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Middle East Edition
7th May 2021
 
THE HOT STORY
Foreign workers in Qatar get some basic rights
The Economist looks at how Qatar’s kafala labour system is being reformed. Foreign workers are now able to quit their jobs and find new ones without risk of deportation, the minimum wage has risen, and a food-and-housing allowance has been mandated for poorer workers who are not accommodated by their employers. The UN 's International Labour Organisation ( ILO ), which helped with the reforms, says results are already apparent. By the end of March, 119,000 foreign workers had already changed employment.  The Economist nevertheless notes that there is push-back from bosses. Some require blue-collar workers to sign contracts with non-compete clauses to stop them from changing jobs, and the emir's advisory council has sought a cap on the number of times a worker could switch employers and an annual limit on the proportion of workers who could leave a company. The government has however not accepted these recommendations.
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REMOTE WORKING
Google says a fifth of workers will be remote workers
Google expects about 20% of its staff to work remotely after the company's offices reopen this fall, and some 60% will work a hybrid schedule that includes about three days in the office and two days “wherever they work best.” The remaining 20% of workers can change their location to a different Google office. “The future of work is flexibility,” CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in an email to employees that outlined a policy that relaxed the company's stricter earlier stance. “The changes . . . are a starting point to help us do our very best work and have fun doing it.” Employees will - for up to 20 days per year - also be able to work from any location other than their main office. The previous such allotment was 10 days. The company will also continue to offer workers extra “reset” days — days off to help them cope with the impact of the pandemic.
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STRATEGY
Middle East PE firm targets larger US deals
Investcorp, the biggest private equity and alternative asset manager in the Middle East and which counts Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Development Co. as a major investor, is targeting larger private equity deals in North America as it seeks to increase assets under management to $50bn. “We want to grow our capacity to invest and broaden the top of the funnel of investments that we can look at from a size perspective,” said David Tayeh, head of North America Private Equity at Investcorp.  “At the moment there are deals that we really like that we don't pursue because they're outside our size range.”
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HEALTH & SAFETY
Covid vaccines mandatory for all Saudi employees to attend workplace
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) has said that coronavirus vaccines are mandatory for all employees to attend their workplace in the kingdom’s public, private and non-profit sectors. The ministry has urged all employees to start registering for  the vaccine to ensure  a safe and healthy return to the workplace.
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WORKFORCE
Kuwait may take four years to introduce personal taxes
Political gridlock and a lack of local expertise could stymie Kuwait’s plans to introduce personal taxes, reports Alrai newspaper, and it may take four years before taxes are introduced for Kuwaiti citizens. There are currently no direct taxes on citizens in Kuwait. Companies pay out about 4.5% of their net profits, including zakat and labour support and a contribution to the Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.
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CORPORATE
OECD says high chance of deal on cross-border tax reform
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s head of tax has said that a global deal on how multinational companies are taxed could be outlined by July and finalised by October. Pascal Saint-Amans told the French Senate's finance committee: "The chances of success have in my opinion never been higher because there is a real desire on all sides to wrap up this matter." He went on to say: “Will [US President Joe] Biden get to 21%, or will it be a bit lower? We'll see . . . As for the rest of the world, I doubt we'll be at 21%, but would we be at a rate nearing 21%? I have good hope that is possible.”
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RISK
Zoom boosted its compliance team during pandemic
The Wall Street Journal reports on how San Jose, Calif.-based videoconferencing company Zoom formalized its risk and ethics functions with the hiring of its first chief compliance officer last year and the building of a new compliance team with the addition of 50 more lawyers and compliance professionals. Lynn Haaland, the company’s deputy general counsel and chief compliance and ethics officer, told the WSJ Risk & Compliance Forum that Zoom has created individual teams working on issues related to compliance and ethics including the internal code of conduct and training, privacy, regulatory compliance, technical compliance, and “trust and safety.” Zoom’s chief information security officer, general counsel and the chief operating officer all also help identify and mitigate risks facing the company. Ms. Haaland said Zoom has a “speak-up culture” focused on transparency, and the company’s compliance team has also been reconsidering  its approach to compliance training. Zoom is now offering tailored, shorter training, including quizzes and reviews from past lessons, in five- to seven-minute sound-bites once a month rather than requiring an hour or so of training on the company’s code of conduct policy once a year, she said.
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INTERNATIONAL
What the end of the Gates marriage means for foundation staff members
The New York Times looks at what the divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates means for the Gates Foundation and the 1,600 staff members who direct $5bn in annual grants to 135 countries. In an email on Monday, Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman reassured staff that both Mr. and Ms. Gates remained committed to the organization, saying that “Bill and Melinda asked me explicitly to express their deep gratitude for everything you do every day, particularly during the Covid-19 crisis, as well as for your support and understanding in this difficult time.” The foundation's $50bn endowment is in a charitable trust that is irrevocable. Megan Tompkins-Stange, a professor of public policy and scholar of philanthropy at the University of Michigan, said it cannot be removed or divided up as a marital asset, although there was no legal mandate that would prevent them from changing course. “I think there may be changes to come,” she observed. “But I don't see it as a big asteroid landing on the field of philanthropy as some of the hyperbole around this has indicated.”
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Singapore needs foreign tech talent
The head of Singapore’s central bank says the country needs foreign tech talent to stave off a crisis. Ravi Menon said that if the inflow of foreign labour is tightened excessively, “it will impair not just the competitiveness of our financial centre but dampen the prospects for creating good jobs in the future, especially for Singaporeans . . . The answer does not lie in restricting the inflow of foreign tech expertise. On the contrary, it is by attracting the best tech talents from around the world that we can anchor new tech capabilities and functions that expand job opportunities for Singaporeans.”  A lack of local skills means Singaporeans make up just a third of the financial sector’s tech workforce, notes ITPro.
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Commerzbank job cut deal expected to be signed today
A deal with labour representatives that is expected to be signed today will pave the way for Commerzbank to cut 10,000 jobs globally, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The agreement, which is key to CEO Manfred Knof’s plan to streamline Germany’s second-biggest listed lender and return it to profitability, includes early retirement and reduced hours for older employees, and also details on severance packages and retraining programs for employees.
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OTHER
China becomes top market for Habanos cigars
Habanos, Cuba’s state cigar monopoly, says China has displaced Spain as its top market, although rising demand there could not compensate for declines in sales elsewhere, with global revenue down 4% to $507m. Curbs on travel last year due to the pandemic dealt a serious blow to demand from countries reliant on tourism as well as sales at duty free, Habanos said in a statement. The Caribbean island cannot sell its signature export to the biggest market worldwide for cigars, the United States, due to the decades-old U.S. trade embargo. Europe remains the top regional market for Habanos, accounting for 50% of sales, followed by the Asian-Pacific area, which accounts for 16.2%, according to the statement.
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