THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued on July 23, has vehemently criticised the Karnataka government's recent move to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act of 1961, which would increase the working hours in the IT/ITES/BPO sector to 14 hours a day. It said that the proposed amendment is an infringement on basic workers' rights and personal life.According to CITU, the proposed changes would force workers into a gruelling 14-hour workday, enabling IT/ITES companies to reduce the number of shifts from three to two.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on July 20

THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the decision by the BJP state governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directing all eateries along the entire stretch of the Kanwar Yatra route to display the owners' names. Clearly, this is designed to sharpen communal polarisation and foster tensions among religious communities.

THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) has issued a statement on July 21, in response to the recent scandal involving trainee IAS officer Puja Khandekar, who has been accused of multiple frauds. The NPRD's statement highlights the disturbing ableist attitudes revealed by several high-ranking officials in the wake of the scandal, calling out their inherent prejudices against disabled individuals.Amitabh Kant, vice chairperson of Niti Aayog, called for a "review" of the system of reservations for the disabled, a move that NPRD says is rooted in bias.

THE Cuban economy is the worst it’s been since the “Special Period” following the end of the Soviet Union. The country is in the midst of a years-long economic contraction that’s affecting food production and the availability of medicines.

THE radical shift in labour relations from regimes of standard employment to fragmented and flexibilised labour force under neoliberalism is signified by a radical shift of responsibilities of the reproduction of labour force from the capitalist employer to the State through the denial of indirect wage payments to workers. One of the major achievements of labour movement in the past was the recognition of elements as constituents of wage and benefits that ensured the reproduction of labour force in its totality.