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☆ India's high unemployment is a 'ticking bomb,' opposition says as election battle with Modi's BJP heats up
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Vinay Dwivedi | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

India's unorganized sector, which is made up of millions of small businesses that are privately owned, make up about 93% of the country's total workforce. As many as 32% of the respondents said increasing unemployment was the key reason why they would not elect the BJP again. India's Labour Ministry did not immediately respond to CNBC's queries pertaining to the country's unemployment situation. Rajan, who was speaking about how to make India an advanced economy at the George Washington University, said: "Unemployment numbers are high, disguised unemployment is even higher. A slowdown in hiring in India's huge information technology sector is also to blame for the lack of well-paying, white-collar jobs.

Persons: Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi, Modi, Gandhi, —, Manmohan Singh, Arun Kumar, Lokniti, joblessness, Kumar, Raghuram Rajan, Rajan Organizations: DELHI, International Labour Organisation, Institute of Human, Goods, Services Tax, Jawahar Lal Nehru, CNBC, ILO, Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, BJP, Modi, India's Labour Ministry, Former Reserve Bank of India, George Washington University, Labor Locations: India, Bihar, New Delhi

☆ Greek Anarchists Claim Responsibility for Attack at Thessaloniki Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek anarchist guerrilla group claimed responsibility on Monday for a planned parcel bomb attack against a judge at courthouse in the northern city of Thessaloniki this month, the third such incident since December. Police last week confiscated the parcel, which was sent to a senior judge and contained explosive material, before it exploded. The group warned of more attacks against prosecutors, police and judges, including the judge who was meant to receive the parcel. On Feb. 3, a bomb went off outside Greece's labour ministry in central Athens causing no injuries but damaging the building. In December, another explosive device, planted at the headquarters of the riot police unit (MAT), was defused by police.

Persons: Yannis Souliotis, Renee Maltezou, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Police, Athens Indymedia Locations: ATHENS, Thessaloniki, Athens, Greece

☆ Bomb Explodes Outside Ministry in Athens, No Injuries
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

ATHENS (Reuters) - An explosive device went off outside Greece's labour ministry in central Athens early on Saturday but caused no injuries, Greek police said. A Greek newspaper received a phone call that a bomb had been planted at the ministry and had informed the police who cordoned off the area before the explosion which caused damage to the building and broken windows, police said.

Locations: ATHENS, Athens

SEOUL, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Operations at Kia Corp's (000270.KS) assembly plant in South Korea have been suspended due to disruptions in parts supplies, the carmaker said on Wednesday. Poongki Industrial Co Ltd, a Kia supplier that makes chassis parts, suffered a fatal accident that resulted in the death of one worker on Tuesday and halted its own operations, causing supply disruptions at Kia's plant, a Kia spokesperson said. Labour authorities are investigating the accident, putting a halt to forklift truck operations at the Kia supplier's factory, a labour ministry spokesperson said. Kia is checking on alternative sources for Poongki's components, according to the Kia spokesperson. The plant located in the southwestern city of Gwangju produces about 2,000 vehicles a day, according to media reports.

Persons: Kia Corp's, Poongki, Kia, Lee Jae, Heekyong Yang, Ed Davies Organizations: Kia, Poongki Industrial Co Ltd, Labour, Eugene Investment, Securities, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Gwangju

☆ Japan's inflation-adjusted wages slip in September for 18th month
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Androniki Christodoulou/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Japan's real wages slipped in September for an 18th month, government data showed on Tuesday, with rising prices squeezing consumers' purchasing power, and likely to add to pressure from labour groups for higher wage increases. Financial markets worldwide pay close attention to the wage trends in the world's third-largest economy. Inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of consumer purchasing power, dropped in September by 2.4% from a year earlier after a revised 2.8% fall the month before, data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed. Base salary growth in September advanced by 1.4% year-on-year, from a revised 1.2% increase the previous month, the data showed. Overtime pay, a gauge of business activity, went up in September by 0.7% year-on-year, after a revised 0.2% gain in August.

Persons: Androniki, Fumio Kishida's, Satoshi Sugiyama, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Financial, Bank of Japan, Ministry of Health, Labour, Welfare, Rengo, UA, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Base

☆ Japan's inflation adjusted wages extend declines in August
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japan's real wages in August declined for a 17th straight month, government data showed on Friday, as persistent price hikes continued to outpace salaries. Separate data on Friday showed Japan's consumer spending also shrank for the sixth consecutive month in August, squeezing consumers' purchasing power even as major companies offered their biggest pay increases in three decades. The consumer inflation rate officials use to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but excludes rent, slowed to 3.7%, the lowest in 11 months. Base salary growth in August climbed 1.6% year-on-year, from a revised 1.4% gain in the previous month, the data showed. "As import prices settle down, the growth rate of consumer inflation is also expected to gradually narrow, and real wages will also recover," Koike said.

Persons: Masato Koike, Fumio Kishida, Sompo's Koike, Koike, Satoshi Sugiyama, Kantaro, Christian Schmollinger, Sam Holmes Organizations: Global, Bank of Japan, Sompo, Ministry of Health, Labour, Welfare, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Base

☆ Japan real wages fall for 16th straight month in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People walk at an office building at a business district in Tokyo, Japan, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Japanese real wages extended their fall to a 16th consecutive month in July, government data showed on Friday, as salaries failed to keep up with rising prices. Inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of consumers' purchasing power, slid 2.5% in July from a year earlier following a 1.6% slump in the month before. The consumer price index officials use to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but excludes owners' equivalent rent, remained flat at 3.9%. Workers at major Japanese companies saw an almost 4% increase in wages this year, according to a survey by business lobby Keidanren.

Persons: Yuya, Fumio Kishida, Satoshi Sugiyama, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Global, Bank of Japan, Workers, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ Rapidly aging South Korea prepares to open door for foreign maids
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A man and children wearing masks to protect against contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) take a walk at a Han River Park in Seoul, South Korea April 4, 2020. The issue sits at the confluence of South Korea's sharply declining birthrate, aging population, and its historical reluctance to accept more immigrants. South Korea is in talks with the Philippines as one of the potential sources of workers with an aim to start the pilot programme as early as December, officials said. The new scheme is the latest in a series of efforts by the government to reverse the plunging birth rate of Asia's fourth-largest economy. "There is no one-size-fits-all solution to low birth rate," Oh said.

Persons: Heo, hoon, 1,322.1800, Soo, hyang Choi, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, OECD, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, South, Philippines, Koreans

☆ Greek wildfires die down after burning for nearly two weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Alexandros AvramidisATHENS, July 28 (Reuters) - Wildfires in Greece abated on Friday after burning for nearly two weeks but emergency services worked to prevent new flare-ups in the central part of the country, where people had fled massive explosions at an ammunition depot the day before. In the hard-hit area of Magnesia, wildfires reached an air force ammunition depot close to the coastal town of Nea Aghialos on Thursday. Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said on Friday he had ordered an investigation into the incident. The labour ministry urged employers in an industrial zone of Volos to suspend operations for a second day on Friday. But teams operated at several sites for an 11th day in an effort to fully tame all the fronts.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis ATHENS, Dina Angeli, Nikos Dendias, Firefighters, Ioannis Artopoios, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Angeliki Koutantou, Alexandros Avramidis, Stamos Prousalis, Angeliki, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Fighter, Reuters, Greek Defence, Thomson Locations: Volos, Greece, Magnesia, Nea Aghialos, Aghialos, Rhodes

☆ Years after #MeToo first swept the world, Taiwan races to respond
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Sarah Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

TAIPEI, July 28 (Reuters) - Six years after the #MeToo movement rose to global prominence and toppled powerful perpetrators of sexual abuse, Taiwan is racing to reform laws and provide training and support as it reckons with its own wave of complaints. The drama mirrored reality two months ago when an allegation of sexual abuse surfaced that was linked to Taiwan's ruling party. Her criticism of the then-head of the Democratic Progressive Party's women's affairs department for dismissing her complaint went viral. COMPANIES RESPOND TOOBusinesses are also responding by investigating complaints and training staff in preventing abuse. Hsieh said he hoped exposure to the movement at a young age would help his daughters develop a sense of equality.

Persons: Lai Pei, Lai, Chen Chien, jou, Tsai Ing, Chen Chao, Lee Yen, jong, Lee, Peng Yen, Liu Jung, jen, Liu, Yu Mei, Yu, Johnson Hsieh, Hsieh, Sarah Wu, John Geddie, Robert Birsel Organizations: Netflix, Facebook, Democratic Progressive, National Taiwan University, Women's Foundation, Reuters, Taiwan Bar Association, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Taiwan, Asia, Taipei

[1/3] Destroyed truck carriages are seen in a factory yard as a wildfire burns at the city of Volos, in central Greece, July 27, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros AvramidisVOLOS, Greece, July 27 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Greece battled flames burning for the 10th day on the island of Rhodes, while new blazes erupted on the mainland that destroyed farms and factories overnight and left farmers rushing to evacuate their animals. Officials ordered the evacuation of several communities in the hard-hit area of Magnesia, a coastal area north of Athens. The body of a 45-year old shepherd was found in a rural area on Wednesday evening, the fire brigade said. The fire brigade said more that 500 wildfires have burned in Greece so far this year.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Kostas Koukouvinos, Rhodes, Vassilis Kikilias, Karolina Tagaris, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Firefighters, ERT, Civil, Thomson Locations: Volos, Greece, Alexandros Avramidis VOLOS, Rhodes, Magnesia, Athens, Lamia, Kymi, Evia, Portugal, Sicily, Algeria

Global financial markets have been closely watching Japan's wage data, as Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda regards pay growth as a key gauge to consider in deliberations about a shift in policy. Regular wages rose 1.8% in May from a year before, labour ministry data showed, the biggest gain since February 1995. The strong base pay growth boosted worker's total cash earnings, or nominal wages, by 2.5% in May, after a revised 0.8% increase logged in April. Still, real wages contracted 1.2% in May, the 14th consecutive month of year-on-year declines, as relentless consumer inflation outstrips nominal pay growth and squeezes households' buying power. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, household spending was down 1.1%, versus an estimated 0.5% gain to mark a fourth month of decline.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Kuroda, Hisashi Yamada, Rengo, Takumi Tsunoda, Shinichi Uchida, Taro Saito, Satoshi Sugiyama, Kantaro, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Sam Holmes Organizations: Global, Bank of Japan, Hosei University, Shinkin Central Bank Research, Nikkei, BOJ's, NLI Research, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

France has pledged to invest 12 billion euros in such urban renewal projects between 2014 and 2030 while many priority areas also benefit from other forms of government aid and subsidies. Researchers point out that total state support to poor areas nonetheless amounts to less than 1% of annual national output. Macron said this week that France would push ahead with urban renewal plans and look at ways to get faster results. Thomas Kirszbaum, a sociologist at Lille University who specialises in urban policy and integration, acknowledged that urban renewal efforts often lead to local improvements but did little to address a wider sense of discrimination. Instead, government officials argue that successive urban renewal plans have produced educational and other gains which allay a wider sense of social exclusion.

Persons: Nahel, Horaci Garcia, Macron, Cedric Gouth, Emmanuel Macron, Farid Hamoudea, Woippy, Gouth, ”, Mouhad Moradab, Woippy's, Moradab, Chad Jallouz, Thomas Kirszbaum, Jallouz, Leigh Thomas, Juliette Jabkhiro, Elizabeth Pineau, Tassilo Hummel, Mark John, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Reuters, Paris, Woippy’s, SECOND, Lille University, Labour Ministry, Thomson Locations: Nanterre, Eloy, Woippy, French, Metz, France, North, Paris, Europe, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Woippy's, Moroccan

☆ Japan's base salary growth hits 28-year high in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Base salary soared 1.8% in May year-on-year, the biggest rise since February 1995. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly stressed the need to keep policy accommodative until wages increase enough to keep price growth sustainably around its 2% target. The results from the labour talks will be reflected toward the summer, labour ministry officials said. Total cash earnings, or nominal wages, increased 2.5% year-on-year in May, after rising a revised 0.8% in April. Inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of households' purchasing power, dropped 1.2% in May from a year earlier, falling for 14 months straight.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Rengo, Satoshi Sugiyama, Devika Organizations: Bank of Japan's, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ As the world gets hotter, millions of workers face up to the challenge of heat stress and productivity losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

According to those involved in the report's production, warmer working environments can create some very challenging scenarios indeed. Issues relating to productivity also apply to equipment, facilities and buildings, Fox said. "The economic losses due to heat stress at work were estimated at US$280 billion in 1995," the U.N. agency said. "This clothing can be quite cumbersome … and quite hot to wear, even under cold conditions," Fox said. Fox noted that buildings of this type haven't particularly been designed with heat ingress — especially extreme heat ingress — in mind.

Persons: Tim Fox, Fox, Marco Bertorello, that's, Laura Kent, Jorge Guerrero, Yolanda Díaz, Díaz, It's Organizations: World Meteorological Organization, of Mechanical Engineers, CNBC, International Labour Organization, Workers, AFP, Getty, ILO, Fox, Factories, Health, Safety, Spain's, Labour, Social, State Meteorological Agency, Spain's Labour Ministry, Reuters, heatstroke . Trade, Union Locations: Europe, Italy, Ronda, Spain, Madrid, heatstroke, Britain, Ireland

☆ Japan's jobless rate flat at 2.6% in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) - Japan's jobless rate was flat at 2.6% in May from the previous month, government data showed on Friday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also matched economists' median forecast of 2.6% in a Reuters poll. The jobs-to-applicants ratio slipped to 1.31 from 1.32 in April, separate labour ministry data showed. For a table on the jobless data, go to the internal affairs ministry's website: http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/roudou/index.html(Note: The jobs-to-applicants ratio and new job offers can be seen in Japanese on the labour ministry's website)Reporting by Kentaro Sugiyama and Kaori Kaneko; Writing by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kentaro Sugiyama, Kaori Kaneko, Kantaro Komiya, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ Japan April real wages extend falls as consumer inflation weighs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, June 6 (Reuters) - Japan's real wages fell for the 13th straight month in April, government data showed on Tuesday, indicating wage recovery remained slow amid persistent gains in consumer inflation. Inflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of households' purchasing power, dropped 3.0% in April from a year earlier, a faster decline than a revised 2.3% fall in March. The consumer price index the ministry uses to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but excludes owners' equivalent rent, rose 4.1% in April from a 3.8% increase in March. The growth in the inflation index weighed on real wages. Total cash earnings, or nominal wages, rose 1.0% year-on-year in April, slightly slower than a revised 1.3% gain in March.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Kaori Kaneko, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ Japan's jobless rate falls to 2.6% in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, May 30 (Reuters) - Japan's jobless rate fell to 2.6% in April from 2.8% in the previous month, government data showed on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was below economists' median forecast of 2.7% in a Reuters poll. The jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at 1.32, unchanged from March, labour ministry data showed. For a table on the jobless data, go to the internal affairs ministry's website: http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/roudou/index.html(Note: The jobs-to-applicants ratio and new job offers can be seen in Japanese on the labour ministry's website)Reporting by Kentaro Sugiyama; Writing by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pension reform defiance brings new blood to French trade unions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Leigh Thomas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Interest is growing among younger and private sector workers, where unions tend to be less well represented. Vacheron said that more than 30% of the CGT's recent joiners were under the age of 35 while 70% were coming from the private sector, which traditionally is dominated by the CFDT. "Since the retirement reform is contested by the young and old, public and private sector workers, they see a utility in belonging to unions, unions are attractive," Vacheron said. "Unions are rebuilding themselves from the ground up through recruitment and not only street protests," sociologist Michel Wieviorka said. Labour relations consultant Stephanie Matteudi-Lecocq said that the momentum coming from pension reform pushback could ultimately put unions back on more solid footing in companies.

☆ Spain to ban some outdoor working during extreme heat conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Spanish farmers in Catalonia stage a tractor go-slow protest against the effect of drought in Lleida, Spain May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Albert GeaMADRID, May 10 (Reuters) - Spain will ban some outdoor working during extreme heat conditions, Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said on Wednesday, as the country faces high temperatures more frequently as a result of climate change. The ban will be in place when the national weather agency AEMET issues an alert warning about a severe or extreme risk of high temperatures. The measure will affect outdoors working such as street cleaning and agriculture, the Labour Ministry added. So far this year, Spain has recorded 11 hotter-than-normal days, more than twice the number typically observed during a full year.

Even gaining qualifications in Italy didn't help Abhishek, a 26-year-old migrant from India who got a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Turin's Polytechnic University last year. Italy, which is also contending with an exodus of skilled nationals to stronger economies, needs qualified immigrants to fill growing skilled labour shortages, many economists say. In 2023, work permits will be granted to around 83,000 non-EU migrants, according to government data, less than a third of the 277,000 who applied for them. Barbera at Turin University said the lack of migrants in skilled professions has become entrenched and hard to reverse. "Migrants in Italy have virtually no access to the middle class," he said.

[1/5] Palestinians relatives of Sabreen Abu Jazar, who died when a boat carrying migrants sank offshore Greece, mourn in her family home in Gaza Strip March 3, 2023. After leaving Gaza in February, via Egypt, Sabreen flew to Turkey where she met her husband, who had migrated to Belgium years ago. "I celebrated her as a bride, now she's returned to me in a coffin," said her mother-in-law Buthayna Abu Jazar. In an effort to promote security along its Gaza border, Israel offers some 20,000 permits to allow Gazans to work in Israel. In Gaza, Hamas says a permanent solution for unemployment is beyond its ability alone.

Since then, critics say those schemes have come back to bite the economy by ramping up competition for scarce housing - fuelling inflation and piling pressure particularly onto young, local, entry-level workers. Rents in Lisbon have jumped 65% since 2015 and sale prices have sky-rocketed 137%, figures from Confidencial Imobiliario, which collects data on housing, show. Locals struggled to keep up in a country where public housing only represents 2% of the property market, according to government data. The average rent for a one-bedroom flat in Lisbon is around 1,350 euros, a study by housing portal Imovirtual showed. "If housing stays this expensive or gets worse, (foreign) people ... will start moving back to their own countries."

☆ Japan's real wages drop at fastest pace since 2014 as hot inflation takes toll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TOKYO, March 7 (Reuters) - Japan's real wages fell the most in nearly nine years in January, official data showed, as four-decade-high inflation squeezed the purchasing power of consumers and undercut efforts by policymakers to revive a COVID-ravaged economy. read moreInflation-adjusted real wages, a barometer of households' purchasing power, fell by 4.1% in January from a year earlier, the largest decrease since May 2014, labour ministry data showed on Tuesday. The fall in real wages comes as major Japanese firms including Toyota, Nintendo and Fast Retailing pay heed to policymakers' calls and union demands by announcing plans for historic pay rises. The feeble nominal growth in wages in January was well short of the 5.1% consumer inflation rate used to calculate pay in real terms. Currently, Japan's core consumer inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food prices but includes oil products, is running at 4.2%, the fastest pace since 1981.

☆ Analysis: Pension reform strikes tell story of French work malaise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The reform could yield an extra 17.7 billion euros ($19.18 billion) in annual pension contributions to plug the government's funding gap, according to Labour Ministry estimates. The 35-hour work week, introduced in 2000, is exacerbating the current malaise, labour experts say. French productivity was also ahead of Germany's $67.06 and Italy's $53.66, according to OECD figures. He once said he didn't like the word "strenuous" when applied to work because "it implied that work is painful." "Pension reform was a red line for me," she said.

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