-The Hindu Public works could provide valuable support to the urban poor, especially if women get most of the jobs The COVID-19 crisis has drawn attention to the insecurities that haunt the lives of the urban poor. Generally, they are less insecure than the rural poor, partly because fallback work is easier to find in urban areas — if only pulling a rickshaw or selling snacks. Still, the urban poor are exposed...

-The Hindu Their working hours were reduced, says agency in report Women and lower-paid workers have disproportionately borne the brunt of the decrease in wages due to the COVID-19 crisis as their working hours were reduced, according to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Global Wage Report 2020-2021. The report, released on Wednesday, said global wage growth fluctuated between 1.6% and 2.2% in the four years preceding the pandemic, that is 2016 to 2019. “In...

-The Hindu As per the extant law, bonus dues are barred only in case of employees dismissed for fraud, violent conduct and theft or sabotage. Those indulging in sexual harassment of any form could run the risk of losing out on bonus dues from their employers, thanks to a provision in the Code on Wages that the government is currently framing rules for. Among other things, the Code on Wages lays down norms...

-The Hindu It quashes Gujarat notification exempting factories from paying overtime wages to workers during lockdown between April 20 and July 19 New Delhi: The State cannot declare the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic a “public emergency”to curtail the rights of people, the Supreme Court said on Thursday. The pandemic had not resulted in an ‘internal disturbance’ of a nature that posed a ‘grave emergency’ whereby the security of India was threatened,...

-Press release by Working Peoples' Charter dated 21st September, 2020 Amidst the micro and macro-economic crisis of the last 5 years, the union government has aggressively pushed the agenda of labour law reforms -- purportedly to simplify India’s ‘complex’ labour legislations, improve the business environment, and augment growth and employment. These changes, driven primarily by the business fraternity, have been aimed at improving India’s ranking in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’...