South Korea – Government to increase foreign workers in hotels to ease labour shortage (Pulse News)

The South Korean government announced it will allow the employment of nonprofessional foreign workers who holds E-9 visas to expand the labour pool in the domestic tourism and hospitality industry, Pulse News reports. The E-9 visa is a general employment permit visa that allows foreign workers to work...

Australia – Landmark reforms aim to crack down on employers who exploit migrant workers

Australian employers that are found to exploit migrant workers will face penalties and will be barred from taking on more workers on temporary visas as part of new reforms aimed at cracking down on migrant worker exploitation.

In an announcement yesterday, the government said, “Following eight months...

Australia – Juice and coffee bar hit with fine for withholding JobKeeper payment from casual worker

Australian workplace watchdog the Fair Work Ombudsman secured penalties in court for the second time against the former operators of a Melbourne juice and coffee bar and a director, after they kept more than AUD 14,000 (USD 9,269) in JobKeeper payments instead of paying them to an employee.

The JobKeeper...

Malaysia – March unemployment rate improves to 3.5% in March

The unemployment rate in Malaysia stood at 3.5% in March, down by 0.6% from a year earlier, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

When compared to February 2023, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in March.

In March, the number of unemployed persons...

Singapore – Deputy prime minister expects AI to disrupt labour market but can also create more jobs (CNBC)

Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he expects technology, including artificial intelligence, to disrupt the labour market but added that it won’t eliminate jobs completely. CNBC reports Wong said in a speech that technology can make humans more productive and create more jobs.

“I do...

Japan – LinkedIn country head says firms need to adapt to changing values (Bloomberg)

The first female country head of LinkedIn Japan, Wakana Tanaka, argues companies in the country need to adapt to workers’ changing values if the country is going to improve its persistent gender inequality, according to a report by Bloomberg on The Japan Times website. Tanaka said Japan is at a “turning...

Australia – Labour hire licence rejection follows alleged bribe, false documents

A company in the Australian state of Victoria had its labour licence application rejected after the company allegedly offered a bribe to an inspector, according to a post by the Labour Hire Authority of Victoria. The company also allegedly provided false or misleading documents when the authority raised...

India – Tech Mahindra’s Brazilian subsidiary divests business line

IT services firm Tech Mahindra (TECHM:NSI) reported its Brazilian subsidiary is selling a business line, software services and solutions business Comviva Technologies do Brasil Indústria, Comércio, Importação e Exportação Ltda.

The business line provides software products, solutions and services;...

World – Average time to hire rises to 44 days in Q1

The average time to hire rose by one day in the first quarter, according to a report released by AMS, a global provider of RPO. and the HR research firm The Josh Bersin Co. It took an average of 44 days to hire people in the first quarter, up from 43 days reported a year ago.

In addition, the report showed...

Australia – Minimum wage to rise 5.75% from July amid cost of living crisis

Australia's lowest paid workers will take home an extra AUD 1.20 (USD 0.79) each hour when the new minimum wage decision takes effect from 1 July 2023.

The Fair Work Commission announced an increase to the rate of the National Minimum Wage by 5.75% in its 2023 decision, taking the hourly pay rate for...