Denial of labour entitlements to contract workers is at the root of urban squalor The human development report does not say anything new. It only sums up the outcome of policies being followed in this country. It does not, for instance, highlight the seeds that have manifested themselves in hunger and poverty. One of the seeds is the helpless labour enforcement machinery, which is unable to deal with the mammoth reality...

-The United Nations   A new report by the United Nations labour agency warns of a youth jobs crisis in both developed and developing countries, with young people aged 15 to 24 finding it increasingly difficult to obtain decent employment and future prospects are dim. As it released its “Global Employment Trends for Youth: 2011 Update,” the International Labour Organization (ILO) notes that the recent global economic crisis led to a “substantial” increase...

After a 33-day standoff between the workers at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar facility and the management, the company on Saturday said that a common ground has been reached and agitating workers would resume work on Monday. The stir finally ended on Saturday morning after a meeting between the agitating workers, government and the company management, where workers agreed to sign the ‘good conduct bond’ and a commitment that production would not...

-The Times of India   Suzuki chief Osamu Suzuki on Friday took a tough stand on the labour standoff at Maruti's Manesar plant, saying the company will not accept "any indiscipline". In his first reaction to the problems at Manesar, Suzuki told representatives of the company's recognised workers body that there will be "no compromise on discipline". "Indiscipline is not tolerated... not in Japan, not in India. It is never in the interest...

Casual work, self-employment still rule Q&A Why are fewer women working? Education schemes and higher wages of men are keeping them home for longer. Why is casual work growing? The biggest employment scheme, NREGA, employs casual workers. Why is self-employment down? The least-paying jobs in the self-employment sector are worse than NREGA entitlements. *** The latest official figures on employment say this: a typical Indian worker is male, starts working in his mid-20s, is presumably better educated than...