, a small, oil-rich Islamic country on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, faces challenges associated with this shift. Ranked as one of the world’s wealthiest nations due to its vast oil and gas reserves, Brunei’s population of 455,858 sees a contrast with a poverty rate of 5%, positioning it 11th out of 78 countries.

Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), highlighted the profound economic impact of the aging global population, noting the substantial expenditures on health care, research and support services. Furthermore, Hajah pointed out the rapid growth of the aging population and its broad implications. During Brunei’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2021, Johari emphasized Brunei’s leadership in endorsing the ASEAN Comprehensive Framework on Care Economy.

Additionally, in 2017, an action plan spanning five years was adopted to enhance elderly development, welfare and protection, aiming to create a senior-friendly support system and reduce elderly poverty in Brunei. Unfortunately, an aging demographic compounded by an ominous surge in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes challenges Brunei’s socio-economic development.

Addressing Poverty and Social Protection in Brunei

Bruneians who live in poverty prefer to use the phrasings “living in need” and “difficult life” over “poverty” and “poor.” This exchange of phrasings intends to protect an individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem. Yet this preference challenges officials’ attempts to accurately assess the severity of poverty and implement targeted interventions.

However, Brunei’s social protection schemes encounter challenges. These challenges include limited coverage, differential treatment between public and private sectors, exclusion of unemployed individuals and inadequate support for vulnerable groups such as divorcees, widows/widowers, single parents, orphans, the abused and disabled people.

The Dual Impact of an Ageing Society

Across developing countries, evidence showcases the productivity, creativity, vitality and participation of older adults in workplaces, communities, households and families. According to ageInternational, some of the pros of an aging society include:

Consumer Market: Older adults can create new opportunities in the consumer market with higher disposable incomes and specific needs that can drive economic growth.

Accumulated Knowledge: An aging population can possess a wealth of knowledge and experience, beneficial for education and mentorship.

Stable Workforce: Older individuals provide greater stability in employment as they switch jobs less frequently.

In addition, the aging population significantly impacts the labor market. The dependency ratio, which compares the number of economically inactive individuals to those who are economically active, is set to increase. According to the International Labour Organization, some of the cons of an aging society include:

Labor Shortages: Addressing the need to create jobs for young individuals and encourage lifelong learning for older individuals to acquire new skills.

Pension and Retirement Challenges: Ensuring adequate pensions and financial support for retirees.

Limited Social Support Systems: Establishing social support systems, including affordable housing and accessible transportation, to enhance the quality of life.

Health care Costs: Investing in health care infrastructure to meet the growing needs of an aging population and prioritizing preventive health care measures.

Brunei at a Demographic Crossroads

As Brunei Darussalam navigates through its complex demographic and health landscape, proactive and holistic measures become imperative for securing the future prosperity of its people. Moreover, by addressing the multifaceted challenges head-on, Brunei is poised to set a precedent for demographic resilience and health sustainability.

Above all, the nation’s commitment to comprehensive solutions promises not only to enhance the well-being of its aging population and reduce elderly poverty in Brunei but also to pave the way for long-term national growth. At this pivotal juncture, Brunei’s journey offers valuable insights into the power of foresight and action in shaping a thriving society.

– Pamela Fenton

[sourcreammachine]

LIBERAL MANIFESTO 2024 SUMMARY

tldr: tinkering reforms to existing structures and services without bothering to fix the overall problems or their causes. literally less ambitions than their previous manifestos. their whole campaign is mostly just getting u to like ed davey by making him look silly

their five basic points:

small business aid

public service investment

deal with the shitwater

as much bilateral eurointegration as possible

democratic reform

💷ECONOMY

reverse tax cuts on the banks and raise business tax to the international standard, raise the tax on digital businesses

balanced budget pledge, but when possible, cut income tax for the poor via raising the personal allowance

expand the british business bank and reestablish the ‘industrial strategy council’ quango (a policy shared by labour)

abolish the two-child benefits cap, bedroom tax and WASPI discrepancy

consumer-side investment for green energy and climate projects, ten-year plan to insulate and heatpump low-income houses, minimum price guarantee for selling home solar to the grid

windfall tax on oil and gas

increase parliamentary oversight of the department of trade

establish a workers’ protection enforcement authority

“independent review” into a living wage — less of a pledge than seen in labour’s policy programme

keep zerohour contracts, right to request a contact after twelve months (not a full right to a contract), employment strategy ‘fit for the age of the gig economy’ (ie embracing it)

expand the soft drinks levy to sugary juice and milkshakes

🏥PUBLIC SERVICES

8000 more GPs

reform dental contracts to prevent practises going private

remove the medical requirement for gender recognition and recognise nonbinary identities

free school meals — only for families in poverty

free personal care for everyone under a national care agency regulator, increased and expanded carers' allowance with paid respite leave

five more hours of free childcare — only for disadvantaged families

'guarantee' gp access within 24 hours, nhs dental access for urgent care, and access to talking therapy — though not fully enumerating this target

toothbrushing lessons in schools

eliminate the prescription charge for mental health prescriptions and 'review the entire schedule of exemptions' for the charge — not abolishing this indefensible illness tax

refom the mental health act to expand rights, self-determination and patient choice

free sign language lessons for parents of deaf children

free ‘acces to’ period products 'for anyone who needs it' [clarification needed]

various provisions for a focus on cancer care

rejoin erasmus+

freevote on the right to die

🏠HOUSING

local authorities can end right to buy in their area

abolish leaseholding — but cap ground rents not abolishing long leases

ten new "garden cities", the failed nothing plan that helped nothing

abolish the land compensation act, letting local governments buy land at current value rather than speculated potential value

use-it-or-lose-it planning permission laws for 'developers who refuse to build'

local authorities can hike council tax by 500% on second homes and surcharge stamp duty (homebuying tax) on overseas buyers

community asset laws to "protect pubs... and other vital infrastructure" [actual quote]

🚄TRANSPORT

reinstate 2030 ban on new petrol cars, build more chargers (including on-street points)

create a railway agency to manage rail systems rather than nationalising the international humiliation that is the private franchise system

build northern powerhouse rail, review the cancellation of HS2-north, ten-year plan for electrifications, open HS1 to new operators to increase international rail

strategy to expand freightrail as much as possible with keen targets to move freight from road to rail

transport ministry scheme to build local authority lightrail, trams and tramtrains

subject private and business-class flights to VAT and supertax private jets, ban domestic flights under 150 minutes (weird, because that's basically all of them, aberdeen to london included)

👮FORCE

expand the national crime agency and its remit

surge funding for armed forces

don't establish the Rwanda concentration scheme

firewall between all public agencies and the home office to prevent the HO gobbling up personal data

'end the hostile environment' [clarification needed]

end loopholes that allow kleptocratic money laundering, seize frozen russian assets and give the money to ukraine

animal welfare bill, ban foie gras and "crack down on puppy and kitten smuggling"

continue to be the american empire's prettiest bitch

🌱CLIMATE

land use framework to restore biodiversity and prevent environmental waste, 'wild belt' to protect environments

sewage tax on water companies, prevent dumping in protected waters... by 2030

legal requirement for landlords to increase energy efficiency of their lorded properties

fully reinstate ban on fracking, ban new coal mines, eliminate fossil fuel subsidies

deposit return scheme for bottles and food containers

seed more seagrass meadows

🗳️DEMOCRACY

SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE for parliament and for all councils

abolish the lords

make parliament elect the prime minister rather than buckingham palace, repeal the reinstatement of the prime minister's indefensible dictatorial ability to dissolve parliament at will

votes at 16 and abolish voter ID

constitutional convention to draft a new Federal Constitution

let european citizens vote, just like citizens of the so-called commonwealth can

cap donations to parties

make the ministerial code a legalised thing that can be enforced with actual consequences, mandate all ministers' instant messages about government business be archived

abolish police commissioners and end new combined authorities, give such powers directly to existing authorities

regulate tv debates under ofcom

an overseas constituency for overseas voters

🎲OTHER STUFF

recognise Palestine and demand immediate ceasefire, proscribe the IRG

disengage many partnerships with china

ban single use vapes

junk food telly adverts banned pre-watershed

make carer status and care leaver status protected characteristics under the equality act

post offices become community government and banking hubs, if u can still trust them

raise subtitle mandate to 80% of telly

levy gambling companies to 'fund research', rather than actually do anything about the international humiliation that is this country's ultra-lax gambling laws and gambling addiction epidemic

rewrite wedding laws, though not necessarily marriage laws

[beardedmrbean]

no

1. 'Pushed out': Will city improvements make Brussels unaffordable?

The Brussels Government is on a mission to make the region more liveable, however the rising cost of housing raises the question of who will be able to afford to live there. Read more.

2. Audi Brussels workers in Forest on strike on Monday

Several hundred workers at the Audi Brussels plant in Forest did not return to work this Monday morning at 06:00, announced Grégory Dascotte, FGTB permanent representative. Read more.

3. Georges-Louis Bouchez set to serve another year as MR leader

Georges-Louis Bouchez is set to have his tenure as president of the French-speaking liberal party Mouvement Réformateur (MR) extended by a year. Read more.

4. 'A monstrous pervert': Senior Brussels police official accused of sexual harassment

A senior Brussels police official has been placed under formal investigation after he was accused of abusing his position to obtain sexual favours from "dozens" of female colleagues. Read more.

5. Brussels ranks in top 50 cities in the world

For the second year in a row, Brussels has ranked among the world’s top 50 cities in a ranking created by tourism and real estate communications company Resonance Consulting. Read more.

6. Very few Belgians opt for four-day work week despite 2022 Labour Deal

The November 2022 Labour Deal gave employees the opportunity to work four days a week instead of the traditional five to allow for a greater work-life balance. But both Belgian employees and employers have been slow to adopt the new work pattern. Read more.

7. Belgian Army suffering from high training dropout rate

Last year, an average of four recruits left the Belgian Army each day, Het Nieuwsblad reports. Military union ACMP attributes this trend to the Ministry of Defence's own shortcomings. Read more.

[tellywoodtrash]

im so sorry if this offensive, but I'm supposed to move to UAE for work soon, and i just wanted to know: is it true that the country has really regressive laws for women? and that they aren't given any freedom? again, I'm sorry if this is ignorant but I've seen some people say this and I'm confused 😭

No, it's not true. At all. I've lived there, I can honestly say it's the safest and most independent I've been in my life. If you follow the rules of the country and don't go about being obnoxious (like obviously it's an Islamic country, so you wouldn't walk around in super skimpy clothing, or be making out in public and shit..... like don't act like clueless White People, basically), it's a really good place for women to live. You can wear what you want, and do what you want, whenever you want, and no one really gives a fuck. Of course there are the occasional bad incidents (which I've gone through as well), but that's more a reflection of an individual who did something wrong due to their deviant mindset, rather than the place itself and its culture.

But do be smart about certain things, like don't let your employer ever hold your passport (it's illegal for them to do so anyway, but some companies do force their employees), or put you under any kinda shady employment bond. Make sure your employment contract is above and beyond, and make sure its in accordance with all the Ministry of Labour rules and regulations. Know your rights, and go live a wonderful life there!!!!!!!! Good luck!

[jentlemahae]

how do i get sm investigated by the ministry of employment and labour

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil hands over the G20 Employment Working Group to South Africa during ILO-hosted event

ILO Director-General oversaw the session during which the current Brazilian chairpersonship is passed to South Africa for the next year.

The Group of Twenty (G20) Employment Working Group chairpersonship passed from Brazil to South Africa at a meeting during the 352nd sitting of the Governing Body. The G20 EWG also set its priorities for 2025 and reflected on its achievements this year during the meeting, which brought together representatives from Labour Ministries, international organizations, and social partners.

Under Brazil’s leadership, significant milestones were achieved, including the adoption of a Labour and Employment Ministerial Declaration which emphasizes decent work, equitable growth, and just transitions across G20 economies. The Declaration also strengthened partnerships, such as the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) and the introduction of the G20 Social Policy Portal.

As the incoming chair, South Africa shared its vision for 2025, prioritizing inclusive growth and youth employment, gender equality in the workforce, addressing inequality and a declining labour income share and implications for living standards and digitalization and an inclusive future of work. 

“The commitment to creating formal jobs and promoting decent work stands as the most effective tool for achieving more equitable income distribution. We remain committed to supporting the Employment Working Group’s crucial mission to shape a fairer, more inclusive future for all workers.” ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo explained. 

Continue reading.

[mariacallous]

The parliamentary group of the Greek leftist SYRIZA party has filed proposals in parliament condemning the decision of the centre-right New Democracy ND government to institute a six-day or 48-hour working week in some industries.

“Within five years of ND government, labour in Greece has been degraded, the standard of living of workers has deteriorated, controls on health and safety conditions at work have weakened, while most of the rights that protected the world of work have been abolished,” SYRIZA said.

From July 1, a six-day or 48-hour week has been put into effect in certain private businesses that are in continuous operation or already operate on a 24-hour basis, with a five or six-day week and a system of alternating shifts.

The extra day has a limit of eight hours, overtime is prohibited, and those doing the extra shift can expect 40 per cent more money. If it falls on a Sunday, they can expect an increase of up to 115 per cent.

The government claims the change will redress the issue of employees not being paid for overtime while also tackling the problem of undeclared work.

“The regulation solves the problem of the fourth shift in businesses, as employers and employees were 99 per cent of the time in the illegal zone, with undeclared work,” the General Secretary of Labour Relations, Anna Stratinaki, told the private radio station Real FM.

According to the EU statistics body Eurostat, in 2023, 7.1 per cent of employed people in the EU worked 49 hours or more per week and across EU countries, Greece had the highest share of workers working long hours (11.6 per cent).

Greece was followed by Cyprus (10.4 per cent) and France (10.1 per cent). The lowest rates were recorded in Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Besides this change, from July 1, thousands of retail and industrial companies must start using digital labour cards for their employees.

Until now, the measure has been implemented at banks and supermarkets with more than 250 employees, in insurance and private security companies, and in some public utility companies. By the end of 2024, tourism and catering businesses will also join.

Stratinaki said the use of the digital labour card will also address the problem of illegal overwork. “These phenomena are serious, as they do not only concern the pocket of the employee but also healthy competition and the insurance contributions collected by EFKA [the Social Security Fund],” she said.

Workers’ unions on July 3 and 4 plan protests in Athens and Thessaloniki against the government’s new measures, stating that their sole purpose is to increase the profits of business groups.

The Federation of Workers in Milk – Food – Beverages called for public mobilization at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, demanding withdrawal of the law, and “not to implement six-day and seven-day work in the Food and Beverage Industry. We call on all workers and unions to a labour uprising, so that this new disgrace remains on paper.”

[no-passaran]

Even the Israeli institutions accepts that there are slaves in Israel, and the Israeli government partakes in this slavery.

Israel has had so many foreign workers brought in and forced into slavery, that the Israeli High Court of Justice even had to officially recognise that.

It's impossible to deny because there are so many. Israeli media has been saying that there are slaves in Israel for years:

Etc

Migrant workers who come from Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Palestine being promised a decent enough job who are then forced into slavery mostly working in agriculture, sex slavery, construction, or house care/maidens.

For context for this specific case in the OP, Israel has had many foreign workers (mostly Asians) working in its farms for years, and not particularly caring about them. And the arrival of foreign workers from other countries is likely to rise:

The Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said 30,000 to 40,000 workers have left the country’s farms since the October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel. Half of them are Palestinians, whom Israel has barred from entering from the occupied West Bank. Consequently, it has been on the hunt for up to 5,000 workers from elsewhere, including from its loyal ally Malawi.

AlJazeera, 1st December 2023

Human rights organizations in Malawi have criticized the Malawi-Israel deal for being secretive (the governments refuse to reveal the details) and not being able to guarantee the safety of Malawian workers.

"The labour export to Israel meets with the current war, raising concerns about the security and welfare of our people, since it is happening at a time when Malawians are still agonising over the government’s failure to rescue scores of our young women stuck in slavery in Oman following a similar attempt on labour export," said Sylvester Namiwa, a senior official at CDEDI, referring to reports that Malawi was struggling to repatriate 60 citizens who had been victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in Oman.

The New Arab, 1st December 2023

Unsurprisingly, Malawian workers are not being paid correctly in Israel, even being paid half of what was written in the contracts they signed:

"The payment is lower, contrary to what we had signed," Benzani tells the BBC.

"The minimum wage in Israel is 32 shekels ($8.60; £6.85) an hour, but some of us are being paid 18 to 20 shekels an hour."

Benzani said many of them had signed contracts which said they would receive $1,500 a month.

We put the allegations to Israel's embassy in Malawi but they have yet to respond.

Benzani tells the BBC he has rarely seen a payslip with the details of his salary since beginning work almost five months ago. (...)

Another farm worker, Alex Machili, said he was also receiving below the minimum wage. "That's why people are looking for other jobs outside their visa requirements."

Benzani and Alex say that have both addressed payment issues with their recruitment agencies, but are yet to receive answers.

"The contract is just a useless [piece of] paper here," says Alex.

BBC, 3rd May 2024

Why were these Malawian workers jailed for seeking another job when their bosses refused to pay them their salary? Because Israel's deals with foreign countries, like Malawi's, binds the workers to one specific employer. If they seek employment from a different employer or stop working for this one, they breach the visa agreement. Something which, by the way, was officially declared modern-day slavery by Israel's High Court of Justice itself in 2006 and again in 2018. But, still, the Israeli government continues making these deals, with full knowledge of what it means for these workers.

Sounds like israel got slavery

[beardedmrbean]

The prospects for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) next year look almost as gloomy as at the end of 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Uutissuomalainen news group report (siirryt toiseen palveluun) in Jyväskylä's Keskisuomalainen.

The article reviews a fresh survey by the Finnish Confederation of Industries (EK) showing that 41 percent of SMEs are preparing for layoffs next year. Ten percent said that they may have to close down in 2023.

"The outlook is bleak in many respects. The biggest challenges are related to the rise in the prices of raw materials and energy due to Russia's war of aggression. At the same time, there is a shortage of skilled labour," said EK Chief Policy Advisor Jari Huovinen.

Other major challenges are a decline in domestic sales and weakening liquidity.

According to Huovinen, the outlook is particularly bleak for the smallest employers.

"They have gone from crisis to crisis. Many have pretty much used up their financial buffers," noted Huovinen.

According to the report, only 23 percent of small and medium-sized companies believe that demand will increase during the coming year. Just over one third anticipate a decline in demand.

The outlook is pessimistic all around the country – gloomiest in northern regions and somewhat more optimistic in Uusimaa and Pirkanmaa.

A company with at least two, but fewer than 250 employees is considered an SME. There are approximately 84,500 such firms in Finland.

Nato and nukes

Helsingin Sanomat reports (siirryt toiseen palveluun) on an interview Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) gave to the Japanese news agency Kyodo News in which he said that Russia's nuclear weapons programme was one of the key factors influencing Finland's application for Nato membership.

HS notes that the interview, published on Sunday morning, was quickly picked up by the Russian state-owned news agency Tass which misreported Haavisto as saying that "Russia's alleged nuclear threats were the main reason for Finland's desire to join Nato."

According to Helsingin Sanomat, Haavisto spoke more broadly about Finland's Nato decision and mentioned Russia's nuclear weapons as one of several reasons behind the application.

The paper points out that this was nothing new.

For example, the Finnish government's report on changes in the security environment, published last spring, stated that Russia has "repeatedly expressed its readiness to use nuclear weapons". That report was one of the key documents considered when Finland's foreign policy leadership decided to apply for Nato membership last May.

Not gas dependent

The farmers' union paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus (siirryt toiseen palveluun) looks at some of the historic reasons that Finland is buffered from the impact of natural gas shortages which now threaten much of central Europe.

In Finland, district and electric heating are overwhelmingly the most common forms of heating services.

Riku Huttunen, who heads the Energy Department at Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, pointed out to the paper that one key reason for this is that unlike central Europe, Finland does not have natural gas deposits.

According to Huttunen, when district heating networks started to be built in the 1950s, natural gas was not even an option. The Soviet Union started exporting gas in the mid-1970s, and by that time, district heating networks in Finland had already been practically completed.

Finland's wood processing industry started co-production of electricity and heat before the Second World War. Later, the lessons learned from the wood processing sector were adopted by cities, which started building plants that produce both electricity and heat.

Wood, oil and nuclear power are the main sources of heating and electricity production in Finland.

Even more snow

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is forecasting over 10 centimetres of fresh snowfall around most of the country over the next few days, and 20cm to 30cm in some areas, according to Helsingin Sanomat (siirryt toiseen palveluun).

FMI has issued warnings of hazardous driving conditions in the north on Monday, and the same in southern, central and eastern parts of the country on Tuesday.

Temperatures over the next few weeks will remain a few degrees below the average.

In the dark

It's the time of year that we here in Finland spend much of our time in the dark.

In an item that might bring readers some comfort, Hufvudstadsbladet reports (siirryt toiseen palveluun) that Tuesday, at least for a brief time, almost all of humanity will be in the dark.

On 6 December, at 9:56 PM local time, the most populated areas in the world will simultaneously be on the night side of the earth - nearly 9 out of 10 people worldwide will experience darkness at the same time.

Although the sun will be up in the Americas, New Zealand and most of Australia, the earth is much more densely populated around Asia, Africa and Europe, meaning that a full 86 percent of humanity will have the sun at least 18 degrees below the horizon, and so some darkness, all at the same time on Tuesday.