HR News: 10th, January 2022

 1. Assam government makes first weekend of 2022 long by 2 days for staff

The employees of the Government of Assam were in for good news at the start of the New Year when they were told they would get two extra days off, making it a long first weekend.

The employees were also instructed to upload pictures of the time spent with their parents and in-laws on the government portal, as detailed in the local newspapers.

In a video announcement, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wished for all government employees of Assam to use the long weekend to spend time with the elderly and the seniors and take a step towards preserving Indian values and traditions. He hoped that employees would care for the seniors in their families and seek blessings from the elderly to bring about positive transformations in the State as well as the nation.

2. 50% cut in paid leave for COVID-positive staff at Walmart

Employees of Walmart in the US who need to self-isolate or have tested positive for COVID-19 will now only get a week’s paid leave as against the two weeks that they were eligible for, earlier.

It has already allowed its corporate staff to work from home as far as possible, till the end of January. Earlier, it had asked them to return to office by January 10, but the same was pushed back amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases across the US.

Therefore, the hourly wage workers at Walmart’s stores as well as its drivers have been informed that those who need to quarantine themselves or are ordered to do so by Walmart or any healthcare or government agency, will get a week’s paid leave.

Walmart, which employs about 16 million workers, is one of the first organisations to reduce this leave in the US, probably taking into account the paucity of labour in the country.

3. Over 500 cabin crew of Air India to go on indefinite strike from January 15

The transition of Air India into a privately-held company is expected to see yet another hurdle from its workforce. The cabin crew union of the Airline, the Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), recently announced its decision to go on an indefinite strike starting January 15, 2022.

The Union, which is over 500 strong, has alleged that Air India managed has discriminated against it while issuing contracts. The union has sent the strike notice to the Air India’s CEO. The members intend to proceed as planned unless they receive a positive response from the management.

The primary demand of the Union is that the Air India management should reconsider the contract period of the cabin crew.

Secondly, the Union has demanded that the management offer a job to a cabin crew member who was injured on-the-job and is currently wheelchair bound. The president of the Union alleges that while the Labour Commission had directed the Company to offer the injured staff a ground job, the Company had chosen to terminate his employment instead.There has been no positive response till date.