PETER HITCHENS: Where political parties combine patriotism, a strong but just welfare state, good education, firm policing and tough defence, they tend to win elections.

Labour MP for Batley and Spen, West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, 58, sparked outrage this week after her black off-the-shoulder dress slipped down her arm at the despatch box.

The guest (pictured) said what Tracy Brabin wore at the despatch box in the House of Commons 'looked like a disco outfit and not like a politician'.

Here's a selection of Business Standard Opinion pieces for the day

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces of the day

With the Congress and Samajwadi Party attacking the Uttar Pradesh government for exempting industries in the state from some labour laws for the next three years, Labour Minister Swami Prasad Maurya on Friday accused the opposition of showing their anti-workers face and shedding crocodile for them. Those who are shedding crocodile tears for workers perhaps do not know that this ordinance will not only pave way for bringing investments but would also open employment opportunities at a time when large number of migrant labourers are returning home and have to be provided jobs in the state, Swami Prasad Maurya said. The state Cabinet chaired by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier this week had given its nod to 'Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020' to exempt factories, business establishments and industries from the purview of all, except three labour laws and one provision of another law for three years. Earlier in the day, Congress general ..

The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government for exempting industries in the state from some labour laws, saying it comes at a time when the condition of labourers is the "worst" during coronavirus pandemic. In a series of Hindi tweets, BSP chief Mayawati said, "Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the condition of labourers is perhaps the worst, and even then a mechanism has been implemented where instead of 8 hours of work, they are made to work for 12 hours. This is very sad and unfortunate. Change in labour laws should be in the interest of the labourers." "Babasaheb BR Ambedkar had brought the concept of overtime, if the labourers had worked for more than 8 hours in a day, when exploitation of labour was at its peak. Is it correct to push the country to that era," she asked in another tweet. The BSP chief also said, "Keeping the current situation prevailing in the country, the labour laws should be changed in a way, so that labourers working in a factory .

The ruling JD(U) on Saturday slammed AAP for claiming that it bore the cost of ferrying migrant workers from Delhi to their home in Bihar, saying the party was speaking "half-truth" as the Arvind Kejriwal government has sought reimbursement of the payment. The Janata Dal (United) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accused the Aam Admi Party (AAP) of resorting to "cheap politics to gain popularity". The JD(U) also came down heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav for lapping up the issue to attack the NDA dispensation, asking him to stop the rhetoric and do something good for the people of Bihar. The AAP had on Friday claimed that the Kejriwal government paid for the migrant labourers travelling home after the Bihar government left them in the lurch. The train carrying 1,200 migrant labourers left for Muzaffarpur, Bihar today. The Arvind Kejriwal government will bear their full travel cost, Delhi minister Gopal Rai had tweeted on Friday. In a ...

The Gujarat government on Saturday announced exemption from certain labour laws for 1,200 days to firms that want to set up new units in the state in order to "boost economic activities" post-lockdown. Earlier, governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had offered concessions from labour regulations in their states to attract investment. The government also announced relief amid coronavirus pandemic for industries which use natural gas supplied by Gujarat Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, by giving more time to pay gas bills. "Companies in Gujarat, India and abroad willing to bring new projects and set up new units in the state will be freed from labour laws for 1,200 days, except those related to the minimum wages and industrial safety," said Ashwani Kumar, secretary to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Local MSME owners willing to set up new units will also get this exemption, he said. In a tweet, Chief Minister's Office said that ...

This is the first part of a three part series on child labour in Kerala by Navya P K, who is reporting on this topic for PII-­UNICEF Media Fellowship, which was awarded to her recently.

Cases on child labour or trafficking are rarely filed by the labour department and police. Even when cases are filed, offenders get away quickly. Navya P K reports.

Kerala lacks a system to rehabilitate migrant child labourers. Navya P K finds out how rescued children are sent off to their home districts, and then forgotten.

One aspect of the recent south Asian earthquake disaster that has received little media attention so far is its effect on livelihoods. But employment and livelihoods are not the stuff of which headlines are made – unless, of course, it is in the context of the corporate world, or when it cannot be ignored such as a nation-wide strike, says Ammu Joseph.

The vendors and hawkers of the Chingrajpara slum in Bilaspur are the lynchpin of the slum’s homespun economy. In this seventh article in our SLUM DIARIES series, Ashima Sood notes that operating on small capital outlays, these petty retailers offer a humbling portrait of entrepreneurship in action.

Several recent studies bring out the abysmal deprivation from entitlements among India’s vast internal migrant population. Shambhu Ghatak throws light on the problems faced by migrants and explores if the UID can indeed live up to its promise of making mobility a smoother process.

A conniving chain of regulators, police, and contractors is profiteering upon the backs of gruelling labour by migrants. Jaideep Hardikar reports on the exploitation.

Migrant labourers of MP are stuck in debt in Maharashtra and also in a system that assures no health coverage for their hazardous occupation of stone crushing. Jaideep Hardikar recounts their travails.

Institutionalised delivery is encouraged as a means of reducing maternal/infant mortality, but the misbehaviour meted to pregnant women in government hospitals deters them from seeking such care. Ruhi Kandhari reports.

इस दिन को मजदूरों के काम के घंटों को कम करवाने के मकसद से मनाना शुरू किया गया था. दरअसल उस वक्त मजदूर दिन में 10 से 15 घंटे तक काम किया करते थे. ऐसे में कामकाजी लोगों को इस मौके पर बधाई जरूर देनी चाहिए.

Leaders of political parties on Friday expressed concern over the sad state of Odia migrant labourers stranded at different parts of the country.

Covid-19 lockdown: Sitaram Yechury writes to President Kovind on labour laws

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat ease labour laws

India reforms only in a crisis, has been the succour economists have proffered in gloomy Covid times. The Uttar Pradesh government has done well to set the ball rolling by approving an ordinance exempting businesses...

Noida-based filmmaker Vinod Kapri accompanied one such group on a 1200-km journey from Ghaziabad to their native place Saharsa, in Bihar

Five prominent labour activists have returned to their homes more than a year after they were arrested in coordinated raids in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, according to people close to them and a Hong Kong-based rights group.

The Pune labour commissioner’s office recently issued a notice to technology giant Wipro after receiving complaints of the alleged benching of 300 employees, and salary cuts of an undisclosed number of entry-level staffers, most of whom are BPO employees. The May 1 notice of labour office told the company to “refrain from laying off any employee or face legal action.

Machhiwara police on Friday booked a woman and her alleged lover for abetment to suicide after her husband died in a road accident while going to commit suicide. The deceased was identified as Gurwinder Singh — a labourer in his thirties — from Indra Colony in Machhiwara.

The employers' organisations also sought relaxation of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act to treat the lockdown period as lay-off.

Several state governments have eased labour laws to attract more investment and jump-start the cycle of demand after days of lockdown that has hit the economy badly.

The move follows similar decisions taken by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments to revive the economy that has been badly hit due to the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown.

A request was also made for tweaking benefits under ESI and PF. However, as both fall under the central government, the state authorities have reportedly expressed it inability to make any amendments to the norms.

The Hyderabad MP alleged that the lockdown was announced in an unplanned manner without providing relief to migrant labourers from states, including Bihar, UP, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Chowdhury said that a large portion of the migrant labourers are from the minority community and urged that the government feed these people during the month of Ramadan owing to their hapless condition.

Sarma also said that all the attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat event have volunteered to stay in isolation camps in Assam, adding the government took a humanitarian approach while dealing with the crisis.

The former Chief Minister will hold discussions with them and seek their suggestions on measures to be taken to put pressure on the government on various issues and to resolve them, his office said in a statement.

At present, companies from Japan, United States, Korea and other European nations with huge investment in China are mulling to move out after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Congress said the decision to go back or stay in the state should be with the labourers and not the government, with the former being free to choose health or work.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday passed an ordinance to suspend most of the labour laws in the state, in order to attract new companies to invest in the state amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The decision was an unfortunate one, withdrawing the protection given to workers and labourers, BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said.

Workers are being treated as slaves, said the letter signed by CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja, CPI (ML)'s Dipankar Bhattarcharya and RJD MP Manoj Jha among others.

The JDU, headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accused the AAP of resorting to "cheap politics to gain popularity" as the Arvind Kejriwal government has sought reimbursement of the payment.

The concessions will be in place for the next 1,000 days to help industries “get back on their feet”

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair argued that the two major UK parties, Conservative and Labour, are 'peddling fantasies' ahead of the upcoming election.

Five prominent labour activists have returned to their homes more than a year after they were arrested in coordinated raids in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, according to people close to them and a Hong Kong-based rights group.

Thousands of labourers from other states assembled near Bandra railways station on the last day of the 21-day lockdown to go to their native cities and villages as a rumour of special trains spread.

[London] : [Published by the National Union of Wome's Suffrage Societies, Parliament Chambers, 14, Great Smith Street, S.W.], [1911?]