-International Labour Organisation News The COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic effect on working hours and earnings, globally. A new ILO report highlights some of the worst affected sectors and regions, and outlines policies to mitigate the crisis. GENEVA: The COVID-19 crisis  is expected to wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020 – equivalent to 195 million full-time workers. Large reductions are foreseen in the...

-Scroll.in Vegetable farmers are already reeling under losses and wheat farmers are worried about labour shortages. The wheat crop on Sukbhir Singh’s four acres of land 20 km from Ludhiana in Punjab will be ready for harvest next week. Plentiful rain and an unusually cold winter, said the farmer, is set to increase the yields. But he is worried about the lockdown: would he be able to harvest and transport the grain under...

-Livemint.com * There will be a tsunami of job losses for employees who don’t have a regular salary, people without a written contract * A labour market crunch right now can easily turn into a nightmare. Besides the possibility of social unrest, expect more demands for more reservations in government On a Monday afternoon, a day before India announced a 21-day lockdown to flatten the curve of covid-19 infections, Sunil Gupta, chairman and...

-The Telegraph The large-scale unemployment the pandemic was set to cause would cost workers between $860 billion and $3.4 trillion in income losses Several workers’ organisations have demanded a special package to tide workers over the income slump entailed by coronavirus-induced social distancing and economic slowdown, at a time the International Labour Organisation has predicted a loss of 25 million jobs globally. An initial assessment by the ILO said the impact could be...

-Business Today RCEP trade deal: The group said that the Indian govt should not agree to the RCEP even in future as it will be a 'bad deal for democracy, for farmers, workers, will subvert our sovereign laws and compromise India's industrialisation potential'. Forum for Trade Justice, a pan-civil society network has welcomed the failure of the 16 negotiating countries to reach a consensus over the conclusion of the world's largest free...