Pandemic-induced job losses in 27% establishments: survey
The Hindu
Quarterly Employment Survey covered 10,593 firms across 9 sectors
In the first quarter of this fiscal (April-June 2021) 27% of the establishments surveyed for the All-India Quarterly Establishment-based Employment Survey reported COVID-19-related retrenchment. However, the overall employment numbers had increased by 29% from the base year of 2013-2014, a report released on Monday said.
The report, released by Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav, covered 10,593 firms that employed more than 10 workers and were spread over nine sectors that account for 85% of the total employment in such establishments. Overall, employment stood at 3.08 crore in the first quarter, up from 2.37 crore as reported in the Sixth Economic Census (2013-2014).
All but two sectors — trade and accommodation & restaurants — saw an increase in employment over the period.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.