Discrimination against refugees in the Palestinian labor market

PurposeThis paper examines the level and structure of the wage inequality between nonrefugee and refugee workers in Palestine and the extent to which such wage gap reflects any marginalization and discrimination against refugees. It also investigates how the disparities in distribution to individual worker characteristics contribute to the wage inequality in Palestine.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use both Oaxaca and Blinder (OB) (Oaxaca, 1973 and Blinder, 1973) and Fortin et al. (2011) unconditional quantile decomposition approaches to measure the size of the wage gap along with the wage distribution and to decompose the wage differences into productivity (i.e. explained or the composition effects) and wage structure effects (i.e. unexplained or discrimination effects).FindingsResults indicate that most of the wage gap between refugees and nonrefugees is attributed to the wage structure effect (possibly explained by discrimination) against refugees in the Palestinian labor market. The wage gap between refugees and nonrefugees is not uniform throughout the wage distribution and supports the “sticky floor effect.”Practical implicationsThis work introduces important policy implications for the policymakers in the Palestinian labor market. It reveals the economic and social factors, individual worker characteristics as well as labor market characteristics contribute to the wage inequality in Palestine.Social implicationsThis research reveals a crucial social challenge in the Palestinian society, represented by the wage discrimination against refugees in Palestine. This is despite the denial of such discrimination from official bodies, local institutions and many other policymakers. It also captures gender inequality between men and women.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical work in Palestine that contends with a very sensitive issue in the Palestinian society, that is, the discrimination against refugees in the Palestinian labor market. Most of the existing studies have approached this issue from a humanitarian view in order to show the deterioration of social and economic situations in the refugee camps.

The Problem of Unemployment in the Digital Economy

The article analyzes a special type of unemployment, the occurrence of which is associated with the development of the digital economy. Shown are the main problems that digital can bring to social life and the fate of an individual worker. Chief among these problems is that with the further digital transformation of the economy, more and more jobs may be threatened with extinction, and the disappearance of old jobs this time will not be accompanied by the emergence of new ones. A situation may arise when workers released due to digitalization will become not only unemployed, but also generally inoperable. A global question arises — what to do with those who do not work, and how to support them? It also examines the related measures of population regulation and global mechanisms for managing demographic processes.

過労死 (Karōshi)’s phenomenon and its collective existential damage

This paper discusses 過労死 (Karōshi)’s phenomenon, stating it as a social labor-related issue. It presents Karōshi as sudden death by overworking. This paper objective consists in showing it as a singular and particular case of Japanese workaholism, rooted in its own cultural work system, conceptualizing Karōshi as a singularity in Japanese cultural system, putting it, and also 過労自殺 (Karōjisatsu), as an existential damage beyond the individual worker. Karōshi surpasses the line of personal damage and can be considered a cultural collective damage.

The Criminalization of Health and Safety at Work

This chapter adopts a historical perspective on the development of criminalization of health and safety law. In so doing, it emphasizes the divergence in perspective between criminal lawyers and labour lawyers on fundamental matters of value. Criminal lawyers have tended to focus on the development of criminalization-limiting principles as an exercise in normative theory, whereas labour lawyers have tended to focus on instrumental outcomes in terms of whether health and safety outcomes are improved. If criminal law works in that instrumental sense, then so much the better, and that supersedes niceties about the justifiability of criminalization. This chapter identifies the central importance of criminalization as a tool of deregulation in the modern era, following the removal of a civil right to seek compensation for breach of statutory duties under the health and safety legislation. By channelling enforcement exclusively through the criminal law, the individual worker is thereby disempowered in their standing to control the legal process and its outcomes.

Digitalization of the economy: social threats

The article analyzes the hidden threats to society associated with the development of the digital economy. The paper describes the main problems that digitalization can bring to social life and the fate of an individual worker. Chief among these concerns is that with the further digital transformation of the economy, more and more jobs could be threatened with extinction. The disappearance of old jobs this time will not be accompanied by the emergence of new ones. A situation may arise when the workers released due to digitalization will become not only unemployed, but also generally inoperable. A global question arises – what to do with those who do not work, and what to support them for?

Penerapan Kaizen dalam Rangka Meningkatkan Loyalitas Pelanggan di PT XYZ

Kaizen digunakan untuk melakukan perbaikan secara terus menerus, menggunakan tahapan-tahapan kecil yang melibatkan manager dan seluruh pegawai dengan biaya dan resiko yang relatif akan lebih rendah. Bengkel PT. Trans Suzuki Sumatera Agung merupakan salah satu unit kegiatan untuk mendukung dan meningkatkan pelayanan pelanggan Suzuki. Indikator utama dalam pelayanan bengkel adalah kepuasan pelanggan. Berikut ini merupakan uraian dalam penerapan 5s yang terdapat dalam konsep kaizen. Seiri, meminimalisir hal/benda tidak penting, seiton, menyusun peralatan serapi mungkin agar memberikan kemudahan dalam bekerja. Seiso, melakukan pembersihan terhadap mesin/peralatan yang telah digunakan. Seiketsu, menhaga, merawat dan mengikuti ketiga tahap sebelumnya. Shitsuke, memelihara dan meningkatkan disiplin individu pekerja. Hasil penerapan kaizen memberikan usulan kebijakan yang diterapkan oleh PT XYZ sehingga diharapkan dapat memberikan dampak peningkatan kepuasan pelanggan pada periode selanjutnya. Usulan kebijakan tersebut terkait dengan penambahan jumlah mekanik, melakukan perbaikan terhadap ruang tunggu pelanggan, pelaksanaan pelatihan bagi pekerja, pergantian komponen/peralatan yang rusak serta perbaikan terhadap kinerja booking service. Kaizen is used to make continuous improvements, using small steps that involve managers and all employees with relatively lower costs and risks. PT. Trans Suzuki Sumatera Agung is one of the activity units to support and improve Suzuki's customer service. The main indicator in service shop is customer satisfaction. The following is a description of the application of the 5s contained in the kaizen concept. Seiri, minimize things / objects that are not important, seiton, arrange equipment as neat as possible to provide convenience in working. Seiso, clean the machinery / equipment that has been used. Seiketsu manned, cared for and followed the three previous stages. Shitsuke, maintains and improves individual worker discipline. The results of the application of kaizen provide policy proposals implemented by PT XYZ so it is expected to have an impact on increasing customer satisfaction in the next period. The proposed policy is related to increasing the number of mechanics, making improvements to the customer's waiting room, conducting training for workers, replacing damaged components / equipment as well as improving the booking service performance.