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Middle East Edition
10th June 2021
 
THE HOT STORY
New law in Jordan obliges hiring of people with disabilities
Jordan is introducing legislation that obliges both private and public sector companies that employ between 25 and 50 workers to hire one employee with a disability. Organisations with more than 50 employees must hire 4% of the workforce from people with disabilities, according to the new law. The Higher Council for the rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) Secretary General Muhannad Azzeh observed that people with disabilities account for 11.2% of the overall Jordanian population, and he noted the big economic cost of their exclusion from working life. ‘'Hiring people with disabilities enhances corporate social responsibility and diversity. It also adds value to the workplace,'' he said. Samer Atout, head of disabled training centre at the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC), which offers various free training programmes for people with different types of disabilities to help them qualify for jobs, said: ‘'People with disabilities can work and contribute to the community in an environment that understands and respects their special needs. We as a community need to raise awareness of disability and believe that people with disabilities can learn, train and work.”
STRATEGY
Dubai to reduce cost of doing business by 30%
Dubai is to reduce government procedures for doing business by 30% in the next three months to boost economic growth. The Crown Prince said Dubai said: “Government flexibility and efficiency are key to attracting businesses and enhancing the investment environment. We will continue to work on unlocking new opportunities for businesses and investors to help them grow. Promoting partnerships with the private sector is a key strategic objective for Dubai. As a key stakeholder in Dubai’s development, the private sector is a critical partner for government projects. Our efforts will ensure that Dubai continues to be the leading investment destination in the region.”
RISK
Hybrid workplace poses cybersecurity challenges
Corporate security teams that were able to focus on protecting remote workers during stay-at-home orders will find it increasingly difficult to do so when staff are in the office for certain days of the week and at home for others, according to Rick McElroy, principal cybersecurity strategist at VMware’s Security Business Unit. “It’s hard to maintain a security staff that looks one way in the data center or one way in an office, and then one way for remote employees,” he says. Basic problems that security teams face include getting their machines up to speed with the latest software updates to ensure that security vulnerabilities aren’t left open for hackers, and trying to ensure that employees don’t get increasingly lax about security practices while being at home.
CORPORATE
People analytics start-up ChartHop raises $35m
People analytics start-up ChartHop has raised $35m in a series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with contributions from Elad Gil, Cowboy Ventures, and SemperVirens. New York-based ChartHop, which CEO Ian White founded in 2018, brings together people datasets including payroll, demographic, performance, and engagement. “Companies invest so much in their talent, and yet they have shockingly little insight into it. Other functions in the organisation have great software, but arguably the most critical part of the org does not have the tools to derive insights and understand the impact of the work that they’re doing. ChartHop is filling this void,” White told VentureBeat. ChartHop has also announced a new positioning that embraces the company’s roots in People Analytics – one which approaches People Analytics as distinctly different from what has come before. Learn more about how the company is thinking by reading this blog by Ian White.
WORKFORCE
Wage protection push by Central Bank of Bahrain
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) is partnering with Benefit Company to ensure compliance and readiness of systems and procedures adopted by most retail banks in addition to payment service providers including 26 banks and five companies. The CBB said the move aims to create electronic portfolios for all workers in order to transfer their salaries to these accounts once they are due for payment. Decision No 22 of 2021 issued by the Labour and Social Development Minister concerns implementation of the first phase of Wage Protection System whereby employers commit to regular and timely transfer of workers’ wages to their bank accounts through any of the payment methods facilitated by entities licensed by CBB. The trial implementation of the first phase of the Wage Protection System was completed successfully in April and official implementation was in May this year, the CBB said, adding that the system seeks to exert more control on employers and protect employees’ interests.
HEALTH & SAFETY
BankDhofar provides COVID-19 vaccines for employees
BankDhofar in partnership with Oman’s Ministry of Health has started to provide COVID-19 vaccines for employees and their spouses. Dr. Khalid Salim Al Hamadani, Acting Chief Human Resources Officer at BankDhofar, said: "Our employees' wellbeing is our priority at BankDhofar. Thus, we constantly conduct initiatives to promote healthy lifestyle and wellbeing. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we introduced an internal campaign to raise the awareness about the pandemic and the protective measures to be followed by our employees for their safety and our customers' safety as well. As part of our social responsibility, and in support of the immense efforts done by the government to combat Coronavirus through the health care services and the vaccination campaigns, we have collaborated with the Ministry of Health to provide vaccines to our staff and their spouses."
INTERNATIONAL
Danish law to process asylum seekers outside Europe
Human rights advocates, the United Nations and the European Commission have criticised a law passed in Denmark that will enable the Scandinavian country to process asylum seekers outside Europe. The law will allow Denmark to move refugees to asylum centres in a partner country to have their cases reviewed, and to possibly obtain protection in that country. “If you apply for asylum in Denmark, you know that you will be sent back to a country outside Europe, and therefore we hope that people will stop seeking asylum in Denmark,” the government party's immigration speaker Rasmus Stoklund said. European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said: “External processing of asylum claims raises fundamental questions about both the access to asylum procedures and effective access to protection . . . It is not possible under existing EU rules or proposals under the new pact for migration and asylum.”
Greek workers strike against labour reform bill
Workers in Greece are on a day-long strike today to protest against a government proposal to overhaul labour laws that unions say will undermine worker rights and enable companies to introduce longer working hours through the back door. The most contentious part of the proposed government bill, which was announced last month and is expected to be voted on next week, allows employees to work up to 10 hours on one day and less time on another. Unions fear this will let employers force workers to accept longer hours. The bill would also give workers the right to disconnect outside of office hours and introduce a ‘digital work card’ to monitor employees' working hours in real time, and also increase legal overtime to 150 hours a year.
BBVA to cut nearly 3,000 jobs in Spain
Bilbao-headquartered lender BBVA is to lay off 2,935 employees in Spain, around 12.6% of its banking workforce in its domestic market, after reaching an agreement with the Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) union. "The adjustment plan is necessary to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of future employment in the entity given the current context of profound transformation of the financial sector," BBVA said. In April, the bank said it was planning to cut 3,798 jobs to adapt to increased online banking. CCOO said that some of its demands, including the implementation of any cuts through voluntary redundancies, were met.
OTHER
Apple's 'private relay' feature not available for users in China
Apple has said that a new ‘private relay’ feature designed to obscure a user’s web browsing behaviour from internet service providers and advertisers will not be available in China for regulatory reasons. The feature was one of a number of privacy protections Apple announced at its annual software developer conference on Monday, the latest in a years-long effort by the company to cut down on the tracking of its users by advertisers and other third parties. Apple’s decision to withhold the feature in China is the latest in a string of compromises the company has made on privacy in a country that accounts for nearly 15% of its revenue.

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