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APAC Edition
17th June 2024
 
THE HOT STORY
Korea to begin dialogue over four-day workweek
Discussions between the government, employers, and employees in Korea will start this week with the aim of improving the balance between work and life and adding more flexibility to the country's 52-hour workweek. The Presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council will launch a committee on work-life balance, and the first meeting is scheduled for Friday. The committee aims to address Korea's long working hours: Koreans worked 1,901 hours on average in 2022, which is 149 hours more than the OECD average. Employers believe that the current workweek system should be reformed to allow for more flexibility, but employees strongly oppose introducing more flexibility, and instead are seeking a four-day workweek.
HIRING
Indian tech firms' onboarding delays leave freshers in limbo
Some Indian IT firms have deferred onboarding of freshers, leaving them in limbo without providing any definite joining dates. According to data from the IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), at least 10,000 freshers who were offered jobs last year and the year before have been affected. Candidates who were offered positions at top and mid-tier IT companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Zensar, and LTIMindtree have complained about the delay, which is said to be primarily due to business uncertainty in North America and Europe, where signs of a slowdown have made clients cautious about spending. "Around 3-5% of freshers hired by the top IT services companies in 2022 are yet to be onboarded," estimated Krishna Vij, business head of IT staffing at Teamlease.
WORKPLACE
Hong Kong tops list of most expensive cities
Hong Kong has once again been named the most expensive city in the world, according to the Mercer index. The index, which measures the cost of living in 226 locations, found that Hong Kong was followed by Singapore, and Swiss cities Zurich, Geneva, and Basel rounded out the top five. London moved up nine places to rank eighth, just below New York. Abuja in Nigeria was ranked as the least expensive city. Yvonne Traber, Mercer's global mobility leader, highlights the importance of staying informed about cost-of-living trends and seeking input from employees to effectively manage their effects at a time when rising housing costs and volatile inflation trends have posed challenges for employers and workers, making it difficult to attract and retain top talent. 
WORKFORCE
Japan enacts laws for new foreign worker scheme amid labour crisis
Japan's parliament has enacted revised laws to replace the controversial foreign trainee program with a new system that encourages foreign workers to stay longer. The new system is designed to foster and secure foreign talent and help inexperienced workers acquire the skills needed to transition to the specified skilled worker scheme. The Technical Intern Training Program, which had been criticised as an avenue for Japan to import cheap labour, will be replaced. The changes also include a measure that allows the government to revoke permanent residence status for foreigners who fail to pay taxes or social insurance premiums. Japan's foreign population reached a record high of over 3.4 million in 2023.
LEGAL
Shift in workplace policies calls for re-evaluation of paternity leave in India
The dynamics of parenting have changed as an increasing number of households in India rely on dual incomes. The shift has precipitated calls for a re-evaluation of workplace policies, particularly regarding paternity leave for new fathers. While central government employees are entitled to a maximum of 15 days of paternity leave, private companies are not legally required to offer this benefit. Many private organizations offer only five to seven days' paternity leave, which is often considered insufficient. However, progressive companies in India including  Kenvue India, Razorpay, and Meesho are now recognizing the benefits of extended paternity leave and are re-evaluating their policies. These extended leave policies aim to encourage fathers to bond with their newborn or newly adopted child and foster gender parity in parenting responsibilities. And they not only enhance the company's reputation but are said to also increase employee loyalty, productivity, and reduce absenteeism.
Adidas investigates bribery allegations in China
Adidas is investigating potential corruption in China following an anonymous letter exposing alleged compliance violations by some employees. The German sportswear company, which experienced growth in China before the pandemic, has returned to growth in recent quarters. The anonymous letter, allegedly written by Adidas China employees, named several Chinese employees involved in marketing and claimed that kickbacks were received from external service providers. “Adidas takes allegations of possible compliance violations very seriously and is clearly committed to complying with legal and internal regulations and ethical standards in all markets where we operate," the company said in a statement.
REMOTE & HYBRID WORKING
Hybrid workers happier, healthier and more productive
Hybrid working makes employees happier, healthier and more productive, according to International Workplace Group (IWG) research. The poll of 1,026 people who divide their working week between home and the office found 79% say they feel less drained, 78% say they were less stressed, and 72% say they are less anxious. Eighty-six per cent say the extra free time that comes from not having to commute has improved their work/life balance. Three-quarters of respondents said that going back to working five days a week from the office would have a negative impact on their wellbeing. It was also found that 74% of hybrid workers felt they were more productive, 76% said they were more motivated, and 85% said their job satisfaction has improved.
STRATEGY
Amazon to invest billions in Taiwan cloud infrastructure
Amazon has announced plans to invest billions of dollars in Taiwan's cloud infrastructure over the next 15 years. The company's AWS division said the new infrastructure will enable customers to store data securely and run workloads with low latency from data centres located in Taiwan. The country has positioned itself as the centre of the global artificial intelligence (AI) race, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. making advanced chips to run AI software. Since the start of 2024, AWS has disclosed plans to spend $9bn to expand its cloud services in Singapore, $15bn to build cloud capacity in Japan and more than $5bn each in Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
PepsiCo breaks ground on food production base in Northwest China
PepsiCo has started construction on a food production base in Xi'an, in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, with a projected investment of $180m. The facility, which is expected to begin trial operations in September 2025, will have a production capacity of around 25,000 tons to cater to growing local market demand. Anne Tse, CEO of PepsiCo Greater China, expressed confidence in the Chinese market and economy. The new food production base in Xi'an is PepsiCo's tenth food factory in China. It features advanced automation technologies in production, packaging, and warehousing. 
INTERNATIONAL
FedEx to axe up to 2,000 jobs in Europe
FedEx is set to cut up to 2,000 jobs as it looks to reduce costs. The parcel delivery firm plans to reduce its European back-office and commercial workforce by 1,700 to 2,000 over the next year and a half. FedEx believes the move will help it save between $125m and $175m annually from 2026/27. However, it also expects redundancy payments and related expenses to cost between $250m and $375m. "We're taking necessary actions to streamline many of our functions to reduce structural costs while continuing to deliver outstanding service to our customers," said Richard Smith, chief operating officer for FedEx's international division. "We do not take these decisions lightly, but they are essential to putting FedEx on the right path for the future."
Hollywood's first stunt group for female performers
For stunt women in Hollywood, a lack of opportunities and representation has led to the formation of the Association of Women Drivers, the first-ever stunt group for professional female performers. Olivia Summers, a veteran stuntwoman, spearheaded the organisation after experiencing disappointment and frustration with male stunt drivers being cast as doubles for female actors. Despite guild rules requiring the hiring of female stunt performers for female roles, stunt coordinators often find ways to bypass these guidelines. The group also aims to challenge the practice of so-called "paintdowns," where stunt performers are painted black or brown to double for actors of colour. The organisation has also highlighted the financial burden of training and staying fit for stunt work.
UK bosses are rethinking pub socials
After-work drinks risk being phased out as work culture in the UK faces dramatic changes, the Sunday Telegraph reports. “Younger employees that have healthier lifestyles don’t see it as a rite of passage to go out and drink and get absolutely wasted,” observes Emma Morris, director of Embrace HR, adding “If you arrange something that ends up where there’s trouble, through drinking, or through drug-taking, or anything like that, the employers can be held liable for the incident.” Clive Watson, the co-founder of City Pub Company, explains: “There’s definitely a move to a more engaging, interactive socialising . . . [Employers are] definitely looking for more of an experience – it gets the crowd going, it’s something to talk about, and it’s not just drinking copious amounts of booze.” UK graduate recruitment company Rare last week suggested that law firms should take their employers on cooking, painting and pottery classes rather than to the pub.
OTHER
Durians gain popularity in China as demand soars
Durians, once considered a niche fruit, are gaining popularity in China due to the rising purchasing power of consumers and increased affordability. Southeast Asian nations are scaling up durian production to meet the soaring demand from China. Durian sales have reached new highs in Zhejiang province's Jiaxing fruit market, with transactions worth over 150m yuan ($20.68m). The average price of imported durians from Thailand has plummeted, benefiting consumers. China accounts for 91% of global durian demand, with consumer awareness and willingness to embrace durians driving sales growth. The passion for durians among Chinese consumers has led to a surge in imports, with China's fresh durian imports rising from 28,200 metric tonnes in 2002 to 605,000 tonnes in 2019.
 


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