Thursday, February 7, 2008

HR Headlines, Feb.2008 (Part-3)

Hooked Romantically At The Workplace

The emerging globalized work culture of India Inc is seeing an interesting romantic development. A younger workforce and long working hours spent in office are leading to romantic liasions becoming commonplace. Not just single but married executives are reday to mingle with their colleagues. In a survey of romance in the workplace conducted by global research firm Synovate, 59 per cent of respondents said that women are equal partners in office romances and even initiate affairs in a number of instances. The survey is based on responses from 402 workers-70 per cent of them men and 30 per cent women. A third of working executives in India see no harm in romancing married colleagues. 44 per cent respondents believed that these affairs are simply a career move to get quick promotions. While some companies are devising policies to discourage such affairs, a majority of those polled (56%) feels organizations should not interfere in a romantic involvement.

Source: 29-01-08 www.livemint. com


Hyderabad Gets a Taste of Naukri.com Job Fair

Over 550 candidates got spot offers as Naukri.com's eighth job fair was organized in Hyderabd on 2nd & 3rd February. The fair witnessed over 42,000 walk-ins and over 4,500 candidates were short listed for interviews in the coming 2-3 weeks. The fair witnessed job seekers from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, as well as other parts of South India. Of the total number of registrations, 60% of the jobseekers were at the fresher level, 25% at mid management and 10% at senior level. It was a multi-industry job fair, with participating companies from IT, ITeS, Education and Manufacturing among others. Naukri.com has conducted successful fairs across Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi over the past three months and mobilized o ver 90,000 jobseekers in these cities. Over 1,500 jobseekers secured jobs through the fairs.

Source: 04-02-08 Company Bureau


Staff Security is BPOs Responsibility

The brutal rape and murder of a female employee of Hewlett Packard in Bangalore in December, 2005 had shocked the nation and thousands of youngsters working in the BPO industry. Taking cognizance of the matter, Supreme Court has allowed the prosecution of HP's Managing Director for failing to provide adequate security to its employees. Thus, the apex court has held the boss responsible for the security of the staff. The order comes as an eye-opener for hundreds of firms in India, where employees work in late-night shifts.

Source: 30-01-08 Hindustan Times


IT Companies To Cut Down Fat Salaries, Bench Strength: Sources

A rising Rupee and slowdown in the US economy is showing ripple effect in the Indian IT sector. Industry sources believe that major IT companies will squeeze salaries and reduce their bench strength to counter the crisis. Salary increases are expected to be around 7-8 per cent this year as compared to 15 per cent last year. Hiring could also be reduced by 20 per cent, as companies will look to better utilize the existing staff and cut down on the bench. In 2007, top five IT companies including TCS, Wipro and Infosys added more than 50,000 employees but this year the predictions are not so bright.

Source: 30-01-08 Hindustan Times Business


AICTE Ignores Top B-School

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is yet to recognize the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB), ranked among the top 20 business schools in the world by the Financial Times. ISB is the only Indian business school to have figured in the prestigious list. However, this lack of recognition has had little impact on the institute' standing and reputation among students and recruiters. ISB is the first Indian B-school to have tied up with three foreign collaborators.

Source: 01-02-08 Hindustan Times


Nearly One-Third Of World's Top 100 IT Companies Based In India

A latest survey carried out with a view to help major outsourcers identifies reliable and tech savvy partners, has listed 29 India-based companies among the best 100 IT service providers in the world. The listed companies include India's Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Genpact and WNS Global Services. India is undoubtedly the hub of global delivery with 57 per cent of employees engaged in delivery centres based in India. However, now it faces competition from countries such as China, Malaysia, Russia and Brazil.

Source: 31-01-08 Pioneer


Indian BPO Industry To Employ 20 Lakh People By 2012: Nasscom

According to a new Nasscom-Everest India BPO study, the Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has the potential to grow five fold by 2012 to employ 20 lakh people in the country and become a $50 billion player by then. The study insisted that the industry would require support from government and education sector to achieve this target. Currently, the BPO industry in India is pegged at $11 billion, with 1,200 companies spread across 30 locations. Industry players have called for refurbishing of the education system and better infrastructure in Tier II and Tier III cities to beat emerging competition from countries such as Sri Lanks and the Philippines. Also, Nasscom is in negotiation with government to promote integrated townships to encourage BPO hubs within the country.

Source: 29-01-08 The Financial Express


Bans A Non Deterrent For Indians Going To Iraq

Many Indians still travel to war-torn Iraq in search of employment, undeterred by a government ban on working in Iraq. These workers use the UAE and Kuwait as a transit route. The modus operandi goes like this: they come to the UAE on visit visas and take up menial jobs for some time. Meanwhile recruiting agents based in the UAE try to get them Iraqi employment visas or entry permits. Most of these are construction workers, who are needed in Iraq as a lot of reconstruction work is going on to rebuild the country. In 2004, the Indian government imposed a ban on traveling to Iraq after the abduction of three Indian truck drivers. Reportedly, at least 50,000 Indians could be working in Iraq and most do not have any valid documents with them.

Source: 01-02-08 www.rediff.com


Rural Households Diversifying Job Profiles

The households of rural India have learnt to diversify their job files to cut economic risks. With farming as the main occupation, male members are now taking up non-farm jobs while women folk continue to focus on agriculture. Thus, the income in rural households doesn't stop with every monsoon failure. Apart from taking up non-agricultural jobs, there is also a notable rise in seasonal migration to urban areas by the male members. The trend augurs well as it ensures a minimum disposable income among rural households.

Source: 30-01-08 The Financial Express


TCS Staff To Bear The Brunt Of Company's Q3 Failure

For the first time, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) failed to achieve its internal economic value added target of Rs 376 crore by about Rs 83 crore in the quarter ended December 2007. Now, the company plans to recover the loss by deducting about 1.5 per cent of the total cost to company salary of its employees for the next two months. TCS has made it clear that the move will have no relation to future wage hikes and it does not fear accelerated attrition due to this. However, employees have condemned the situation and are treading cautiously.

Source: 30-01-08 Hindu Business Line


US Sub-Prime Loan Crisis Affects Bonuses In Indian BPOs

Employees of Indian service providers for US-based mortgage lenders are feeling the ripple effect of the sub-prime loan crisis in the United States. They are holding back bonus payments and have even announced job cuts. The US mortgage lender IndyMac is the client of EXL Service Holdings, WNS and other BPO units in India but the employees of these firms have yet not received bonus payment for the October-December quarter of 2007.

Source: 27-01-08 Hindustan Times Business


Satyam China's Head Among Top Ten IT Talents In Shanghai

Mr Raghvendra Tripathi, the head of Hyderabad-based Satyam group's China operations, has been voted by the Shanghai administration as among the top 10 IT talents in the city. Mr Tripathi is one of the two expatriates voted in the annual list compiled from the Internet and SMS voting. He moved into China from Singapore after the company set up base in China in 2002. He has also worked closely with a non-government organisation Project Hope that focuses on healthcare by contributing free data warehouse solutions. Satyam has a wide presence in China's big cities - Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Dalian and Guangzhou.

Source: 29-01-08 www.sify.com


Women, Children Paid Poorly In Rural Areas

Women and kids fare poorly when it comes to payment of wages and salaries in both rural and urban India irrespective of the number of work hours put in and the educational qualifications. A study by the National Sample Survey Organisation titled "Employment and Unemployment situation in India' says that on an average, a rural Indian woman's daily wage is Rs 20 less than that of a man and daily salary is Rs 50 less. Rural children are paid as low as Rs 12 for a day's work. A graduate woman in rural India gets Rs 170 per day whereas the man gets Rs 239. A diploma holder woman gets Rs 212 per day and a man gets Rs 288 for the same number of work hours and same qualification. The girl child is the most exploited lot. A girl gets just Rs 10 per day in the manufacturing and service sectors in urban areas.

Source: 30-01-08 Hindustan Times


RIL Allots Over 10 Lakh Share Options To Staff

Reliance Industries is showering sops on its staff. The company has allotted 10.08 lakh share options to eligible employees of the company during the quarter ended December 31. The options would be convertible into an equal number of equity shares and would be vested based on the specified criteria. The vesting period would range between one to seven years from the date of the grant and the exercise period would extend up to five years from the date of vesting. During the quarter ended September 30, 2007, the company had granted 27,000 options exercisable into an equal number of equity shares to eligible employees.

Source: 29-01-08 www.rediff.com

Google Is Employer No 1 In The US

Fortune magazine has named Internet search engine giant Google as the best company to work for in America. Google is followed by online mortgage lender Quicken Loans and store chain Wegmans Food Markets in the second and third positions in the latest list of '100 Best American Companies to Work for'. Google has topped the list for the second time in a row. Other companies in the list include Cisco Systems, Starbucks Coffee, Adobe Systems, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Procter & Gamble, AstraZeneca and Nike.

Source: 27-01-08 www.ibnlive. com


Average UK Pay Rises Touch 15 Year High

Accelerated by the quickening inflation, average pay rises in the UK reached their highest level in 15 years in the third quarter ended December, 2007. The report by Industrial Relations Services (IRS) says that pay deals rose 3.7 per cent in the October to December period year-on-year, as against 3.4 per cent for September to November. Private sector pay increased by 3.5 per cent during the period, beating the public sector, which saw a climb of 2.5 per cent. The data is expected to make the Bank of England reluctant to reduce interest rates further.

Source: 26-01-08 news.bbc.co. uk


First Job Dip In The US Since 2003

According to the US labour department, for the first time since 2003, the US economy experienced job losses with non-farm payrolls falling by 17,000 jobs in January. The losses come against a backdrop of heightened recession threat. While the number of jobs in services and retailing rose slightly, it declined in the construction, manufacturing and government sectors. The US unemployment rate dipped from its latest reading of 5 per cent in December to 4.9 per cent in January, according to a separate survey of households.

Source: 02-02-08 www.rediff.com


Simplex Infrastructure To Recruit From Foreign Shores

Faced with an acute talent crunch, the Kolkata based infrastructure solutions provider, Simplex Infrastructure is forced to look at hiring foreign manpower. The Rs 2,000 crore firm has orders worth Rs 9,000 to be executed within the next few years. To excute the orders on time, the firm will hire talent from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Philippines for its overseas projects. Currently, it has 145 separate teams, each with 30-40 people, under its six regional offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Doha and Dubai.

Source: 30-01-08 DNA Money


New Director For Oriental Insurance Company

Oriental Insurance Company has appointed Mr Dilip Kumar Vadilal Shah as a Director. Mr Shah is a practicing chartered accountant for the last 25 years. He has also been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for last 12 years and has held various positions. Currently, he is a member of the committee on ethical standards of the ICAI.

Source: 31-01-08 Hindustan Times Business


Mr Iqbal Singh Is New CEO Of GE Money India

GE Money India, the finance arm of US-based conglomerate General Electric has named Mr Iqbal Singh as its new CEO. GE Money India is looking for a new strategic partner for its personal loan and mortgage business. It has appointed Morgan Stanley as an advisor for induction of a partner. In the past, Mr Singh has played a crucial role in a number of partnerships GE Money has signed including the credit card JV with State Bank of India.

Source: 30-01-08 www.rediff.com


Mr Chaturvedi Appointed New MD At Corus

Tata Steel has appointed Mr Uday Kumar Chaturvedi as new Managing Director of Corus Strip Products UK with effect from April 01, 2008. The company has also effected a reshuffle at the top level. Mr Theo J Henrar, Managing Director of Corus Packaging Plus, will take over as Managing Director of Corus Strip Products, whereas Mr Hugo A Loudon, Managing Director of Corus Special Strip, will be the Managing Director of Corus Packaging Plus.

Source: 01-01-08 www.rediff.com


New MD, CEO For Nissan's Indian Unit

Mr Shohei Kimura has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motor India Pvt Ltd. He will replace the incumbent MD and CEO Mr Yoshie Motohiro, who would continue to oversee the marketing and sales function of NMIPL. Mr Kimura has extensive knowledge of Nissan's global operations and international automotive experience.

Source: 03-02-08 www.tradingmarkets. com


GoAir Appoints New CEO

Mr Edgardo Badiali has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer by GoAir. Formerly, Mr Badiali was serving as CEO of the Italian low-cost airline MyAir. He was also the co-founder and member of Executive Committee of the European Low Fares Airline Association. He has over 15 years of senior management experience in aviation. At GoAir, he would report to the company's Managing Director Mr Jeh Wadia.

Source: 01-02-08 Hindustan Times Business


HDFC Securities Gets New CEO

Mr Aseem Dhru has been named the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Securities. In his new capacity, he expects to consolidate HDFC's position as a leading full spectrum financial distributor. He aims to build the company into the top five brokerage houses in both the institutional and retail segments in two years' time.

Source: 31-01-08 DNA Money



Other Source: www.naukri.com
Complied By : Amresh Anjan

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