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APAC Edition
16th April 2025
 
THE HOT STORY
Scheme helps Singaporeans who have lost their jobs due to retrenchment
In Singapore, the new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme offers vital assistance to those who have lost their jobs due to retrenchment or other uncontrollable circumstances. The scheme, announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, provides temporary financial relief, with payouts of up to $6,000 over six months for eligible job seekers. To qualify, individuals must be aged 21 and above, unemployed for at least one month, and have earned $5,000 or less monthly. The scheme encourages proactive job searching through various activities, allowing participants to earn points for financial support. National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said the scheme is a significant first step in providing temporary financial relief to those who are involuntarily unemployed. “We hope this will provide workers with relief, especially in times of increasing uncertainty,” he said.
HEALTH & WELLBEING
Korea's PPP pledges flexible labour policies
Korea's conservative People Power Party (PPP) has announced a proposal for a “4.5-day” workweek based on flexible working hours as part of its presidential campaign. Interim leader Kwon Young-se announced the initiative during a party meeting, saying: “We will actively pursue this as part of our platform.” The plan includes a pilot program where civil servants work an additional hour from Monday to Thursday and only four hours on Friday, maintaining a total of 40 hours weekly without affecting wages. Kwon emphasised that this approach aims to improve work-life balance while criticising the Democratic Party's proposals for reducing hours without wage adjustments as “unrealistic.” The PPP also plans to abolish the current 52-hour workweek cap, which Kwon argues limits flexibility in various industries, particularly in high-tech sectors. The party says it aims to develop labour policies that foster a more advanced work culture through tailored flexible schedules.
WORKFORCE
Japan's population hits record low
Japan's population stood at 120.3m as of October 2024, marking a record decline of 898,000 from the previous year, according to the internal affairs ministry. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi acknowledged the ongoing issue, saying: “We understand that the declining birthrate is continuing because many people who wish to raise children are not able to fulfil their wishes.” The population, including foreign nationals, has also dropped by 550,000 to 123.8m, marking the 14th consecutive annual decline. Young people are increasingly postponing marriage and parenthood due to economic uncertainties and shifting social values. The government is attempting to address these challenges by raising wages and providing child-rearing support, aiming to create a society where everyone can have children and raise them with peace of mind.
Pharmacists in India push for insurance inclusion
A union representing over 15,000 pharmacists in India has urged the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to recognise pharmacists as eligible for professional indemnity insurance. This request highlights the growing need for protection among pharmacists, who play a crucial role in healthcare. The union's appeal reflects a significant shift in the recognition of pharmacists' professional status, as they seek to ensure their rights and responsibilities are adequately covered.
TECHNOLOGY
Amazon bets big on AI innovation
Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy has defended the company's substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI), saying that such spending is essential for maintaining competitiveness. In his annual letter to shareholders, Mr Jassy said: “If your customer experiences aren’t planning to leverage these intelligent models, their ability to query giant corpuses of data and quickly find your needle in the haystack, their ability to keep getting smarter with more feedback and data, and their future agentic capabilities, you will not be competitive." More than 1,000 generative AI applications are currently being built across the company that will change customer experiences around shopping, coding, personal assistants, streaming video and music, advertising, healthcare, reading, and home devices. Amazon has also committed around $8bn to AI start-up Anthropic and is integrating its Claude software into the revamped Alexa voice assistant.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Lego drops diversity and inclusion terms from report
Lego has removed mention of diversity and inclusion terms from its 2024 annual sustainability report, despite featuring them heavily in its 2023 document. Words such as "diversity", "LGBTQ+" or "people of colour" were absent from last year’s report, although it does address gender balance at the director level, aiming for a 57% male and 43% split by 2025, but stressing that "appointments are made on merit." The change comes despite the Danish toy-maker introducing a raft of "inclusive" figures into its play sets.
ECONOMY
Thailand's inflation surprises with low rates
Thailand's inflation rate for March was unexpectedly low at 0.84%, primarily due to decreased energy prices and government measures aimed at easing living costs, according to the commerce ministry. Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, noted that "slower global growth could weigh on prices," indicating that US tariffs might lead to cheaper imports. The first quarter saw an inflation rate of 1.08%, while the second quarter is projected at just 0.15%. With inflation consistently below the central bank's target range of 1% to 3%, the full-year rate is also expected to remain low.
INTERNATIONAL
French healthcare workers sue ministers over work-related suicides
French healthcare workers and the families of colleagues who died by suicide have filed a legal complaint against Health Minister Catherine Vautrin and Higher Education Minister Elisabeth Borne, citing "deadly working conditions" in public hospitals. The complaint, lodged with the Republic's Court of Justice, accuses the ministers of allowing "totally illegal and deadly working conditions" that have led to workplace harassment and involuntary manslaughter. It describes a system of “coercion to illegally organise work overtime”, “threats” and “forced labour outside any regulatory framework”, as well as “totalitarian” management practices. Lawyer Christelle Mazza said: "Any boss implementing such mass and repeated restructuring policies . . . would have been sentenced and the company shut down."
Expats dismissed for anti-Saudi posts
An expatriate employee in Saudi Arabia has been dismissed by an unnamed insurance company for posting offensive comments about the Kingdom on social media. The company said it had received notifications regarding the posts and acted swiftly. The employee, who holds Arab nationality, was terminated in order to uphold the company's commitment to professional ethics and a zero-tolerance policy towards actions that could harm the Kingdom. In a similar case, a health association also terminated an expatriate for making offensive remarks online, expressing "strong condemnation and categorical rejection of his behaviour." Saudi Arabia has a significant expatriate community, comprising around 44% of its 35.3m population.
Skadden ditches employee affinity groups
Affinity group events for the remainder of the year have vanished from the calendar of US law firm Skadden following its deal with President Donald Trump to avoid an executive order, in which it pledged it “will not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.” Mentions of the groups - which include affinity networks for parents, veterans, and Asian Pacific Islanders - have been removed from the firm’s website. “Affinity networks play a key role in the firm’s ongoing efforts regarding law student recruitment, associate mentoring, peer networking, career development, workplace inclusion, attorney retention and community involvement,” Skadden had said in a 2023 Vault diversity survey.
Sheinbaum to tackle Mexico's mining strikes
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced efforts to address ongoing strikes at three mines, including the large Buenavista del Cobre copper mine in Cananea, Sonora. During a morning press conference, Sheinbaum emphasised the need to improve miners' working conditions and also to protect the environment. The Buenavista del Cobre mine, operated by Grupo Mexico, has been closed for an extended period. The identities of the other two mines affected by the strikes were not disclosed.
OTHER
Tariff turmoil threatens India's shrimp exports
The shrimp export industry in India is facing significant challenges due to President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs, which could impose a 26% rate on shipments to the US. The situation threatens around 2,000 containers of shrimp, impacting a $7bn market heavily reliant on retailers like Walmart and Kroger. Meanwhile, Ecuador stands to gain from a lower tariff rate of 10%, potentially increasing competition for Indian exporters. G. Pawan Kumar, president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, warns that if the 26% tariff takes effect, it could be "game over" for the Indian shrimp industry.
 


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