Australia – Migrant temporary workers found to be vulnerable to wage theft, report finds

The majority, or 88% of foreign language job ads in New South Wales, Australia, advertise a rate of pay below the minimum wage stipulated by the relevant Modern Award, according to a report from Unions New South Wales.

The report states that the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in Australia is...

India – Apple probing if facility flouted supplier rules (Reuters)

Tech giant Apple Inc said today that it is investigating whether a Taiwan contractor, Wistron Corp, flouted supplier guidelines at an iPhone manufacturing facility in India, after some workers ransacked the plant in a protest over unpaid wages, reports Reuters. Thousands of contract workers gathered...

Australia – Use of casual workers reaches peak for Australian Public Service (Nambucca Guardian)

Public service continues its trend of increasing casual and non-ongoing staff hitting its peak over the past 20 years in 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic caused an enormous surge in casual and short-term appointments, reports the Nambucca Guardian. The main public sector union said the casualisation of...

India – Nearly half of employers hired virtually in 2020 (Business Standard)

Nearly, half, or 47% of employers in India hired only virtually, while nearly one in three used a combination of virtual and face-to-face hiring during the pandemic, reports Business Standard, citing a survey from Indeed. Nearly two in every five employers said that virtual hiring is here to stay, while...

India – TCS, Infosys and Wipro employees to work from home until at least March 2021 (Times Now)

Employees at IT services giants Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS:NSI), Infosys Ltd. (INFY:NSI) and Wipro Ltd. (WIPRO:NSI) will continue working from home until at least March 2021, Times Now reported. Richard Lobo, executive VP, head HR, at Infosys, told Times Now that 99% of its employees in India...

New Zealand – Labour contractor gets NZD 230,000 fine

A former kiwifruit labour contractor in the Bay of Plenty and its former owner have been ordered to pay NZ 230,000 (USD 162,154) over employment standards violations, according to the New Zealand Labor Inspectorate.

The company, Raj Kiwi, has been penalised NZD 160,000 (USD 112,803), with former shareholder...

Australia – Casual workers bear brunt of Covid job losses

Casual workers accounted for approximately two-thirds of people who lost a job during the beginning part of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported today.

“Total employment fell from around 13 million to 12.2 million between February and May 2020, with two-thirds of the fall...

Asia Pacific – HR tech firm, video interviewing provider and talent platform announce funding: Tech roundup

Several Asia-Pacific firms announced funding rounds. HR tech platform HiBob Inc. announced a USD 70 million funding round while video interviewing platform myInterview announced a USD 5 million seed funding round. Meanwhile, Indian talent platform Awign announced an undisclosed funding round.

HiBob

HiBob...

World – Apple accused of allowing suppliers to violate labour law by overusing dispatched workers

Apple has been accused of ignoring its suppliers’ violations of Chinese labour laws.

According to The Verge which cited a report from digital media company The Information (paywall), Apple's suppliers have periodically filled their factories with temporary workers or “dispatch workers”,...

Australia – Job ads slip 3.3%: ANZ Bank

Job advertisements in Australia fell by 3.3% in November 2020 on a seasonally adjusted basis when compared to November 2019, according to data from ANZ Bank.

ANZ Bank’s data is based on information provided by the operators of the following sites: Seek.com.au, and the Department of Education, Skills...