HR Headlines : October, 2007

Survey: India Is The Lowest IT Paymaster
Though considered the IT talent hub, ironically, India has been identified as one of the lowest paymasters for information technology (IT) managers, according to Mercer’s 'IT pay around the world survey 2007'. The average salary of Indian IT managers is $25,000 a year. This positions it fourth from the bottom. The lowest pay is received by IT managers in Vietnam, Bulgaria and the Philippines at $15,470, $22,240 and $22,280 a year, respectively. The low wage structure is the main attraction to outsource work to Indian IT companies. Switzerland emerged as the best paymaster for IT managers with an average salary of $140,960 annually.
Source: 18-10-07 Business Standard


TCS To Add 9,000 More In Third Quarter
Tata Consultancy Services will hire 9,000 employees by October-December quarter. According to Mr Padmanabhan, Executive Director Human Resources, the company plans to hire 35,000 employees in the financial year ending March 31, 2008. Currently, the company’s Mumbai unit is the largest, employing around 9000 people. Soon, Chennai will better the Mumbai operations as the new facility comes up.
Source: 17-10-07 www.topnews.in



Govt Staff To Get Fatter Pay Packages
Diwali may brighten up further for 4.5 million central government employees as the Sixth Pay Commission is expected to give a significant boost to their basic salaries. The recommendations are likely to be submitted in January and the award is likely to come into effect from January 2006. If the appraisal comes into force, a central government secretary may get up to around Rs 75,000. This does not include other allowances and perks. Earlier, the Fifth Pay Commission had raised salaries by around 30 per cent from January 1996.
Source: 17-10-07 www.rediff.com


Recruitment Process Becoming Tougher In India
According to experts, the booming economy and surging job opportunities in India has thrown its own share of challenges. It is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to hire and retain the talent pool. Today, recruitment is $1.25 billion industry, with a growth rate of more than 250 per cent. But experts opine that to maintain the momentum, continuous restructuring and innovation is essential. In India, recruitment means talent acquisition. Sourcing the right talent pool, in a cost effective way at the correct time is a major challenge for recruiters. Thus, companies need to re-strategise their hiring methods to succeed. Facilities like gymnasium, eating outlets and office transport are a must today. Companies that would be able to offer the best to their employees would be able to succeed in the long run.
Source: 13-10-07 www.rediff.com



Govt To Study Hardware Workforce Preparedness
Centre is likely to undertake a comprehensive study to assess the manpower skill-set demand and supply in the electronics hardware manufacturing space. Government may collaborate with hardware association MAIT (Manufacturers Association for Information Technology) for this purpose. National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has identified electronics hardware as a thrust area. The sector is expected to generate a direct employment of 7 million and indirect employment of 14 million professionals by 2015.
Source: 15-10-07 www.thehindubusinessline.com


IIT Kharagpur To Develop Rural Talent
The Indian rural youth can look forward to become tech-savvy courtesy Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, (IIT-KGP). The premier institute has launched four courses for rural development this year. The courses are aimed to develop skill among the rural youth and create self-employment opportunities. These courses will train rural youths in operating and maintaining electrical and mechanical gadgets, like pumps and engines. Apart from this, students will learn to operate and maintain machines used for harvesting like tractors, oil crushers, de-husking machines, ploughing and processing tools, grinder, oil expeller-starch extractor, seed drill-sprayer, duster, thresher and power tiller. These courses will commence from November this year and train 200 rural youths.
Source: 17-10-07 Business Standard

I-T Workers To 6th Pay Comm: Raise Wages With Rising Tax Collection
The Income Tax officials are now seeking salaries at par with corporate sector from the Sixth Pay Commission. The demand comes in the backdrop of an unprecedented growth of around 40 per cent in direct tax collections. In a presentation to the pay commission, the employees asserted that it was important to have the pay scales and perquisites at par with private sector to retain the talent in public sector. Income Tax Employees Federation, New Delhi and IT Appellate Tribunal Bar Association, Mumbai besides other associations have sent separate representations to the pay commission. The employees have pointed towards high salaries of tax officials at international level and urged that better wages may help remove the perceived feeling of discrimination among the Indian I-T workforce.
Source: 14-10-07 www.dnaindia.com


Dissatisfaction Over Pay Sets In Prasar Bharati Admin Staff
The administrative staff of All India Radio and Doordarshan across the country are giving voice to their dissatisfaction over disparity in the pay scales. They have even threatened to launch a nationwide agitation. The administrative employees are being paid less than the engineering and programme employees on the ground that they have been completely absorbed with the broadcaster. There are more than 7,000 workers in the admin staffof Prasar Bharti across the country.
Source: 16-10-07 www.dnaindia.com

Retirement Fund By ICICI Prudential Mutual
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd plans to launch an asset allocation fund targeted at investors planning to retire between 2015 and 2030. The Fund Series would offer four plans. As per the scheme, each plan would initially invest in equities and shift money gradually to debt and money market instruments as they approach the target retirement year. The fund would invest at least 10 per cent of the assets in equities and the rest in debt and money market instruments.
Source: 16-10-07 Reuters

Mr Vineet Nayar Assumes CEO Role At HCL Tech
The President of HCL Technologies Ltd, Mr Vineet Nayar, has assumed charge as the CEO with effect from October 16, 2007. His place will be filled by Mr Shiv Nadar, who will be the Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of the company.
Source: 16-10-07 www.sify.com

Sify Appoints Mr Vijay Kumar As CFO
Sify Technologies Ltd., the Internet service provider, has hired Mr Vijay Kumar to serve as Chief Financial Officer. Mr Kumar has previously worked as the Assistant General Manager of investment banking for Sundaram Finance Services Ltd., Chennai. He has also headed an independent audit and consultancy business.
Source: 18-10-07 www.cnnmoney.com

ONGC Moots Better Remuneration To Retain Talent
In an attempt to arrest attrition, ONGC is trying to convince government about the need to provide attractive pay packages to employees. According to Dr. A.K Balyan, the Director (HR), it is high time PSUs match the wages paid by the private companies. Otherwise, their best talent will leave them for greener pastures shown by the private oil companies. ONGC would recruit 1,500 employees this year and is formulating attractive policies to retain the trained employees. The Oil major is also open to welcome back the employees who them earlier.
Source: 15-10-07 www.sify.com


Reliance Claims Better Rehab Package Than Govt
If Mukesh Ambani-promoted Mumbai Special Economic Zone Company is to be believed, the rehabilitation package drafted by them is better than the one cleared by the government. The company asserts that the package offers many attractive monetary benefits and career opportunities. Company’s MSEZ package has a provision to return 12.5 per cent of developed land to the Project Affected Persons (PAPs) as compared to the union government's policy of returning 10 per cent. The company also claims that its MSEZ package is the best among all the rehabilitation packages in the country.
Source: 13-10-07 www.rediff.com


Bajaj Asks IIT Students To Stay Put
Industrialist Rahul Bajaj has appealed to students from premium institutions not to leave the country and be a part of the action here. He urged that those students who leave the country after enjoying quality subsidised higher education here should be charged at the market rates. He reaffirmed the view that in the coming times, most of the economic activity will be based in the east.
Source: 13-10-07 www.rediff.com

Lower Wage Hikes At TCS Next Year
Next year, the employees at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, or TCS, would see lower salary hikes as compared to this year. This year, the average salary hike ranged between 12% and 15% for employees in India. TCS, India’s largest private sector employer, employs more than 100,000 workers. The decision to slow down wage increases will affect the remuneration of fresh recruits from university campuses also. TCS is hirng science graduates also in addition to the engineering graduates. The company trains science graduates at its training centre in Chennai. TCS has already made job offers to 22,000 students at 265 colleges and universities in India.
Source: 17-10-07 www.livemint.com


VRS For Waluj Workers At Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto Ltd has offered a Voluntary Retirement Scheme(VRS) to its 4,000-odd workers at its Waluj plant near Aurangabad. The offer comes two months after they were given a wage revision. Those workers who have been working here for at least 10 years and are over 40 years of age can avail this scheme. Under the scheme, those eligible can get three months of salary per year of employment, or wages for the remaining period of service, subject to a ceiling of Rs 5 lakh. 100 per cent of the basic and Dearness Allowance for 10 years or till they retire has been offered to those between 40 and 50 years of age. Those above 50 will be given 75 per cent of the basic and DA with the same conditions.
Source: 17-10-07 Business Line

Novartis To Cut 1,260 jobs
Amid tougher regulatory scrutiny and stepped-up competition, New Jersey's major pharmaceutical company Novartis plans to shed 1,260 jobs. The firm will also shake up its leadership of the pharmaceutical division. Novartis will cut 240 jobs at its U.S. headquarters in East Hanover. Most of the job cuts will be seen in the sales department. This will include the termination of 510 contract salespeople.
Source: 19-10-07 www.nj.com


UK Unemployment Rate Unchanged For 3 Months
The unemployment rate in Britain has held steady at 5.4 pct in the three months to August. The number of jobless people fell by 1,000 between July and September to 1.43mn. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell for the twelfth successive month.
Source: 17-10-07 Business Line

Merrill Lynch Hires Mr Yang
Merrill Lynch & Co has hired Mr Wayne Yang as head of its private investment business group in Asia Pacific region. Formerly, Mr Yang has worked with Citigroup Inc’s private bank.
Source: 17-10-07 DNA

BBC May Shed Up To 2,800 Jobs
The British broadcaster BBC plans to cut 2, 800 jobs. In the process, hundreds of BBC workers could be asked to reapply for their present jobs. Reportedly, the staff will be required to complete CVs and 200-word covering letters. The corporation is £2bn over budget due to overestimating its licence fee settlement. As a result, it wants to lay off the jobs. Even the journalists will have to reapply for their jobs to ensure open and fair procedure.
Source: 16-10-07 www.personneltoday.com

AOL To Cut 2,000 Jobs
Internet firm AOL plans to lay off 2,000 jobs worldwide. The company is refocusing its business on online advertising. About 1,200 jobs are going at its US operations, while a further 800 foreign posts will disappear. The overhaul comes in wake of the shift in revenues from internet subscriptions to advertising. The company says the changes would allow it to focus on investment in key areas. The latest job cuts come on the heels of 5,000 positions dumped in marketing and customer services last year.
Source: 16-10-07 news.bbc.co.uk

Mr Naresh Nayyar Hired As CEO Of Essar Energy
Essar Energy Holdings Ltd has appointed Mr Naresh Nayyar as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar Energy Holdings Ltd (EEHL) and Managing Director of Essar Oil Ltd (EOL). He will be responsible for all operations and projects of the hydrocarbon business, both in India and internationally.
Source: 16-10-07 www.thehindubusinessline.com


Mr Mehraboon Irani Joins Centrum
Centrum Broking Pvt Ltd has announced the appointment of Mr Mehraboon Irani as the Senior Vice-President, portfolio management services. Earlier, Mr Irani has worked with Darashaw & Co as Vice-President, equities. He brings with him vast understanding of the marketing trends and capabilities of financial analysis.
Source: 17-10-07 DNA

V&S Announces Mr Bhasin’s Appointment
Mr Sanjay Bhasin has joined V&S Broadcasting, a subsidiary of UTV Broadcasting, in capacity of Vice-President, ad sales. Earlier, he was working with The Walt Disney Company as Associate Director, ad sales. Mr Bhasin will look after the ad sales of V&S Broadcasting’s forthcoming set of three channels in the coming months. Mr Bhasin has work experience of 17 years in marketing and sales. He has also worked with the Times Group, New Delhi, Buena Vista Television and MTV Networks.
Source: 17-10-07 DNA


Compiled by : Amresh Anjan

HR Headlines: December, 07 part-2

Indians Notching Top Jobs In Corporate America
Three Indian Americans have made it to the New York Times list of 15 foreign born CEOs of Fortune 100 companies in the US. Recently appointed Mr Vikram Pandit heads Citigroup, Ms Indra Nooyi is CEO of Pepsico and Ms Ramani Iyer is Chairperson and CEO of the $27 billion Hartford Financial Group. Other big guns of Indian origin in corporate America include Mr Raj Gupta, Chairperson and CEO of the $8 billion specialty materials company Rohm & Haas, Mr Vinod Gupta, CEO of the $400 million InfoUSA, and Mr Deven Sharma, President of Standard & Poor's. Other big names in the past have included Mr Rono Dutta, President of United Airlines, Mr Rakesh Gangwal, CEO of US Airways, Mr Rajat Gupta, Managing Partner of McKinsey & Co., Ms Meeta Vyas, former CEO of Signature Brands and Mr Jim Wadia, CEO of Arthur Andersen that spun off Accenture.
Source: 13-12-07 www.sify.com


More White Collar Jobs Going To Tier II Cities
The upbeat mood of Indian economy is showing its impact on smaller cities as well. The latest Assocham study reveals that Tier-II cities have cornered over 20% of white collar jobs created in the last four months. Improving infrastructure and growing talent pool in smaller cities is pushing up employability options here. Chandigarh leads the pack, ahead of Kolkata and Hyderabad,.followed by Ludhiana, Bhopal and Vijaywada. IT sector remains the biggest employer in some of these cities.
Source: 13-12-07 www.livemint.com


IT firms, Educational Institutions Gearing Up To Face Talent Crunch
India is considered the hub of IT manpower but things are not as rosy for the sector as the fear of a massive shortage of skilled manpower looms large in the next few years. Foreseeing the talent crunch, country's top IT firms are enhancing their interaction with colleges and universities to ensure that graduates who pass out from these institutions match the industry's requirements. IT firms like Tata Consultancy Services, as well as Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computer and HCL are either already working with engineering colleges or are planning to collaborate with the academia to make sure that professionals with the right skills enter the sector. It is estimated that India produces over 3.65 lakh engineering graduates and 30 lakh other graduates every year. However, hardly 20 per cent of them are suited for industry needs.
Source: 09-12-07 www.sify.com

Ability Foundation Job Fair In Delhi On Feb 24, 2008
The Ability Foundation, working for the cause of disabled people, will hold a one day job fair on 24th February, 2008 in Delhi. The fair is an extension of Ability Foundation’s Placement Wing. It been hailed as a milestone since the time it was first held in 2004. Trade-marked as EmployABILITY, the fair brings together discerning employers, sensitive to the right to equal opportunity employment for disabled people, with a sea of qualified candidates with disabilities. It connects committed companies to a wealth of graduates, post-graduates and professional diploma holders with disabilities, for mutual benefit. Here, the employer discovers a highly talented pool of future employees and the candidates have the access to the job that they are qualified for and have set their hearts on. In 2004, 32 companies registered for participation. Last year, as many as 1100 candidates from across the country attended the fair and were interviewed for jobs by 75 companies.
Source: 14-12-07 Ability Foundation


Mr Snehal Shah And Mr Nicky Tejwaney Honoured
NSR Placement Services Directors, Mr. Snehal Shah and Mr.Nicky Tejwaney have been selected among the Top 10 Young Achievers in Pune by ‘CNBC TV 18 Young Turks’. The honour has been bestowed as an appreciation of their great achievements at a young age. They have been running the IT Recruitment Consultancy successfully for the last 6 years. NSR and Temp Talent, with over 100 people, are growing at 300% every year for the past 6 years. The company is expanding on a rapid scale and there are plans to increase their headcount to 500 by 2010. NSR is looking at acquisitions in the HR (Recruitment) space marking its footprint firmly on the Indian recruitment map.

For more details visit www.nsrplacements.com and www.temp-talent.com
Source: 13-12-07 Company Bureau



SC Makes Perks Part Of Salary For Dependency Relief
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court has held that companies have to take into consideration gross income of the deceased, including perks, allowances and contributions made by him while determining compensation for accidental relief. The apex court has ruled that any contribution made by the employee during his lifetime formed part of the salary and they should be included in the monthly income, while calculating the dependency compensation. The ruling came on an appeal of National Insurance Company Ltd against an order of the Allahabad High Court which upheld the compensation determined by the Tribunal on the basis of total package of an employee of a private company who died in a road accident.
Source: 13-12-07 The Indian Express



Citigroup Appoints Mr Vikram Pandit As CEO
Citigroup, the world's largest financial services organization, has announced the appointment of Mr Vikram S Pandit as the Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Mr Pandit, 50, has also been included in the board of directors. His appointment is the result of a high level search after former CEO Mr Charles Prince stepped down following huge investment losses for Citigroup. Mr Pandit was Citigroup's investment banking head before his new appointment. Prior to joining Citigroup, he has worked with rival Morgan Stanley for more than two decades. Mr Pandit has informed investors that his first priority would be to improve and enhance productivity.
Source: 12-12-07 www.rediff.com



PSUs Hiring Like Never Before
Public sector companies, especially PSUs in the infrastructure and banking sectors are doing large-scale recruitments. The new inductions are mainly happening at the entry level. For instance, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), steel major SAIL, NTPC, National Aluminium Company and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation are hiring aggressively. It is estimated that public sector is slated to recruit over 1.5 lakh employees across various levels over the next three years. Even banks like State Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Bank of Baroda are in an expansion mode.
Source: 12-12-07 www.sify.com


Top Three IT Companies To Hire Big Time in 2008
India's top three IT companies, TCS, Infosys and Wipro are expected to recruit 90,000 people in 2008, according to Kotak Chief Strategist Mr Alroy Lobo. The big hiring will be an outcome of increasing outsourcing to India. He believed that outsourcing is growing because of three factors namely cost, scale and time-to-market. Apart from outsourcing, Mr Lobo expected high growth in construction, power, ports and the logistics sectors also.
Source: 12-12-07 www.rediff.com



Apex Court Advocates Sacking For Swindlers
The Supreme Court has ruled that there is no scope of sympathy for an employee who embezzles company funds and the fraudster deserves sacking. The ruling came in favour of an appeal by the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) against an Uttaranchal HC order to reinstate an employee sacked for stealing funds. The apex court ruled that there is no scope for generosity or misplaced sympathy on the part of judicial forums and they were not supposed to interfere with the quantum of punishment.
Source: 09-12-07 Hindustan Times



Bank Officers To Cause Stir In Demand Of Fixed Working Hours, Pension
The associations of bank officers across the country have come together to demand fixed working hours and provision of pension. They are also fighting against contractual appointments and mergers and acquisitions of banks. They have vowed to initiate a relentless struggle to achieve their demands. Associations believe that the bank officers have no fixed hours and end up working upto 16 hours a day. Also, their long-pending demand for a second option of pension has remained unfulfilled. The associations also assert that there was no need for mergers and acquisitions of banks as the rural market still needed to be tapped.
Source: 10-12-07 : www.sify.com


Appreciating Rupee Increases Woes Of Job Seekers
The rising value of rupee against dollar has adversely affected the export sector, thus hitting employment opportunities in this sector. In fact, the pressure on labour markets started showing last year. Latest official statistics reveal that the number of registered job seekers shot up to 4.14 crore in 2006. The increase came after two years of decline in the number of job seekers in 2004 and 2005. However, the figure in 2006 reveals that job seekers are growing at a faster rate than job opportunities. This addition in the number of job seekers is attributed to four sources: those seeking jobs for the first time, those wishing to shift from traditional agriculture to towns in search of new jobs, those who lose their jobs and seek fresh ones and those already employed and seeking better opportunities. India, along with countries such as Russia and Indonesia reported an increase in the number of unemployed while most other emerging economies reported a decrease in the number of jobless.
Source: 11-12-07 K10 Technologies


Young Professionals Constantly Looking For Greener Pastures
Not just IT and ITeS sectors, but the traditional and manufacturing sectors are also feeling the heat of rising attrition. In fact, attrition has come to be an accepted thing in most sectors now. Today, young professionals are looking for fast and tangible growth. As a consequence, they are much more mobile than their predecessor generation and always in search of greener pastures. HR departments across sectors find retention harder than recruitment of staff. So, most companies are trying to put in place innovative HR policies to retain their staff and bring down the rate of attrition. Even industry bodies such as the Confederation of Indian Industry promote a continuing dialogue and consultation programme within organisations and among HR professionals.
Source: 10-12-07 www.thehindu.com


More Women Joining The IT Industry
A study by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has indicated that the percentage of women employed in the IT (information technology) and ITeS (IT-enabled Services) sectors is set to grow from 30 per cent to 45 per cent by 2010. The male-female ratio is also expected to improve from 76:24 in 2006 to 65:35 by early 2008. Nasscom President Mr Kiran Karnik upheld progressive and flexible human resource management policies as a reason for more educated young women joining the IT industry.
Source: 13-12-07 www.thehindu.com



Technosoft To Set Up Development Centre at Bengaluru; Hire More
Technosoft Corporation, based in US and a leading player in outsourcing services, will set up a development centre in Bengaluru as part of its expansion plans in India. Currently, the company has a centre in Chennai, which employs over 350 people. In an attempt to leverage the large pool of skilled resources in Bengaluru, the company is expected to employ 200 professionals over the next 12 months.
Source: 11-12-07 Hindu Business Line



Growth Of Indian Job Market May Slow Down In New Year
According to a survey conducted by Manpower Services India, the pace of growth of the Indian Job Market may slow down in the first quarter of the New Year although hiring will still remain at considerably good levels. The survey was conducted across seven industries including finance, manufacturing, mining and construction, public administration and education, services, transportation & utilities, wholesale and retail trade. Mining and construction is the hottest in hiring outlook for Q1, 2008, at more than 49 per cent. All other sectors have shown a dip in the Net Employment Outlook.
Source: 11-12-07 Hindustan Times Business




Mr Deepak Dhar Becomes Managing Director At Endemol India
Endemol India has promoted Mr Deepak Dhar from his current position as a Creative Director to Managing Director. His promotion follows the exit of Mr Rajesh Kamath, who has left Endemol to head the general entertainment channel planned jointly by Network18 and Viacom. Mr Dhar will assume his new role from January 2008. He Endemol India in 2005 and has produced popular shows for Endemol such as Big Brother, Operación Triunfo and Mission Ustaad. Earlier, Mr Dhar worked with STAR TV as group head, programming. Before joining STAR, he was senior producer at MTV for three years.
Source: 10-12-07 www.agencyfaqs.com



Reshuffle At Lowe India
Following the buyout of Lintas by IPG in May this year, the top management at Lowe India has been reshuffled. Mr R Balakrishnan (popularly known as Balki) is the new Chairman & Chief Creative Officer of Lowe India. Mr Charles Cadell is the new CEO of Lowe India. Mr Pranesh Misra has been re-designated as Global Director of Marketing Accountability, while Mr Prem Mehta remains the Chairman of the Lintas group.
Source: 12-12-07 news.moneycontrol.com


Mr James Murdoch Most Likely To Head News Corp
Mr Rupert Murdoch's younger son Mr James Murdoch will return to News Corp to be in charge of its Asian and European operations. His return further strengthens his position to eventually take over the global media empire. Mr Murdoch, 34, will assume the role of Chairman and Chief Executive of Europe and Asia at News Corporation. He will be responsible for its broadcasting, print and Internet divisions including Hong Kong-based Star TV, Britain's Sun newspaper and Sky Italia. Mr James Murdoch will be based in London and will report to Peter Chernin, News Corp's President and Chief Operating Officer.
Source: 08-12-07 news.yahoo.com



Ex Blair Confidante Joins Morgan Stanley
Mr Jonathan Powell, the former chief of staff to ex-British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair, will join Morgan Stanley’ s investment banking division as a Senior Managing Director. He will take up a full-time position at the leading bank. In his capacity as Sr MD, he is expected to play a role in transactions involving some of the bank's largest clients in UK and Europe. After working with Mr Blair for 12 years, he stepped down when Mr Blair stepped down as prime minister in June. Mr Powell is a former journalist and diplomat. Earlier also, many British government officials have gone on to work for banks in an advisory capacity but Mr Powell's role is more unusual in that it will be full time.
Source: 08-12-07 www.news.bbc.co.uk



New CEO At IndusInd
IndusInd Bank has appointed Mr Ramesh Sobti as Managing Director and CEO. Mr Sobti’s appointment follows the sudden resignation of Mr Bhaskar Ghose. Prior to this, Mr Sobti was the Executive Vice-President and country representative at ABN Amro Bank. His position has been filled by Ms Meera Sanyal at ABN Amro Bank. Reasons for Mr Ghose’s exit are still unclear.
Source: 08-12-07 www.telegraphindia.com




Novartis To Lay Off 2.5 % Workforce
In a bid to make annual savings of $1.6 billion in 2010, Switzerland's Novartis AG plans to cut down 2.5 percent of its global workforce. As a result, around 2,500 jobs will be slashed. The drugmaker is also looking at restructuring exercise. The savings, thus made, would appreciate the value of its stock. A lack of significant new drugs, declining sales of lucrative flagship franchises and fierce competition are cited as the reasons behind a wave of restructuring in the industry. Novartis's latest cuts come just two months after it revamped its U.S. drugs business, cutting 1,260 jobs to help generate annual savings of $230 million.
Source: 13-12-07 news.yahoo.com



UK Jobless Rate Dips
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that the number of people seeking jobless benefits in the UK has fallen to a 32-year low. The number claiming jobseeker's allowance was 813,000 in November, the lowest since June 1975. Total unemployment, including those not claiming benefit, fell 15,000 to 1.64 million in the three months to October. Also, average earnings increased by 4% in the year to October, down 0.1% from the previous month's rate. This data is expected to ease inflationary pressures. However, analysts are apprehensive as to how long the good news could continue, given the shaky global economic outlook.
Source: 12-12-07 news.bbc.co.uk


Dresdner To Shed More Than 200 Jobs
Dresdner Kleinwort, the investment bank owned by insurer Allianz, plans to cut more than 200 jobs following recent market turmoil and credit crunch. The bank is set to cut about 60 jobs in its credit department.
Source: 11-12-07 Hindustan Times Business



In UK, Pensioners Getting More Comfortable Financially
According to a report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in UK, pensioners have become better off in the past decade. Their average incomes have risen by more than a third above the inflation rate. Official figures reveal that from 1994/95 to 2005/06, gross pensioner incomes rose by 37% in real terms. By contrast, workers' average earnings rose by just 18% above inflation. State benefits, including the state pension, contributed the most towards the income of the average UK pensioner. As the figures show, in 2005/06, the average weekly income among male pensioners was £257 and £229 for women.
Source: 08-12-07 26



Job Flexibility Leads To Healthier Lifestyle
A study conducted on effects of workplace flexibility on health behaviours has proved that flexibility at workplace can result in healthier lifestyle for employees. Data for the study came from Health Risk Appraisals completed by employees of a large multinational pharmaceutical company. The study says that if companies provide workplace flexibility and if employees perceive that flexibility as real, then healthier lifestyle habits are put into action by those employees.
Source: 12-12-07 The Financial Express

Compiled By: Amresh Anjan

HR Headlines : December, 2007

Gender Bias Prevelant In The IT Sector: Study

A study conducted by NASSCOM and IIM-Ahmedabad has shown that women managers in the IT sector are still battling the glass ceiling. It has found that at the entry level, the number of female entrants is 42 percent but at the top, the number tumbles down. Less than 10 per cent of the top managers in the sector are women. The women included in the study feel that recruitment, appraisals and job opportunities are gender-biased. Over 40 per cent of the women professionals who responded to the study say they prefer women team leaders, while 60 per cent say they want more women executives involved in decision-making to make the process more gender-sensitive. The respondents also felt that managers should be made more accountable for gender-focused results.
Source: 15-12-07 www.ibnlive.com



New UK Visa Restrictions To Hit IT Sector
The UK government has issued new visa guidelines under which it has scrapped the 70-80 criteria that enabled potential immigrants to obtain a UK visa. As per the new rules, applicants have to fall under one of the five categories, namely, highly skilled individuals, skilled workers with a job offer to fill gaps in the UK labour force, low-skilled workers to fill specific temporary labour shortages, students and people going to the UK for mainly non-economic objectives. Also, the tenure of tourist visa has been halved to three months. The new guidelines will impact Indian IT companies with the ’body shopping’ business model. Under this model, manpower resources are provided to the local markets but the UK government feels that it hampers job creation for natives.
Source: 17-12-07 Hindu Business Line



Rising Wages Add To The Woes Of ITeS, BPO industry
The ITeS and BPO industry, already reeling under the problems of rupee appreciation and shortage of skilled manpower, is now feeling the pinch of rising salary levels. Majority of the ITeS and BPO companies consider rising salary levels as the major concern affecting the future growth of the industry. Removal of tax sops is another area of worry. To keep a check on high attrition, industry players are taking effective steps. They are entering into non-poaching agreements with peers and building a central database of employees. To counter the problem of talent crunch, companies have already started exploring other emerging markets like Eastern Europe, Latin American countries, a move which could also take care of rupee appreciation to a certain extent.
Source: 16-12-07 www.zeenews.com




Exporters Suggest Ways To Stop Job Losses Due To Appreciating Rupee
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) is in favour of a long-term policy against the rising rupee to contain heavy job losses. Exporters have retrenched 30,000 regular employees and 100,000 contract labourers, following the appreciation of the rupee against the dollar. They have suggested a corpus to refinance banks for covering their hedging charges. The federation’s President, Mr Ganesh Kumar Gupta, has suggested that the dollar rates relevant for some schemes should be fixed. He has also urged the government to ask banks to reduce the general interest rate by 100-125 basis points.
Source: 16-12-07 www.telegraphindia.com



Sixth Pay Commission Holds Good News For Govt Employees
In an effort to retain efficient staff from shifting to the private sector, the government is likely to announce good salaries for its employees in the Sixth Pay Commission report. Union MoS for Urban Development Mr Ajay Maken has said that both Prime Minister and Finance Minister are in favour of providing comprehensive and good salary packages to employees, thus underscoring the importance of efficient employees for good governance. The Fifth Pay Commission was formed in April 1994 and its financial impact was Rs 17,000 crore.
Source: 16-12-07 Financial Express



Entries Invited For DMA – Erehwon Award for Innovative HR Initiatives
Delhi Management Association (DMA) and Erehwon Innovation Consulting are inviting entries from companies, NGOs, government bodies and enterprises to apply for the prestigious DMA – Erehwon Award for Innovative HR Initiatives. The award aims to recognize and felicitate those who have taken an HR idea from concept to reality. Apart from celebrating HR initiatives, the Award also aims to be a reference point in Cross learning. The awards process has been deliberately architected to strengthen the tenets of transparency and rigor. The last date for receiving completed entries is 24th December 2007. The awards will be held on 11th April, 2008 in Delhi. For more details about the process, evaluation criteria and the application forms, please visit www.erehwonconsulting.com or dmadelhi.org or write to awards@erehwonconsulting.com.
Source: 20-12-07 DMA

SBI Planning VRS For 40,000 Employees
The State Bank of India (SBI) is considering the proposal to introduce a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for over 40,000 staff members employed as its subordinate staff in the next financial year. The proposed scheme will give a chance to those employees, who find it challenging to work in a computerised environment and competitive market conditions, to opt for retirement. The VRS will not be open for the clerical or officer cadre. SBI's total employee strength is around 2,00,000. The payable amount to employees opting for VRS will be calculated by taking into account their number of years of service and the remaining period.
Source: 17-12-07 www.rediff.com


Mr Nakanishi Replaces Mr Khattar At Maruti
Mr Shinzo Nakanishi has replaced Mr Jagdish Khattar as Managing Director of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Mr Khattar, a former bureaucrat, has retired after eight years at the helm of the company. 60 year old Mr Nakanishi has been the Non-Executive Chairman of the company for five years. He is the first Japanese national to hold the post of Managing Director of the company. Mr Nakanishi, who joined Suzuki Motor in 1971, will have a term of five years if his contract is continually renewed, because the retirement age at the firm is 65. As MD, his major task will be to to defend Maruti’s 50% market share in Asia’s third largest automobile market, India.
Source: 18-12-07 www.livemint.com


DMA Summit On ‘Compensation & Benefits – Going Global’
DMA is organizing a two day high profile Summit on ‘Compensation & Benefits – Going Global’ on 11-12 January, 2008 at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi. The Summit will facilitate a diagnostic comparison between the existing and the emerging trends in C & B practices both locally and globally, for divergent industry segment. The eminent speakers invited for the summit are Mr Amit Chincholikar, Mr Pavan Bhatia, Mr Sanjay Singh, Mr A Sudhakar, Mr Chandan Chattaraj, Mr Gopi Nambiar, Dr Y V Verma, Mr Shantanu Banerjee, Mr V C Agrawal, Mr G K Agarwal, Mr G Ohja, Dr A K Balyan, Mr Aquil Busrai, Mr Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Dr C S Ventakaratnam, Dr Pritam Singh, Mr Jagdeep Khandpur, Mr Mark Thompson and Mr P Dwarakanath, eminent consultants from Price Waterhouse Coopers, Hewitt Associates and Ma Foi.

For further registration/sponsorship, please contact Mr Rajan Pandhi, Assistant Director, DMA, Mobile 9810877615, 24629555, 26629552, Email: dmadelhi@sify.com or dmadelhi@ndb.vsnl.net.in DMA Website : www.dmadelhi.org
Source: 19-12-07 DMA

The India HR Summit 2008 “Targeting Excellence – The HR Way”
HR issues are at the forefront of today’s business. The face of HR has been changing gradually and HR, as a function, has increased its presence in Indian Industry. Consequently, the role of the HR department – previously conceived more as an administrative function – is being redefined and capacity building exercises for “People Professionals” have to be comprehensively and rapidly boosted. To discuss these issues, THE INDIA HR SUMMIT, 2008 will be held on January 12, 2008 at PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
PHD House, 4/2 Siri Institutional Area,
August Kranti Marg, New Delhi 110016
Source: 20-12-07 Birla Institute of Management Technology


Export Of Engineering Goods Dips Leading To Job Losses
A study conducted by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) on 30 high and low value engineering companies has shown that the exports of products manufactured by the engineering sector has gone down, leading to job losses, This decline has come despite the engineering goods sector registering an export growth of 22 per cent (dollar terms) in the April-July period of this year. However, in the April-October period, 2,868 jobs were lost, which has been attributed to the decline in export orders.
Source: 18-12-07 www.rediff.com



Upcoming Brokerages Tempt Senior Execs From MNCs
Using equity stakes as bait, new and upcoming brokerages are luring analysts and senior executives from foreign brokerage houses and leading local equity broking firms. The soaring valuations of broking houses have made such offers quite tempting for senior executives to leave their existing jobs in MNC broking houses to build teams in new and upcoming brokerages. Recently, local brokerage houses such as Way2Wealth, Fortune Financial Services, Antique Stock Broking, Centrum Capital, Avendus Capital and Ambit Capital have managed to poach senior staff from leading foreign brokerages by offering them meaningful equity stakes.
Source: 16-12-07 Business Standard




IOM Urges Nations To Ensure Rights Of Global Migrant Labour
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has exhorted nations to frame cooperative and comprehensive policies to make sure the rights of migrants and temporary contractual workers are protected, thus enabling successful management of global mobility. On International Migrants’ Day, the IOM Direct-General Mr Brunson McKinley said that the protection of the human rights of migrants and of temporary contractual workers is vital to secure full economic and human potential. He believed that an effectively managed international labour mobility can play an important role in helping migrants acquire knowledge and skills which can promote development in the home country. He also said that inter-state dialogue and cooperation on labour mobility are important for economic, developmental and social progress.
Source: 18-12-07 www.rediff.com



New Chinese Labour Law To Push Up Business Costs
A new labour contract law by the Chinese government is likely to increase labour costs by 8% next year. As a result, many firms may be forced to shift work inland provinces or out of China altogether. The new law will also require firms to give open-ended contracts to staff who have worked for 10 years or have completed two fixed-term contracts. It will also make it mandatory for the firms to pay sacked employees a month’s wages for every year they have worked.
Source: 19-12-07 The Financial Express



New US Fed Law May Pose Trouble For Indian Airline Cos
The Indian airline industry, already facing a crunch of qualified pilots, may have a tough time ahead. A new law passed by the US government and called Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act allows both the pilot and co-pilot on a domestic flight to be up to the age of 65 years. This may make it difficult for airline companies in India to recruit retired expatriate pilots to meet growing shortages. Earlier, the cut-off age was 60 years for US pilots. Thus, it was easier for Indian carriers to hire US pilots since commercial pilots in India can fly till the age of 65. Out of over 800 foreign pilots in India, about 5 per cent of are above 60 years and from the US.
Source: 18-12-07 www.rediff.com



Capgemini To Exceed Its Recruitment Target In India
The Indian arm of the French IT consulting and offshoring major, Capgemini Consulting, is all set to meet its 2010 hiring target ahead of time. As per the original plans, the company wanted to hire 40,000 by 2010. But now it is looking at recruiting 30,000 employees by the end of 2008. If the target is achieved significantly, Capgemini would be second to IBM, which had around 53,000 employees in the country at the end of last year, which is expected to go up to 73,000 by the end of this year. Currently, Capgemini has 17,000 people in India, the second largest after France.
Source: 18-12-07 offshoreindianews.blogspot.com



Pfizer Facing Manpower Shortage In Clinical Research
With the explosion of new drugs being developed globally, companies like Pfizer are doing multi-location trials in an attempt to hit the markets quickly. However, it is faced with a lack of quality clinical research professionals. To deal with the shortage , Pfizer India’s CR division has started the Academy for Clinical excellence in a tie up with the Bombay College of Pharmacy and Suven Pharma. Currently, Pfizer is conducting 44 trials in India and by 2008, the company will hold more trials here exceeding those in China.
Source: 19-12-07 Hindu Business Line



IBM Hiring Big Time In BRIC Countries
International Business Machines Corp is on a hiring spree in the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China, with most of the growth coming in India and China. IBM’s total work force in these countries will approach 100,000 people by the end of the year, up from about 85,000 at the end of 2006. In 2006, IBM employed 355,000 people around the world. This year, the company’s headcount in India is likely to reach 73,000 people, up from 52,000 last year. Employment in China will touch 13,000, up about 30 per cent from 10,000 last year.
Source: 18-12-07 www.sify.com



Goodyear India Gets New MD
Mr Prabhakar Jain has been appointed as the Managing Director of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He will take charge from February 1, 2008. Formerly, Mr Jain was the Managing Director and General Manager of Sales of Thailand-based ICI Paints Asia. He has 29 years of international experience and holds an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. The current MD at Goodyear India, Mr Antonio Capellini, will move on to a new assignment in a similar position at Goodyear Colombia.
Source: 17-12-07 Hindu Business Line



GFH Project To Create 3 Lakh Jobs In Maharashtra
The Gulf Finance House Project coming up in Maharashtra is expected to create three lakh jobs in the state. The state government has done a $10 billion Economic Development Zone agreement with the Bahrain-based investment bank. With this project, Maharashtra is trying to regain its earlier status as an investment-friendly hub.
Source: 16-12-07 DNA



Pay Raise Of Non-Exec Directors Doesn’t Improve Effectiveness: Survey
A survey among directors of over 100 companies has revealed that an increase in the remuneration of non-executive directors has shown least impact on the working of company boards. It is estimated that the remuneration of these directors has increased more than 50 percent during the last two years. The report also said that apart from higher remuneration, other ways to improve the effectiveness of the boards are interaction with management outside board meetings, better understanding of the business of the company and seeking the views of all stake holders.
Source: 18-12-07 Hindu Business Line


Standard Chartered and SPJIMR Introduce Corporate Banking Training
Standard Chartered Bank and S P Jain Institute of Management Studies and Research have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start a special training programme on corporate banking for graduates. The programme is aimed to meet the rising demand professionals in corporate banking. Initially, the bank will pick 31 graduates from different colleges across seven cities and train them for five months. The programme would deal with topics including general management, core banking, managerial economics, financial accounting, banking regulations, global markets, cash management and marketing management.
Source: 19-12-07 Business Standard


Computer Skills 'Undervalued' In The UK: Microsoft
According to a survey conducted by the software giant Microsoft, computer knowledge is still undervalued in the UK board room. The survey was conducted over 500 UK business leaders. It revealed that knowledge of information technology (IT) was seen as the seventh most important workplace skill. Instead, team work and interpersonal skills were seen as the core factors, followed by initiative. Analysing and problem solving came third in the survey behind team working and initiative. This was followed by verbal communication, personal planning and organising and flexibility.
Source: 15-12-07 news.bbc.co.uk


Sebi Market Surveillance Capacity Hit By Staff Crunch
According to a report by US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) lacks the required level of trained staff to conduct effective surveillance, investigation and enforcement for a market that has grown considerably in the last five years. As of March 31, 2006, Sebi had 441 employees in various grades, including 288 officers. The watchdog is also facing a problem of rising attrition. It is frequently confronted with situations where it recruits, trains and provides experience to staff that leave for higher paying jobs. Apart from staff constraints, Sebi also lacks a centralised information database for market intermediaries that can boost surveillance capacity of the regulator. However, Sebi denied any such staff crunch.
Source: 17-12-07 www.indianexpress.com

Compiled By: Amresh Anjan