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Garment Workers in Tamil Nadu Win Minimum Wage Hike

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The Madras High Court verdict on 15 July upholding the Tamil Nadu government's order to increase minimum wages for garment workers by 64 per cent is a big victory. However, workers need strong unions in order to implement the wage hike.

Years of struggle for Tamil Nadu garment workers paid off when the Madras High Court’s dismissed about 550 petitions filed by garment employers opposing a government order to increase the minimum wages for tailoring industry workers.

Minimum wages for garment workers were last revised in 2004. In 2005, the employers went to the court and stopped the wage revision

In 2012, the government formed an advisory committee and in October 2014, a government order announced new minimum wages revision for tailoring industry. Accordingly, the minimum wage for a cutter, the most skilled position, is Rs 8480 (US$ 127) while the helper, at the bottom of the skill pyramid, will receive Rs 7201 (US$ 107).

Although a low wage revision, employers still petitioned the court to cancel the government order. Garment workers’ unions also approached the court to contest the employers’ petition and to implement the wage revisions.

On 15 July, the Madras High Court ruled that the government’s order be upheld and stated that:
“minimum wages as notified shall be paid to the workers by the petitioners/management on and from the date of the notification as published in the Government Gazette, i.e. from December 2014.”

The court further directed the employers to pay the minimum wages along with the arrears within two months from the date of receipt of the court order, along with a 6 per cent interest from the date of notification till date of payment.

However, even after the court verdict, implementation of the new wages remains a major concern as large number of workers are not aware of the wage revision. Further, the Tamil Nadu government created a loophole when announcing a different set of very low minimum wages for the hosiery industry in January 2016, which will help employers to avoid paying higher wages.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL Global Union South Asia regional secretary, says that:
“Most of the government workers are precarious workers employed on piece rate and weekly wages with no regular employment contract. As employers do not regularize the employment of precarious workers, they are forced to shift from one factory to other factories frequently. Trade union presence in the garment factories in Tamil Nadu is also very low as employers strongly resist the formation of unions.

“Together these factors pose challenges for workers to get statutory minimum wages and arrears. It is imperative that we organize strong trade unions among garment workers to ensure that the new provisions are implemented”.

The Garment and Fashion Workers Union (GFWU), which played a crucial role in representing workers, welcomed the court verdict and called for the implementation of the high court order in letter and spirit.

“Irrespective of the fabric they are working, all tailoring workers should be considered on par and minimum wages should be implemented equally for all workers."

Courtesy: Industryall

Italian imam posts photos of nuns on beach: FB account blocked

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The imam of Florence has posted a picture of habit-wearing nuns splashing along the seashore on Facebook, calling for dialogue about burkini bans… but got his account blocked instead. The post by Izzedin Elzir got some 2,700 shares, and came in response to the French southern cities – like Cannes and Nice – prohibiting the wearing of burkinis on the beach.

The day after the imam published his post, he awoke to find his account blocked.

″It′s incomprehensible. I have to send them an ID document to reactivate it. They wanted to make sure it′s my account – it′s a very strange procedure,″ the indignant imam told La Repubblica.
 

Nuns on an Italian beach (photo: Izzedin Elzir)

 

On Friday, his account was back in: the imam said he hopes it wasn′t blocked because of the picture, as it urges dialogue, and ″we live in a society of law and freedom.″

He also noted that the burkini had only come into fashion among Muslim women over the past few years and he expressed regret that ″some politicians in France, instead of responding to the political and economic needs of their citizens, are focusing on how Muslims dress.″

On Tuesday, Italy′s Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told Corriere Della Serra that Italy wouldn′t follow France′s suit and ban the burkini, but will step up regulations of imams and mosques.
Two days later, Italian authorities expelled the Tunisian imam Khairredine Romdhane Ben Chedli. The 35-year-old imam was lately absolved of terrorism-related charges, but still deemed unfit to remain in his post, the ANSA news agency said.    (Russia Today)

Courtesy: Qantara.de

This incident followed fast on the heels of a knee-jerk and widely criticised reaction of the French authorities, theough the French police making woman remove clothing on Nice beach following the 'Burkini ban'.
Authorities in 15 towns have banned burkinis, citing public concern following recent terrorist attacks in the country

The Guardian reported that Photographs have emerged of armed French police confronting a woman on a beach and making her remove some of her clothing as part of a controversial ban on the burkini.
Authorities in several French towns have implemented bans on the burkini,which covers the body and head, citing concerns about religious clothing in the wake of recent terrorist killings in the country.
The images of police confronting the woman in Nice on Tuesday show at least four police officers standing over a woman who was resting on the shore at the town’s Promenade des Anglais, the scene of last month’s Bastille Day lorry attack.


French agency AFP saw a ticket given to the woman by police, which said she was not ‘wearing an outfit respecting good morals and secularism’. Photograph: Vantagenews.com

After they arrive, she appears to remove a blue long-sleeved tunic, although one of the officers appears to take notes or issue an on-the-spot fine.

The photographs emerged as a mother of two also told on Tuesday how she had been fined on the beach in nearby Cannes wearing leggings, a tunic and a headscarf.Her ticket, seen by French news agency AFP, read that she was not wearing “an outfit respecting good morals and secularism”.


The woman was on the beach when the police arrived. Photograph: Vantagenews.com

बाय दे वे खट्टर , साक्षी ने जींस पहन रखी है !

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Written by Dilip Khan

बाय दे वे खट्टर , साक्षी ने जींस पहन रखी है  !

खट्टर ने एक वक़्त में आदेश दिया कि हरियाणा में कोई भी स्कूल शिक्षिका जींस पहनकर नहीं आएंगी। बाद में पलट गए।


लड़कियों के ख़िलाफ़ काम करने वाले खाप का खट्टर ने समर्थन किया।

खट्टर ने कहा कि ‘बलात्कार के लिए लड़किया ज़्यादा ज़िम्मेदार होती हैं, क्योंकि वो शालीन ड्रेस नहीं पहनती और इससे लड़के मचल जाते हैं’।

खट्टर की लाइन पर अगर साक्षी चलतीं तो आज उन्हें कोई नहीं जानता और खट्टर आज उन्हें फूल-माला नहीं दे रहे
होते।

बाय दे वे, साक्षी ने जींस पहन रखी है।

और देखिए किस तरह जीतने के बाद वो मर्द के कंधे पर चढ़ गई थीं।

RSS और विहिप के मॉडल पर अगर साक्षी-सिंधू चलतीं तो घर में बैठकर चूल्हा-चौका करतीं या फिर दस बच्चे पैदा करने पर ध्यान लगातीं। संघ का यही मॉडल है लड़कियों के लिए।

सरकार को छोड़कर पूरे देश को बधाई देने का हक़ है। सरकार ने तो पदक तालिका से बाहर रखवाने के लिए कोई कोर-कसर नहीं छोड़ी। दीपा कर्माकर को फीजियो की ज़रूरत थी। नहीं भेजा। जब वो फाइनल में पहुंची तब जाकर सरकार ने एक फीजियोथेरेपिस्ट को यहां से रवाना किया।

बेशर्म मंत्री ने देश का नाम लगभग डुबो दिया था।

ओलंपिक कमेटी विजय गोयल का एक्रीडेशन रद्द करने वाला था। नोटिस दे ही दिया। ये आदमी वहां जाकर लगुओं-भगुओं के साथ मिलकर लोगों से बदतमीजी कर रहा था।

इसलिए देश में हर कोई बधाई दें, सरकार को छोड़कर।

सरकार गोमूत्र पिला कर मानेगी और हम पी कर रहेंगे

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Written by Dilip Mandal

पंडे-पुरोहित चला रहे हैं देश.

हम गोमूत्र पीने के ही काबिल देश हैं.

सरकार पिला कर मानेगी और हम पी कर रहेंगे!

हम सब अपने चारों ओर विज्ञान और टेक्नोलॉजी से घिरे हुए हैं. जीवन के हर क्षेत्र में इनका असर है.

ऐसे समय में केंद्र सरकार स्पेक्ट्रम की नीलामी को श्राद्ध यानी पितृ पक्ष खत्म होने तक टालने का मन बना रही है. 1अक्तूबर से नवरात्र शुरू है. टेलीकॉम कंपनियों ने सरकार को लिखकर दिया है कि वे शुभ मुहूर्त में ही यह बोली लगाना चाहती हैं. भारत सरकार के टेलीकॉम सचिव इसके लिए तैयार हैं. 🙂

स्पेक्ट्रम तरंगो का वह सुपर हाईवे है जिसपर चलकर हमारी मोबाइल आवाज और डाटा का सफर तय होता है.

एक पोंगापंथी देश सबसे आधुनिक टेक्नोलॉजी को कैसे अपनाता है, इसकी मिसाल हैं हम.