Kerala announces Labour Policy; minimum wage to be Rs 600 per day

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government of Kerala has announced its Draft Labour Policy.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government of Kerala has announced its Draft Labour Policy. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement on Thursday that the policy seeks to ensure the welfare and social security of workers along with the comprehensive development of Kerala’s economy and society.

Wages

Kerala is the state with the highest wage rates in India, owing primarily to workers in most sectors being organised into trade unions. Unlike most other states where minimum wage laws remain merely on paper, most workers in Kerala earn more than the minimum wage.

The State’s new labour policy seeks to raise minimum wages to Rs. 600 per day. Apart from ensuring minimum wages in all branches of work which fall under the Minimum Wages Act, at least a basic wage will be ensured in the branches of work which don’t fall under the Act. ‘Fair wages’ will be implemented in sectors where there are possibilities of ensuring higher remuneration. A revenue recovery system would be implemented in order to recover wage arrears, if any, from the employers.

Appropriate legislation will be brought in to regulate the work and pay conditions of teaching and non-teaching staff in un-aided educational institutions which currently do not benefit from the protection of labour laws.

Social Security

Kerala is the State in India with the most wide-ranging set of social security schemes for workers. The new labour policy aims to strengthen the various Workers’ Welfare Fund Boards in the State. The welfare schemes would be revamped in a manner such that administrative costs are reduced and benefits such as health and housing are ensured.

Pinarayi Vijayan with Agricultural Workers

Industrial Relations and Collective Bargaining

The work of Industrial Relations Committees would be extended to sectors such as agriculture, Information Technology and fish processing which do not have such committees currently.

A labour bank will be created for the protection and job security of domestic workers.

The Recognition of Trade Union Act (2010) will be strictly implemented in all sectors in order to strengthen collective bargaining and to make it transparent.

Unorganised Sector and Enforcement of Labour Laws

The labour policy aims to strengthen and reinvigorate the work of the Labour Department’s Enforcement section to improve the work and pay conditions of unorganised workers in shops and commercial establishments.

Labour-friendly enterprises will be identified on the basis of the evaluation of the Labour Intelligence Cell, which is to be newly established.

Women-friendly Workplaces

The policy says that steps would be taken to ensure gender equality and to create woman-friendly environment in workplaces. Maternity benefits and facilities for breastfeeding children in workplaces will be ensured. Maternity leave will be ensured with pay, as per the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act.

Crèche facilities will be set up wherever possible, with the help of the Social Justice Department. A crèche cess will be introduced. Arrangements to ensure the periodic maintenance of crèche facilities will be made compulsory.

The policy says that the government will intervene to ensure overtime allowance, weekly off, break time, and arrangements for accommodation and transport for women workers, depending on the nature of the enterprises.

Toilets and rooms for workers to take rest will be made compulsory as per labour law.

Seating arrangements for workers will be made compulsory. This assumes significance especially because instances of workers not being allowed to sit during work had come to light in the recent years. The women workers of Kalyan Silks, a major chain of textile showrooms in Kerala, had gone on strike in 2014-15 to win the right to sit during working hours.

The policy says that the Kerala Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Act will be amended to ensure that workers in all establishments get days off on four national holidays and on polling days for general elections.

Migrant Workers

Some of the most noteworthy provisions of the labour policy relate to the LDF government’s approach towards migrant workers in the State. Kerala had launched India’s first welfare scheme for migrant workers in 2010, and recently it had earned widespread praise for Awaz, the new health insurance scheme for migrant workers. The new labour policy seeks to extend these advances further.

Language-wise details of workers from other States who work in Kerala would be collected, and volunteers with knowledge of the respective languages will be deputed to communicate with the workers.

Facilitation centres will be set up in various parts of the State where workers from other States can access information about their rights, various welfare schemes, rail and road transport facilities, government services etc.

The Apna Ghar scheme to provide livable accommodation facilities for migrant workers from other States would be extended to all over Kerala.

Mobile app will be used to set up a facility to find unregistered workers and to get them to register for the Health Insurance Scheme.

Plantation Workers

Improving the living conditions of plantation workers in Kerala was one of the major promises of the LDF during its election campaign in 2016, especially in districts such as Wayanad with a high percentage of farmers and agricultural workers in the plantation sector.

The new labour policy promises to implement a scheme to improve the quality of garden hospitals and group hospitals for plantation workers, as well as the educational facilities for plantation workers’ children. Workers’ quarters in plantations will be renovated.

Comprehensive Health Insurance coverage will be ensured for plantation workers’ families.

A scheme will be implemented so that plantation workers who don’t have houses on their one can have their own houses. Those who don’t have land and housing will be provided with the same, and steps will be taken to improve wages and other benefits.

Traditional Industries

Workers in many traditional industries have been for long faced with the problem of not getting work throughout the year. The labour policy seeks to explore all possibilities of increasing the number of working days in such industries. The Labour Department will formulate schemes as necessary, with the cooperation of other departments.

A scheme will be formulated in association with the Industries Department, for the sustenance of traditional industries and for the renovation of industries which are in crisis.

The Income Support Scheme for workers in traditional industries will be revamped and implemented.

Traditional industries will be modernised suitably and productivity shall be improved in accordance with changes in technology and production processes.

Employees’ State Insurance

The Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme will be expanded. ESI Dispensaries and Hospitals will be renovated. New ESI dispensaries will be started in places where they don’t exist.

Steps will be taken to get ISO certification for the 9 ESI Hospitals in the State. ESI Hospitals in Feroke (Kozhikode district) and Thottada (Kannur district) would be upgraded to the status of Super Speciality Hospitals.

Skill Development

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme will be extended to all Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in stages. Smart Class Room, Virtual Class Room and other new technologies will be used to raise ITIs to international standards.

Special skill development programmes will be implemented for women and those belonging to deprived communities.

Ensuring job security, decent remuneration and social security for workers in all sectors is the overarching objective that the LDF government has set for itself while announcing the Draft Labour Policy.

(Source: News Click)

Why life on Scotland's islands makes us happy

Scottish islands are consistently among the happiest places to live in the UK, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.

Its annual wellbeing study asks people to rank their happiness, anxiety, life satisfaction, and feeling that things in life are worthwhile.

Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles have all recorded high ratings since 2012. Three locals have told us about the lure of island life.

Leah Irvine: Shetland is always home

Leah on Clift Hill in Shetland

I grew up on the outskirts of Lerwick. I studied in Edinburgh, but I live and work in Shetland now. When you experience life in a city, even a beautiful one like Edinburgh, you realise how the pace of island life is slower.

If you have a a long day in the office or things aren't going right, you can walk along a beach and the sense of calm is overwhelming. There's no way you can be outside in Shetland and be stressed. It takes it away and sends it out to sea.

When I look at my childhood I had no idea how lucky I was because it was normal for me. Now I'm at a stage where I have friends who have families and they're in the car for an hour to pick up their daughter from ballet. I went to netball and dance class, but it was a five-minute drive and the majority of my time was spent outside and exploring.

There is a community feel but you definitely get out of island life what you put into it.

If you're going to sit at home and say you're bored, you are not going to have that sense of wellbeing or the quality of life you want. But if you're willing to get involved then you'll have a massive sense of wellbeing.

I've done lots of travel, but the thing about Shetland is it's always home.

Earlier this year I took six weeks off and travelled around the Caribbean. It was amazing. But as gorgeous as it was, the only thing it had over Shetland was the weather.

Jack Norquoy: You grow at island pace

Jack Norquoy grew up in Orkney

I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in Orkney. It's a very supportive community - it's very vibrant and unique, with a real charitable spirit. That all helps with a sense of wellbeing.

It's a place of outstanding natural beauty, and there are other factors such as smaller classroom sizes, so children are able to develop very strong relationships far more easily.

Orkney is changing and maybe for some it is changing too quickly. There is the expansion of the renewable sector and tourism continues to boom, and it would be wrong to say Orcadians are not reaping some good from those developments.

I think having a sense of ownership helps with wellbeing. Any Orcadian would say they feel at home anywhere in Orkney. The whole place is home to them.

I think, had I grown up somewhere different, I would feel differently. Compared to a city, there's not the same pressure and you can be younger for longer and fulfil your childhood for that bit longer without some of the pressures coming to you so quickly. You grow at island pace.

From a very young age you establish the importance of your surrounding environment. I think it comes down to that sense of community and a sense of working together and appreciating and protecting what you have far more.

I also have an eagerness to see more of the world, and take the vales of my upbringing with me and share them elsewhere. I get a longing for home when I haven't been there for a while. Orkney always make me smile when I think about it.

Catriona Dunn: The bonds you build are strong

Catriona Dunn's garden looks out towards Wester Ross

I lived in Aberdeen for five years and I liked it, but I always wanted to be back here on Lewis.

The family support network here is great. It was a brilliant place for our son to grow up and I can help out with my nieces.

I help to run a parent and toddler group at our church. It's for everyone and we realised we are serving a need. We discovered we are a lifeline for some parents and can help them build a network of support for their own wellbeing.

Those bonds that you build are strong.

The backdrop to our life also helps. From my kitchen window I look across the sea and see its moods. On a clear day you can see the hills of Wester Ross. There's only a small amount of light pollution and you can avoid it.

There's nowhere like it on a starlit night. Sometimes I don't realise it until I visit my son in Glasgow and it's nice to realise how much we appreciate the natural environment.

(Source: BBC)

Mysterious disappearance of Scottish loch’s water exposes parts of ancient settlement not seen since 1300s

Archaeologists say climate change is increasing threat to Scottish heritage

Water levels in a freshwater Scottish loch mysteriously reached a 750-year low earlier this year, according to archaeologists studying the remains of an ancient settlement on a man-made island.

Researchers at Loch Vaa in the Cairngorms collected and carbon-dated timbers which had been covered by water since the 13th Century, to reveal that water levels reached a historic low in May 2019.

However, what remains unclear is what caused the loch to drain. It is a spring-fed loch, with no other major water inlet or outlets, but in May the water levels had fallen by 1.4 metres. It was like someone had “pulled a plug”, according to locals, and took until July for the loch to regain its usual level.

Loch Vaa in the Caingorms is a freshwater loch notable for its clear water ( Creative Commons )

The archaeological team assessed the impact of the millions of missing litres of water on the loch’s “crannog” – an ancient man-made island common in lochs across Scotland, and revealed the record water level low.

They were able to pull up pieces of wood which had been submerged and protected by the waters since the 13th Century.

Dr Michael Stratigos of the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, who is working on a project investigating iron age crannogs in Loch Tay in the northern Cairngorms, told The Independent the low water levels presented a rare opportunity to see more of the crannog at Loch Vaa.

“It’s a site I’d had on my radar as something of interest during my PhD a few years back, but never got around to investigating it.

“So when I heard that the water levels had dropped, it was a good chance to investigate it – not only because it makes the archaeological material more accessible, but also [because it allowed them] to assess whether the archaeological deposits had been negatively affected.

“So I got in touch with the landowners and the local authorities to go to have a look.”

The work included taking a sample of one of the timbers used at the crannog for radiocarbon dating.

“It seems as though the water levels had dropped to that position before,” Dr Stratigos said, and explained this was indicated by a complete absence of organic matter surviving at the level the timber was retrieved from.

“The radiocarbon dating we took came from a timber that was just about 15cm below where the water level was in May. So what that says to me is that sometime in the last 750 years the level had dropped to maybe as low as that point before, but no lower.”

“It could have happened very shortly after that timber went into use on the crannog. It might have happened much more recently, it’s impossible to say.”

But he said such low levels of water would have been extremely rare, otherwise the wood they tested simply wouldn’t have survived.

“It’s notable that the timber we sampled was birch, because birch isn’t particularly robust – it doesn’t hold-up well,” he said. “If water levels had even got close to where they were in May, you would lose birch in that upper portion through wave action and the freezing and thawing of the water’s surface.”

“Where it was in May, it’s not been significantly lower than that in the last 750 years.”

But Dr Stratigos said exploring the reasons why the loch had lost so much water so quickly was “far beyond the remit of archaeology”.

Locals have previously blamed Scottish Water, suggesting boreholes have drained the aquifers supplying the loch, but this has been rejected by the company, which said their activities 3 miles upstream were too far away to affect it.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has suggested the loch had suffered due to a “relatively dry” winter, the BBC reports.

This came after a major summer heatwave last year during which caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans, crop failures, and a number of wildfires.

The prospect of similar heatwaves, which are becoming increasingly likely due to climate change has concerned archaeologists.

This month, public body Historic Environment Scotland, published a stark warning of how a changing climate could impact Scotland’s heritage.

Their report said: “Many changes to our climate are already happening and further changes are unavoidable. If we are to reduce their impact, adaptation is essential. For the historic environment in Scotland, this means addressing the physical impact of increased rainfall, more frequent extreme weather events, increasing temperatures, rising seas and shifting coasts. These changes, individually and collectively, are already having a damaging impact on our historic environment.”

Dr Stratigos added: “Wetland archaeology, crannogs being prominent in Scotland among them, are very sensitive to climate change. As these types of extreme events become more common we are likely to see cultural heritage put at risk.”

(Source: Independent)

Harold Bloom’s immortality

The last email I got from Harold came in on October 8 at 4:08 P.M., eight days ago. It said:

Dear Lucas,

I am trying to cut the size of the book. This is the new table of contents.

Love,

Harold

Table of Contents 

Prelude: The Longing for Immortality
Chapter 1: Platonic and Neo-Platonic Immortality
Chapter 2: Esoteric Visions of Immortality: Orphism, Hermeticism, Kabbalah
Chapter 3: The Resurrection of the Body
Chapter 4: Indic and Iranian Redemption
Chapter 5: Redemption in Israel
Chapter 6: Christian Redemption

When I saw him over the summer, in late August, he started to tell me about a new book he wanted to write called Immortality, Resurrection, Redemption: A Study in Speculation. It was to be an exploration of the afterlife in the Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman, and Islamic traditions, the way people have imagined and hoped for something more or different once this life ends. It moved me that an eighty-nine-year-old writer and former teacher would spend whatever time was left wrestling with the very thing that would take him.

I left that afternoon and wrote one of the many emails I’ve sent over the years thanking Harold for the time we had spent, then added a note about the book he’d described. And as I was writing the bit about the book, I realized I desperately wanted to publish it, which I then told him. He wrote back a few days later, saying he was open to working together as long as we could illustrate it with artworks that had helped capture the way humans have imagined the afterlife. I immediately agreed.

HAROLD BLOOM (YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS)

What has followed, in this past month, was perhaps the most beautiful creative process I have ever been part of. On a daily basis, Harold would send me notes, parts of chapters, thoughts, apologies for not writing more because he was worn out from teaching, dreams and corrections to the prospectus that he wanted to make sure I liked. At eighty-nine, he was writing more quickly and more powerfully than I (his ostensible editor) was able to read and respond to. In one email, he sent me the epilogue in its entirety—not in a Word document, just in the body of the email. It included this line, which I can’t stop rereading.

At ninety I have died and been resurrected five or six times. I refer to the many falls and grave illnesses that led to serious and successful surgery. My body—such as it is—is the Resurrection Body. I would interpret this as meaning that immortality is this life and so is redemption.

What did he know?

Immortality is this life. So deepen it, live it profoundly. Harold may have been divisive, and he had his blind spots. But he taught us to live with characters, to think the world through writers, to see reality textured by literature: richer, more alive, redeemed. Because of Harold, I consider Falstaff an intimate friend—what he did, how he lived, his gift for presentness. The memories come rushing back. Listening to Wallace Stevens with Harold on weekends while I was still at Yale. I remember Pindar and Melville—“The Whiteness of the Whale”—and Dickinson and George Eliot. I remember going out to Santa Fe and meeting Cormac McCarthy, and then brokering a call between him and Harold, feeling like I was somehow making literary history. Being with Harold always felt historic, momentous. The world around him was thick with thoughts and feelings, dense. The people we encounter in writing pierce us, their inner lives give us more life. For those of us who were lucky enough to study with him, Harold let that life out. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t finish his book. It was ready in him, and as he liked to say, quoting Hamlet:

If it be now, tis not to come, if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.

Here’s the email he sent on September 18, with the revised prospectus (including a jab at Silicon Valley, which he added only in this final version). It says everything I would want to say, and much more. 

Dear Lucas,

At Glen’s suggestion, I have composed a new beginning for the prospectus. Here it is:

In the early autumn of 2019, the denial of death by Silicon Valley technocrats has been an organized phenomenon for about fifteen years. There are varied cults that keep burgeoning of which the most notorious is Terasem, founded on a science fiction novel I could not finish. Satellite dishes have been set up to record the mindsets of the new faithful and beam them out into the great beyond, in the pious hope that amiable aliens will receive them and descend with fresh panaceas to sooth the fear of dying. 

Does the world grow better or worse, or does it just get older? There is nothing new under the sun. Cultivating deep inwardness depends upon the reading of the world’s masterpieces of literary works and religious scriptures. Not that Silicon Valley would be at all interested, but I would prescribe that all of them learn to read Shakespeare as he needs to be read. Self and soul would then return and take the place of fashionable evasions of the contingencies that have always shaped human lives. 

Much of Freud is now obsolete but not his moral suggestion that we must all of us make friends with the necessity of dying. And yet, throughout the world, one form or another of spiritual hope affects the consciousness of moving inexorably towards death. 

The following book offers a narrative of three crucial speculations: immortality, resurrection, redemption. I do not intend a history of the theological development of these ideas, though I will resort to accounts of theological developments through the ages that play crucial parts in this story. 

My prime interest is in our common human nature. Montaigne charmingly remarked that we need not prepare because, when the time came, we would know how to die well enough. But you and I are not Montaigne nor Shakespeare. We are curious, apprehensive, and would like to know more.  

Love,

Harold

(Source: The Paris Review)

Photographer catches squirrel stopping to smell a flower

Dutch photographer Dick van Duijn was visiting Vienna, Austria, in June when he captured an adorable series of photos showing a squirrel taking a moment out of its busy day to smell the flowers.

The wildlife, nature, and landscape photographer tells PetaPixel he was visiting Vienna especially to shoot photos of ground squirrels.

“On the first day we observed them and their behavior,” Van Duijn says. “On the second day, we photographed them the whole day. In the evening just before sunset, when the light became soft and nice, one of the many ground squirrels walked towards the yellow flower and began to hold it and sniff it.”

“When I saw this happening in the viewfinder of my camera, I already knew I had captured a very beautiful and intimate moment,” Van Duijn says. “I felt very happy and satisfied with the shot.”

You can find more of Dick Van Duijn’s work on his Facebook and Instagram.

(Source: PP)