The digital initiatives of the Ministry provide learning materials for school students till class 12, and also for higher-ed students The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), in an official release, has asked all students to utilise the available resources and continue their studies through e-learning, during the time that educational institutions are closed as a precaution against COVID-19. Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal has urged all educational institutions to promote digital learning and make the students aware of the e-learning resources provided by the HRD Ministry. In a statement released earlier, the Ministry listed the…
Author: HRK News Bureau
A slew of amazing initiatives for the Reliance industries employee amidst this COVID-19 outbreak proves that humanity does exist. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries announced that the employees earning less than Rs. 30,000 a month will be receiving their salaries twice a month. The Company has taken the step to help “protect cashflow and mitigate any overwhelming financial burden”. Apart from the employees at Reliance grocery stores, petroleum outlets and those responsible for maintaining the Jio network, the rest have all been asked to work from home in this crisis-like situation. However, reports also state that Reliance grocery stores will be…
In the midst of this COVID-19 outbreak, IndiGo Airlines on March 23 claimed instances wherein its employees were ostracised by their communities due to their “line of duty and travel history”. In some cases, the residents welfare associations (RWAs) and neighbours even called police constables. Watch the video of an employee, Priyanka Kandpal, complaining of how people in her neighbourhood have ostracised her. These incidents are known to have taken place after a similar situation happened with Air India crew on March 22. While on the one hand people gave standing ovations and clapped for their unsung heroes, acknowledging their dedication…
With the Government declaring a lockdown in many cities, it is natural for employees unable to report for duty to worry about their salaries and jobs. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has therefore, issued an advisory to all public and private employers requested them to lend support to their employees during these hard times. The Ministry has issued an office memorandum (OM) saying that all employees, whether contractual or permanent, who are required to stay at home as part of the lockdown, should be treated as ‘on duty’ and paid for their period of absence. This arrangement will apply…
Boeing will be suspending production at all its factories across Washington, following the death of an employee due to the coronavirus. About 29 members of Boeing’s workforce have tested positive for COVID-19, but this is the first life lost to the virus. The deceased employee belonged to the American multinational aerospace company’s Everett facility. Of the 29 confirmed cases at Boeing, 24 affected employees were employed at the Puget Sound facility, of Washington. The Company’s other facilities are located in Missouri, South Carolina, Arizona and Pennsylvania. In total, Boeing has a 70,000 strong workforce. However, Washington is the state that…
Streaming company, Netflix, has set out to create a $100 million relief fund for the laid-off employees and the affected workers across the United States. The Company is going beyond just supporting its own workers. It aims to lend support to workers across the industry. In a company blog post, Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, Netflix, announced the establishment of the relief fund to ease the “hardship in the creative community.” The initiative aims to assist not only laid-off Netflix employees, but also crew and cast members across the industry — including those who are paid hourly wages and hired…
The Indian banking sector has decided to trim down its services for the mandated lock-down period, that is till March 31, 2020. The public banks have temporarily suspended non-essential services, such as passbook updation, account opening and note exchange. Banking, being an essential sector, cannot be shut down and hence, these measures have been adopted to encourage customers to stay in. On March 20, multiple banks instructed their offices and staff to work at 50 per cent capacity. This move is essential to practise social distancing and prevent the spread of the contagion. In a similar move, the Centre mandated…
The State Government of Goa has declared paid holidays for all employees working in the government departments and private establishments for the next three days, till midnight of March 25, 2020. The holiday has been declared to ensure effective implementation of the Janata Curfew and contain the spread of the virus. A circular has been issued to this effect on March 22. The leave do not apply to employees and entities engaged in providing essential services to the public. Such people have been urged to take required measures to curb the spread of the virus. According to the notification, the…
As per the Seventh Central Pay Commission, all railway employees are to be given the leave travel concession or LTC. However, the condition is that the employees have to surrender their Privilege Passes for the year in which they wish to avail the LTC. This condition was communicated via an office memorandum after the Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T) had consulted with the Ministry of Railways on the subject. As per the recommendations of the 7th CPC, the Railway employees were allowed to avail All India LTC as per the Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988, that…
eLearning company, upGrad brings on board Preeti Kaul as president of human resources. She will be based out of the online higher education company’s Mumbai office. Having served in HR leadership roles in organisations, such as UnitedHealth Group and WNS Global Services, Kaul comes with more than two decades of experience in the HR domain. At upGrad, Kaul will lead the human resources function, and leverage her expertise in building a talent. According to an official communique, Mayank Kumar, co-founder and MD, upGrad, acknowedged Kaul’s business prowess and massive experience in building and nurturing a talent. “I am delighted to…
Public-sector lender, State Bank of India, has set up a quick response team (QRT) to ensure the safety of its employees, amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Bank has reportedly also provided sanitisers and soaps across the branches with thermal scanners at its bigger offices. As per sources, the HR department has set up a helpline number operated by doctors and psychologists to assist its staff and employees to deal with anxiety and stress related to the COVID-19 and its impact. Staff from across the country can use this helpline number to get their queries resolved. The Bank is also ensuring the…
National carrier, Air India, responded to Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) who were ostracising members of its crew upon their return to their homes, for travelling abroad in the line of duty, amidst growing panic due to the spread of coronavirus. Air India has been sending out multiple flights to bring back stranded Indian nationals from countries, such as Iran, Japan, Milan, Rome and even from the epicentre of the outbreak, China’s Wuhan. Due the extensive amount of travelling the crew members have been undertaking, residents of their home localities and the welfare associations have been afraid of contracting the disease…
A notice from IIT-Kharagpur, circulated in the wake of this pandemic-like situation in India and across borders, states that a Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) notification issued on March 22, permits faculty members, researchers, scholars, fellows, and non-teaching staff, except employees attached to emergency services, to work from home till March 31. “As a preventive measure, and to achieve social distancing, faculty members, researchers, scholars, fellows and non-teaching staffs (except employees attached to emergency services) are permitted and advised to work from home till March 31 or until further orders, whichever is earlier with immediate effect,” reads the notice.…
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while announcing the Delhi lockdown, has also directed that all private companies will have to consider their employees to be on duty during the lockdown period, that is March 22 to March 31, and pay them their full remuneration. This announcement is good news for private-sector employees, including those on the rolls of organisations and those working on contract. Delhi is to be on complete lockdown from 6 a.m. on March 22, to the midnight of March 23. The move is aimed at checking the spread of COVID-19, which has already taken the capital in its…
Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra, tweeted that India looks like it is already on the brink of the third stage of transmission, of the coronavirus epidemic. Mahindra has offered his entire salary to help with setting up of facilities to deal with the menace. He has also ordered the Mahindra Group factories to start manufacturing ventilators, to fulfil the rising demand during this crisis. Having followed reports by epidemiologists, Mahindra realised that the number of people infected with the COVID-19 in India is rising by the day, and at this rate, if the number of casualties runs into millions,…
Retail company Walmart, has announced cash bonuses to its full-time and part-time hourly employees in the US, for working amid the coronavirus pandemic. The bonuses will cost it almost US$550 million, which includes special reward bonuses for keeping the stores stocked during this period of high demand. It also plans to hire 150,000 new employees by the end of May, 2020. Interested candidates may apply at careers@walmart.com. The American multinational company has released a statement saying that each full-time and part-time hourly employee will receive $300 and $150, respectively. Also, the bonus is for all the hourly employees in stores,…
The Central Government plans to provide unemployment benefits to a section of workers in the organised sector, who may lose their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers will be covered under the Government’s Atal Beema Vyakti Kalyan Yojana, which provides unemployment insurance. Under ABVKY, workers are eligible to receive unemployment benefits if they are subscribed to the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme. A self-financing health insurance scheme for formal-sector workers in India, ESI is managed by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). The scheme has been in operation since July, 2018. Workers subscribed to this scheme who become unemployed,…
Only fifty per cent of Central-government employees will be allowed to attend office daily, while the rest have been ordered to work from home. As a precautionary measure, the Centre is attempting to segregate office- going employees into different time slots. This will prevent large gatherings at any one place at a time. The first shift is to start at 9 am and end at 5:30 pm, while the next will be from 9.30 am to 6 pm, and the last shift will be from 10 am to 6.30 pm. Through this move, the Government seeks to reinforce the importance…
In response to the rapidly-spreading COVID-19 and subsequent travel restrictions as per government bodies, Air Canada will be limiting transit and routes for the foreseeable future, alongside temporarily laying off over 5,100 employees. This step is the Airline’s attempt to curb the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said it was “deeply saddened” to learn that the Airline will temporarily lay off about 3,600 of its members at Air Canada mainline and all 1,549 of its members at Air Canada Rouge. Representing close to 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge,…
According to a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), almost 25 million jobs may be lost, globally, owing to the coronavirus pandemic. However, a response policy coordinated at the global level can help reduce the adverse effects on worldwide unemployment. The ‘COVID-19 and world of work: Impacts and responses’ report by the ILO, emphasises the need for immediate, large-scale and coordinated measures, which will include protection of employees at the workplace, stimulation of the economy and employment, and supporting of jobs and incomes. The report also suggests extending social protection, facilitating employment retention through short-term work, paid leave and…
Amazon is planning to expand its warehouse and delivery workforce in the US by 100,000. The American multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce, has been facing a deluge of online orders following the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is hiring more full-time and part-time workers and also planning to give pay hikes to the existing staff. At present, the workers are paid $15 per hour, and even more in certain areas of the US. The Company is now planning to increase the pay for these workers by two dollars an hour in the US, two pounds per hour in the…
Sarovar Hotels has elevated Nihar Mehta to the position of general manager, human resources. Mehta was earlier corporate human resource manager at the Company. Backed by almost a decade of experience, Mehta will be in charge of heading the human resources (HR) department independently. He is also entrusted with driving all initiatives in the HR domain and will be responsible for managing employee development policies as well as systems for the organisation. Mehta had joined Sarovar Hotels as corporate HR manager in August, 2017. He was responsible for managing the general HR functions, including employee-development policies and systems. Prior to…
In an attempt to boost employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in China, many universities are now looking towards ‘cloud recruitment’ to get their students placed after graduation. An executive meeting held by the State Council opined that during this time of health crisis, a balanced approach should be taken to keep employment stable in the country. The ministry sent around a circular encouraging young college graduates to join the military, pursue higher education or find jobs in sectors, such as agriculture. The key labour targets are the recent college graduates and the migrant workers. Cloud recruiting allows employers to review and…
To facilitate work from home for its employees during the rapidly spreading health crisis, Amdocs, the company specialising in communications software and services, has launched a platform for its remote-working staff. On the website itself, Judith Yampolsky, head of Amdocs People, can be seen giving an introduction to the website and why they think it is necessary at this point in time. Called Virtually Together, the website aims to provide support in the form of facilities such as remote work management, video conferencing, real-time content sharing and digital and collaborative learning platforms. The website also offers health and well-being solutions,…
Facebook has shown its commitment to the well-being of its employees by announcing $1000 bonus for each employee, to deal with contingencies during the coronavirus pandemic. The amount, which is their full bonus for their six-month review, can be used by the employees for childcare or even to set up a home office in these difficult times. The social media platform has never given all its employees their full normal bonuses since its inception 16 years ago. Some of the full-time employees in its 45,000 strong workforce, have taken over the work of the contractual workers, employed through third-party contractors,…
The Delhi Government Welfare ASsociation has met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with a demand that all government offices in Delhi be closed for a week, as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19. With more than two lakh employees working for the Delhi government, and a majority of them having to interact with the public every day, the Association feels that all offices should be closed for seven days. The Association has conveyed to the chief minister that in case the Delhi government feels it is not possible to close all offices for a week, it should at least…