The rocky road travelled by the Agency Workers Directive since 2002 is nearing its end as a final version has been approved in Europe. After six years on the back burner, a slightly revised version of the Directive has been adopted. It is no longer ...

Supermoms who have been on the front line since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic said passion for their jobs had sustained them during difficult demanding times.

Trust must be strong in your team: your trust in your team members; and their trust in you.

Some propose that frontline workers be housed at an isolated facility.

The co-working sector is likely to stare at a spate of consolidations as lockdown drags down revenues of companies.

The post SEA’s co-working operators fight for survival amid COVID-19 outbreak appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

The firm is offering 5 per cent of its existing outstanding shares, priced at a discount between 1.49-1.52 ringgit per share.

The post Malaysia’s Serba Dinamik to raise $53.5m for gearing, working capital appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

Ferrari is going to address the cooling on the F10 in time for the next race, after it emerged Felipe Massa backed off towards the end of the race to preserve his engine

Jenson Button has flown back to Woking to work in McLaren's simulator in the hope of resolving some of the set-up problems he experienced at the Malaysian Grand Prix

Research finds that both male and female judges are more likely to employ female clerks if they have worked with women

Discrimination over jobs is bad. Bad for those discriminated against, and bad for society, as talent is wasted and divisions sown.

Women reaching senior leadership positions in organisations is generally a sign of success for gender equality – but it can also lead to increased equality elsewhere. That is the important finding from new research on the (not famously diverse) world of judges. The study looks at the hiring of law clerks by senior judges in the US.

There will be some noticeable changes to the game when cricket resumes from its COVID-19 hiatus with one of the major differences being the way the ball is polished.

It's critical administrators produce the right response to the health challenges as swing bowling, along with wrist-spin, is a crucial part of attacking cricket. Both skills place a high priority on wicket-taking and need to be encouraged at every opportunity.

An out-swing bowler is seeking the edge to provide a catch behind the wicket. The in-swinger is delivered in search of a bowled or an lbw decision. In both cases the bowler, in seeking the perfect ambush, is also providing the batsman with a driving opportunity as the ball needs to be pitched full to achieve the desired outcome.

Either way two results are in play—a wicket or a boundary—which creates the ideal balance of tension and expectation. Fans crave a genuine contest between bat and ball and that's part of what attracts them to the game in the first place.

With ball tampering always a hot topic in the past, I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list [ie the use of natural substances] detailing the things bowlers feel help them to swing the ball. From this list the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal.

Due to the pandemic, this is the ideal time to conduct the exercise with cricket on hold. Using saliva or perspiration are now seen as a health hazard, so bowlers require something to replace the traditional methods of shining the ball.

An ideal LBW rule

And while they're in a magnanimous mood, the administrators should also make a change to the lbw law that would be welcomed by all bowlers.

The new lbw law would simply say: "Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion would go on to hit the stumps, is out, regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted."

Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps it's out.

There will be screams of horror—particularly from pampered batsmen—but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game.

Most important is fairness. If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury, not dismissal.

It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wrist-spinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump.

Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive [and successful] approach to Shane Warne coming round-the-wicket at Chennai in 1998 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

Bat and pad play

The current law encourages 'pad play' to balls pitching outside leg whilst this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field.

The law as it pertains to pitching outside leg was originally introduced to stop negative tactics to slow the scoring. Imagine trying to stifle players like VVS Laxman and Mark Waugh by bowling at their pads. The law should retain the current clause where negative bowling down leg-side is deemed to be illegal.

This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times. It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first innings totals would be virtually non-existent.

The priority for cricket administrators should be to maintain an even balance between bat and ball. These law changes would help redress any imbalance and make the game [particularly Test cricket] a far more entertaining spectacle.

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29/03/2018 - The OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct is seeking candidates for a new Chairs to assist in implementing and promoting the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Sweden’s 2008 reform of its labour migration policy, now one of the most open in the OECD, has helped businesses hire foreign workers quickly and cheaply, without hurting conditions for local workers, according to a new OECD report.

Working together: Labour Market Integration of Refugees in Germany and other OECD Countries

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Concerns around potential losses of competitiveness as a result of unilateral action on carbon pricing are often central for policy makers contemplating the introduction of such instruments. This paper is a review of literature on ex post empirical evaluations of the impacts of carbon prices on indicators of competitiveness as employed in the literature, including employment, output or exports, at different levels of aggregation.

Latest Environment Working Papers on greening household behaviour: overview of results from econometric analysis and policy implications; energy; food; transport; waste; and water.

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