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 Hindu   The Election Commission on Friday adjourned till November 11 the hearing on the complaint that Singhbhum MP and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda did not file his election expenditure account properly. There is also an allegation that he encouraged “paid news” during the 2009 Lok Sabha poll. Interestingly, one TV channel was paid Rs.1.25 crore to telecast news in his favour, according to an Income-Tax department report. The full...

Management agrees to set up two panels at Manesar plant The 14-day-long strike by workers of Maruti Suzuki India Limited's Manesar plant in which workers of Suzuki Powertrain India Limited and Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited joined, was called off in the early hours of Friday after the managements, the workers and the Haryana government arrived at separate tripartite agreements. Unrest had been festering at the Manesar plant since June, hampering car...

When the children of brick kiln workers approached Majlispur Free Primary School in North 24 Parganas for admission, the school authorities refused to do so as the children were unable to produce birth certificates. When the parents wrote to the District Inspector (DI), Schools, for children’s admission under Right to Education (RTE) Act, they were told no such thing as RTE existed. At Hindu Balika Vidyalaya at Contai in East Midnapore...

-PTI   Team Anna member Arvid Kejriwal has been slapped with a fresh notice by the Income Tax Department, asking the former IRS officer to pay over Rs nine lakh in dues by this month-end.  Earlier, the Office of the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) had on August five issued a notice to him in the case.  Sources said a fresh notice has been issued to Kejriwal, who, the department claimed, had violated...