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APAC Edition
11th June 2024
 
THE HOT STORY
Korea's labour reform pursues well-being of all workers, minister says
Korean Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik emphasized the need to protect workers in vulnerable positions from unfairness and inequality at the 112th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva. Lee highlighted the Korean government's efforts to ensure the well-being of all working individuals through comprehensive labour reforms. He also underscored the government's investments to ensure equal access to employment opportunities for all, expand social safety nets, and foster meaningful dialogue with workers and employers. Korea was elected as a regular member of the ILO's governing body during the conference.
WORKFORCE
Thailand's Labour Ministry urged to consider skill-based wage increase
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is urging the Labour Ministry to consider replacing the proposed 400-baht daily minimum wage policy with a wage increase based on workers' skills. The FTI is proposing that wages for skilled workers in certain industries, such as car and auto parts, electronics, and telecom, should range from 420-530 baht per day. The federation believes that paying wages based on skills will directly benefit skilled workers and help reduce costs for the government. The FTI also wants the government to base any wage increase on workers' skills and the economy of each province. The federation is in talks with labour officials to promote this approach, which takes into account workers' education, work experience, and special training.
REMOTE & HYBRID WORKING
Remote-working Australians warned about double dipping on tax claims
Australians are being warned not to double dip on working-from-home claims and to keep detailed records of expenses. Last year, almost 9 million Australians claimed about $24.5bn worth of work-related expenses, with the average claim being $3,000. Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson advises using either the fixed rate method or the actual cost method for claiming. The fixed rate method allows a fixed amount of 67 cents per hour for every hour worked from home, while the actual cost method allows for claiming each expense item separately. Thomson emphasizes the importance of record keeping and urges taxpayers to keep a record of all the hours worked from home.
HIRING
Mid and senior-level employees at start-ups hunt for stable jobs
Start-up employees, particularly mid and senior-level staff, are choosing to leave for more stable companies. The percentage of CVs flowing from start-ups to legacy companies, MNCs, and GCCs was 12%-15% higher in FY24 compared to the previous year, Viswanath PS, MD and CEO at Randstad India, told Times of India. A recent survey found that 67% of start-up employees are open to moving to more established firms.
LEGAL
Bankers are being trained to better spot customer red flags
Private bankers at Citigroup, DBS Group, and other banks caught up in Singapore's biggest money-laundering scandal are receiving additional training to better detect tricks used by criminals to hide their funds. The moves come as banks aim to close loopholes that allowed a group of Chinese criminals to launder over $2.23bn through 16 financial institutions in Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to impose fines and other measures on banks that had the most dealings with the criminals. The scandal has prompted banks to tighten their processes for vetting major transactions and to enhance their anti-money laundering measures.
STRATEGY
Sharp to turn LCD plant into AI data centre
Sharp's production base in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, once renowned as the world's most advanced factory for large LCD television panels, will be transformed into a data centre to handle the volume of data for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The facility is expected to be one of the largest in Asia, designed to cope with the increases in the volume of data processed by AI in the coming years.
ECONOMY
India's new government needs to lower tariffs to attract manufacturers
India's new government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, needs to lower tariffs and allow companies to bring their Chinese suppliers with them in order to attract manufacturers, writes Mihir Sharma, who notes that the Modi government's failure to create solid employment opportunities has weakened its position. He says that to attract multinational companies and create value domestically, India needs to keep general tariff levels low and engage with China in the medium term. Vietnam serves as an example of a country that recognizes the importance of moving up a China-dominated value chain. India must update its approach and lower tariffs to provide the jobs that voters want, Sharma concludes.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Special Report: Women in Business
A series of FT reports looks at issues including cross-company mentoring, and how women could get shut out of the job market due to the vagaries of artificial intelligence.
TECHNOLOGY
Apple partners with OpenAI to roll out new AI system
Apple is to boost its Siri voice assistant and operating systems with OpenAI's ChatGPT as it seeks to catch up in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. At its developer conference on Monday, Apple said Siri will be able to surface answers from ChatGPT for Apple devices and provide relevant contextual information across several apps. Additionally, its newest operating system update will feature AI-augmented improvements in its photo editing and image search capabilities, among other things. Apple said its AI capabilities were created with privacy protections in mind. Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing. For requests that require use of the cloud, iPhone, iPad and Mac “do not talk to a server unless its software has been publicly logged for inspection” and the data is not retained or exposed, the company said. Nevertheless, Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies, calling the software integration between Apple and OpenAI "an unacceptable security violation."
Meetings in the metaverse: new tech draws workers to virtual offices
Virtual reality companies are now finding new opportunities to integrate the technology into workspaces where “real colleagues” work alongside “AI assistants” and without expecting workers to wear headsets constantly.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Lawson revises staff dress code to prevent harassment by customers
Japanese convenience store chain Lawson has announced a change to its uniforms. Following incidences of malicious customer complaints, the retailer is looking for ways to protect workers’ privacy and shield them from potential verbal abuse, and as part of those efforts will now allow employees who so wish to wear name tags with Latin alphabet letters of their choice. Lawson’s revised name tag policy comes after fellow convenience store chain FamilyMart made the decision last month to allow store workers to use names other than their real one on their name tags.
INTERNATIONAL
Walmart opposes NY plan to add panic buttons to stores
Walmart has said it is opposed to putting panic buttons in stores - a move that the New York legislature wants to require under a new law aimed at keeping retail workers safe. On Friday, the New York State Senate passed legislation that would make most big retail chains put panic buttons in their New York stores, or provide staff with wearable, or mobile-phone-activated, panic buttons that summon emergency services. But Dan Bartlett, Walmart executive vice president of corporate affairs, told Reuters that the company opposes the panic button idea because it believes there are likely to be many false alarms. Retail industry lobbyists including the National Retail Federation and the Food Industry Alliance of New York State have also opposed the bill. "The costly mandates proposed in the bill — including the installation of panic buttons — will do little, if anything, to address recidivists entering stores with the intent to engage in illegal activity such as shoplifting and assault," the group wrote in a May 28 letter.
BP employees must disclose intimate relationships or risk losing jobs
BP employees have been informed that they must disclose any intimate relationships with colleagues or face the risk of losing their job. The policy update comes after the London-headquartered oil and gas company's former CEO, Bernard Looney, was fired for failing to disclose such a relationship. The updated conflicts of interest policy prohibits employees from managing relatives or those with whom they are in an intimate relationship. Failure to comply with the new requirements may result in disciplinary action, including potential dismissal. In addition, senior leaders are required to declare any intimate relationships occurring within the last three years. BP's investigation into Looney's conduct has concluded, but the findings have not yet been disclosed. The partner of new BP CEO Murray Auchincloss is also a BP employee, a relationship Auchincloss disclosed prior to becoming chief financial officer in 2020.
 


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