Labour Laws

Labour ministry plans scheme to extend benefits to gig and platform workers

The Ministry of Labour & Employment is working on a scheme to provide various benefits like social security to gig and platform workers in the country, a senior official said on Wednesday. Addressing the CII Global Economic Policy Forum, Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra said the labour code on social security has outlined social security benefits for them. "We are putting together the scheme for the gig and platform economy workers because there is no traditional employer-employee relationship defined for the gig and platform workers but we need to bring social security coverage for them so that they can be more productive and support the country's economy and the e-commerce and services sector more effectively," she said. In October, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that a policy for providing social security benefits like pension and health services to gig and platform workers is under process. He had also said that Niti Aayog has estimated 65 lakh gig and ...

NSO may release monthly jobs data for rural, urban areas from March-end

Currently, the NSO releases the PLFS data for urban areas on a quarterly and yearly basis, while for rural areas it is released only annually

Canada tightens its foreign worker regulation to favour domestic workers

The newly implemented regulations aim to incentivise companies to hire Canadians before resorting to foreign talent

Labour Party members deal blow to Starmer day after his appeal for unity

Members of Britain's governing Labour Party dealt Prime Minister Keir Starmer a blow on Wednesday, rejecting his decision to cut payments that offset winter heating costs for millions of retirees. The vote on the final day of Labour's annual conference is not binding, but it's a setback to Starmer's efforts to unite his centre-left party around the contentious measure. Since winning office in July, Starmer has cautioned that the dire state of the public finances inherited from the last Conservative government means he must make hard choices such as ending the winter fuel allowance, worth between 200 and 300 pounds (USD 262 and USD 393), for all but the poorest pensioners. Trade unions that are among Labour's funders and allies organised resistance to the cut at the conference in Liverpool, northwest England. They forced a vote on a demand for the decision to be reversed. It was narrowly passed in a show-of-hands vote amid cheers and jeers in the conference hall. I do not understand

Wages of Assam tea workers meagre, welfare scheme implementation poor: CAG

Wages of tea garden workers in Assam are meagre, with several shortcomings and areas of concern in implementation of labour laws and worker welfare provisions, a recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has said. It also found the state government's intervention in fixing wages as per the Minimum Wage Act (MW Act) insufficient, noting that efforts to improve the lives of the workers have fallen short of making any substantial change. The performance audit on Implementation of Schemes for Welfare of Tea Tribe' for the period 2015-16 to 2020-21 maintained that low income and lack of education have been major barriers to the overall development of the workers in the state. The audit was performed in four zones Cachar, Dibrugarh, Nagaon and Sonitpur. There are 390 tea estates in the four sampled zones, of which 40 estates (10 per cent) were selected based on the size of the plantations and number of workers employed. Apart from scrutiny of records, the exercise included ...

Labour ministry launches centralised portal for construction workers

Preparedness of states/UTs with respect to harmonisation and finalisation of draft rules under the four new labour codes also reviewed

UAW accuses Trump, Musk of intimidating workers in labour complaints

UAW seized upon Trump's remarks as the union rallies behind Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris and encourages its nearly 400,000 workers to vote for her over Trump

Govt looks to launch new index ranking states by their labour standards

The index is aimed to promote 'healthy competition' between states to improve labour welfare, productivity, social security coverage, and more

Taking the heat off: A thought for workers toiling at sweltering sites

Peak summer is also peak production time, but the mandated SOPs and heat action plans offer little respite

Centre, states need to come together on big reforms in labour, land: CII

The Centre and states need to come together to pursue big-ticket reforms in labour and land sectors to accelerate growth, CII President R Dinesh said on Thursday. A survey by CII, he further said, expects the Reserve Bank of India to cut benchmark interest growth in the second quarter (July-September). The RBI has been holding the repo rate at 6.5 per cent since February 2023. In an interview with PTI, the CII President shared the industry body's perspective on reforms needed to realise India's growth potential to the fullest. "From CII's side when we look at accelerating the rate of growth or making sure we are able to seize the opportunities we are being presented today, broadly we are speaking about 3-4 areas, first you look at big-ticket reforms that are land, labour and to a certain extent agriculture," Dinesh said. He highlighted the importance of building a consensus across all states. Towards this, he said, CII has suggested, a structure which can make the Centre and the .

LIVE: 'Govt, transporters agreed workers will resume work immediately'

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TCS get notice from Maharashtra labour dept for employee transfer practices

Group representing Indian IT workers alleges company harassing employees who oppose 'forced transfers'

Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus convicted, to face jail in Bangladesh

Yunus was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit and lifting millions out of poverty

Volkswagen-sanctioned audit finds no signs of forced labour at China plant

An audit commissioned by Volkswagen has found no indication of forced labour at its plant in China's Xinjiang region, where Western governments have accused the Chinese government of human rights violations against the Uyghur ethnic minority. The German automaker has come under fire for operating in Xinjiang, a remote western region that borders Central Asia. The US government has blocked imports from Xinjiang unless it can be proven that the products were not made with forced labour. The auditor, Loening Human Rights and Responsible Business, conducted 40 interviews and was able to inspect the factory freely, said Markus Loening, a former German human rights commissioner who founded the consultancy. We could not find any indications or evidence of forced labour among the employees, he said in remarks provided by Volkswagen from a media briefing in Germany on Tuesday. China launched a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang around 2017 in response to a series of bombings, knifings and other .

70-hr work raises compliance issues, violates labour laws: TeamLease VP

A 70-hour work week could raise compliance issues as it violates labour laws, a senior official of staffing company TeamLease said on Friday. "If somebody is spending 70 hours (in office), they are going beyond 9 hours. There is a fundamental disconnect, when you are an employee labour law allows you to work 9 hours," Vice President and Business Head for TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship Dhriti Prasanna Mahanta said. Former Infosys CEO N R Narayana Murthy had recently advocated for a 70-hour work week, drawing reactions from across the spectrum. The cost of employment, if a 70-hour work week is made possible, will also increase, and in a lot of places you are not allowed to pay overtime, he said. He pointed that this works for entrepreneurs and self-motivated individuals but cannot be accepted due to labour law compliance norms in place. Speaking to PTI on hiring trends, Mahanta said around 65 per cent of the demand is coming from non-tech sectors for job roles in AI, machine learni

Female labour force participation rate reaches 37% in 2023: Research

This growth reflects a positive shift in the country's labour force dynamics, with more women participating actively in the workforce

Andaman admin to complete granting financial benefits to daily labourers

The Andaman and Nicobar administration is expediting the process of granting financial benefits to 4,000 left-out daily rated mazdoors (DRMs) by November 30 as per directions of the Supreme Court, a senior official said. After being snubbed by Calcutta High Court for non-compliance of its order in releasing benefits to the DRMs, Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Admiral D K Joshi (Retd.), in an order on August 11, granted financial benefits of 1/30th pay plus Dearness Allowances (DA) to nearly 4,000 DRMs from 2017. The senior administrative official told PTI, "We are taking care of the DRM issue as we have to complete the task by November 30 this year. We are working on expediting the process of granting financial benefits to nearly 4,000 left-out DRMs." Andaman Sarvajanik Nirman Vibhag Mazdoor Sangh, an association of DRMs, moved the Calcutta High Court, accusing the island administration of not granting them financial benefits despite a 2017 high court order. On August

German law on forced labour to have little impact on India's trade: GTRI

The German law to prohibit forced labour and protect human rights in global business supply chains will have little impact on India's trade with the European country as India already has comprehensive rules to deal with these issues, according to a report by think-tank GTRI. Germany has banned forced labour and other labour law violations in its supply chains extending within and outside Germany. The law called the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (SCDDA), came into effect on January 1 this year. It applies to firms with more than 3,000 employees. These include German firms and foreign firms doing business with Germany. This means that it covers a significant number of companies in Germany, and it will likely have a considerable impact on how these companies do business. Smaller firms will be covered under the law from January 2024. The SCDDA may have little impact as India already has comprehensive labour laws prohibiting child labour, forced labour, and workplace discrimination,

Bihar Guv Arlekar inaugurates G20 labour engagement group meet in Patna

Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar inaugurated a labour engagement group meeting of G20 here on Thursday. Altogether 173 delegates from 28 countries are participating in the conference. Apart from the G20 countries, India, as part of its presidency, has invited Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates to join the meeting. Welcoming the delegates, the governor said, I am proud to see you in Bihar. The dignitaries present here represent around 75 per cent of the total population, which is a moment of pride for Bihar. He also highlighted the historical significance of the eastern state. The history of Bihar goes back thousands of years. It is a land of knowledgewhere students from different nationalities used to seek knowledge at Nalanda University. Vaishali too is considered as the mother of democracy," he said. Addressing the gathering, Labour-20 (L-20) chairman Hiranmay Pandya said, I want to assure you that L20 will not

Modern Times redux

When trust is broken and management is dehumanised, there are no winners in the end