THE RISING IMPACT OF INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT IN MALAYSIA: POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the informal employment sector has been experiencing steadily increasing popularity. Although market trends and most workers enjoy the flexibility and challenges of informal employment, such employment does have its own risks, especially now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, employee protection have been side-lined for more important considerations such as businesses and/ or employers struggling to stay afloat and not file for bankruptcy proceedings and/or being wound-up. Extenuating circumstances such as economic sustenance, employer-reduced mobility for expansion, employee movement, etc. have all contributed to the more precarious position of informal employees. Yet, there is a great advantage of informal employment in the new norm. This paper aims to address current, prominent issues relating to women and children amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It seeks to examine their roles and status in informal employment, their contributions in mobilizing the county’s fiscal economy, and eventually its permanence in the country’s employment landscape.

The COVID-specific Measures in the Netherlands – Do They Fit into the General Picture?

This article discusses the nature of the Dutch COVID relief measures for employers concerning wage costs. The question is raised whether the ad-hoc decrees fit into the general picture of Dutch labour law and respects the two key principles (1) safeguarding employees’ income and (2) requesting employee flexibility with regard to the work in case the exact job does not exist any more or is under serious threat. The contribution finds that the emergency legislation does respect these two main principles, while judges refuse substantial modifications of wages and / or working hours on the basis of reasonableness, also upholding the key principles of employee protection.

The COVID-19 pandemic, social sustainability and global supply chain resilience: a review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chain sustainability and provide an important pathway to develop an initial understanding of how organizations can develop more resilient and socially sustainable supply chains in a post-COVID world. Design/methodology/approach To gain fresh insights on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chain social sustainability and resilience issues, an extensive literature review was conducted. To this end, recent scholarly research articles, articles from practitioner journals, magazine articles and policy documents and reports, as well as blogs and briefings published by international organizations were critically reviewed. Findings The findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a major shake-up of global supply chain operations and has contributed to varied sustainability outcomes. While the pandemic caused reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, it has had serious social implications for the livelihoods and well-being of workers and their families. The findings further suggested that it is imperative for companies to build resilience in their global supply chain operations to better respond to future shocks and disruptions by adopting strategies such as employee protection schemes, advanced digital technologies, diversification, localization and regionalization and stakeholder collaboration. Originality/value This review paper contributes to emerging global supply chain sustainability literature and practice by synthesizing and explicating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chain social sustainability and resilience. In addition, this paper offers some practical recommendations to enhance the social sustainability impacts and resilience of global supply chains in a post-COVID world.

Audit Manajemen Atas Fungsi Sumber Daya Manusia Pada PT Taspen (Persero) KCU Semarang

Background - Improve the quality and convenience of customers in social insurance services. PT. Taspen (Persero) KCU Semarang requires a management audit to evaluate and provide recommendations that need to be done to obtain effective human resources. interview with the Head of General and HR Section and several employees at PT. Taspen (Persero) KCU Semarang, the function of human resources (HR) at PT. Taspen (Persero) KCU Semarang can be said to have not been effective. Purpose – The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation of the eight Human Resource functions and the effectiveness of the Human Resource function at PT. Taspen (Persero) KCU Semarang. Design/ Methodology/ Approach - This research used descriptive qualitative. Data were collected using interview methods, questionnaires, and documentation studies. Data analysis used management audit with four stages, namely preliminary audits, review and testing of management controls, detailed audits, and reports. Result and discussion - Five of the eight HR functions at PT. Taspen (Persero) KCU Semarang has been implemented effectively, namely (1) performance appraisal, (2) career development, (3) reward and compensation system, (4) employee protection and (5) employment relations. Meanwhile, the three functions that have not been implemented effectively include (1) orientation and placement, (2) training and development, and (3) termination of employment. Conclusion - The eight management functions have not fully achieved the expected effectiveness in accordance with the audit indicators in the human resources function. Research Implication – The implications in research for PT Taspen (Persero) KCU Semarang can be used as material for consideration and evaluation of three HR functions that have not been implemented effectively, so that they can be used for decision making to improve HR management performance, especially in the general section.

Early effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the African dairy industry: Cases of Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar, and Senegal

This paper provides an early assessment of the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and of subsequent response measures on milk production, collection, processing, marketing and consumption in Africa. We focus on the period surrounding the first wave of the outbreak (from February to June 2020), during which the number of cases surged and many steps were taken to curb the epidemic. The paper is based on reports from four countries covered by the Africa-Milk Research Project: Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal. Data was collected primarily from nine dairy processors located in those countries. Major conclusions of the study are: (1) Dairy farmers were negatively affected by COVID-19 measures when the health crisis coincided with the peak of the milk production season, and when governments did not take steps to support milk production. (2) Small and informal milk collectors were also affected by traffic restrictions as they could not obtain traffic permits. (3) Milk powder importation remained unaffected during the outbreak. (4) Dairy processors (particularly small ones) faced many challenges restricting their operation. Travel restrictions led to temporary interruptions of milk supply, and because of employee protection and safety measures, processing costs increased. (5) Many small retailers were affected by bans on public transport and reduced their purchases of artisanal dairy products; meanwhile, spoilage of dairy products increased during long curfews coupled with poor storage conditions. Supermarkets were able to increase their market share during the pandemic thanks to their connections with industrial dairy processors and wholesalers. (6) A majority of consumers decreased their consumption of dairy products due to a decrease of purchasing power. In some cases, an increase in consumption occurred (due to Ramadan month and dry season high temperatures) and consumption shifted towards long-life dairy products. (7) Overall, the consequences of the health crisis affected more small and informal dairy supply chains than the larger ones, which are more formal, better organised and finally more resilient to face this kind of global crisis.

Cultural Challenges of BlueBird Bio Expansion into Germany

BlueBird Bio is a biotechnology multinational corporation (MNC), with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in gene therapy solutions for autoimmune diseases and cancer. The company was recently approved, in Germany, for their new drug Zynteglo for the treatment of betta thalassemia. This approval opened the door for further investment in the European market, starting with the contracting of Apceth Biopharma and purchases of new land and equipment to establish a permanent residence in the country. The opening of the new European headquarters will demonstrate new challenges for BlueBird Bio, as cultural and institutional differences between the host country and parent country are quite distinctive. Some of the main differences among countries are their cultural dimensions in dealing with risk, masculinity, and indulgence. Unlike the United States, Germany is risk avert, values input of all in decision-making, and has a general attitude following the best practice approach. The US focuses on the individual dimension of a culture where employees are valued for their independence. Furthermore, the differences between governmental policies in the two countries vary strongly. The German government has strict policies on employee protection and can affect the decision making of the organization. There is also the presence of labor unions and collective bargaining; two aspects of organizational structure US-based companies are trying to avoid. BlueBird Bio is an emerging MNC, and its success depends upon its ability to recognize the differences in cultures and institutions between the countries. The company has already been exposed to multiple countries in Europe and has strong programs in employee education supplemented with strong company benefits for its employees, which is providing excellent groundwork for establishing headquarters in Germany.

Questions of special assessment of working conditions of medical workers

Introduction. Before the entry into force of the Federal law of the Russian Federation of December 28, 2013 No. 426-FZ "On special assessment of working conditions" one of the available and effective elements of occupational risk assessment in the workplace was workplace certification (WPC) for working conditions, which allows to identify harmful and/or dangerous factors of the production environment, assess the risk levels in the workplace and determine the main areas of employee protection from the adverse effects of harmful production factors. The results of a special assessment of working conditions (SAWC) can be used not only to develop and implement measures aimed at improving the working conditions of employees, informing employees about working conditions and the existing risk of damage to their health, but also to establish guarantees and compensation provided for by the Labor code of the Russian Federation (RF) for employees engaged in work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions. The aim of the study is to identify problematic issues during the implementation of SAWC at the workplaces of medical workers to prevent possible errors in its further implementation. Materials and methods. We used data obtained from the results of WPC and SAWC of medical workers of various medical organizations of the Republic of Tatarstan (RT). A retrospective analysis of cases of occupational diseases was applied according to the data of the Department of Rospotrebnadzor for the Republic of Tatarstan and the register of patients of the Republican Center of Occupational Pathology. Results. In the RT medical organizations according to the results of SAWC marked decrease in the number of jobs with hazardous working conditions from 92.2% to 78.2% due to the fact that the methodology of the SAWC will not assess the intensity of the work process in all workplaces health workers, and identification and evaluation of biological factors do not always reflect the actual microbiological status of the environment. As a result, working conditions are assessed as acceptable, which deprives medical workers of previously established guarantees and compensation. In addition, during periodic medical examinations (PME), studies on the biological factor are not fully carried out, which makes it difficult to diagnose viral hepatitis, which occupies the second place in the structure of occupational morbidity of medical workers. Conclusions. For high-quality implementation of SAWC in medical organizations, it is necessary to assess the intensity of the labor process of medical workers, taking into account intellectual, sensory, emotional loads, monotony of loads and working hours, and for the correct assessment of the biological factor, it is recommended to introduce an epidemiologist to the commission.

Protection of employees in insolvency proceedings

When an enterprise becomes insolvent, it affects the partners (suppliers) of the company, the State and has a significant impact on the employees. The issue of the protection of workers' rights is one of the most important aspects in situations where the employer is declared insolvent. The country can develop its own employee protection system in case of company’s insolvency. In this article, based on the statistical data for the period 2003 – 2019, the author analyses the situation in Latvia. The aim of the study is to analyse the existing employee protection mechanism in Latvia, which the State implements with the help of state entrepreneurial risk fee. Two ways of protecting the rights of employees or satisfying claims are distinguished: a privilege system and a guarantee system. Latvia chooses the guarantee system. In this article, based on the statistical data obtained, it is proved that the model chosen by Latvia is financially successful although creates a negligible burden for entrepreneurs, and its benefits are significant because, in line with the situation of Latvia, sufficient financial resources are accumulated each year and employees' claims are covered to a certain amount according to regulations in enactments, as well as the Income Tax and Mandatory State Social Insurance Contributions are paid from these requirements covered by the guarantee fund. The author considers that the State may act as an intermediary or insurer in the insolvency situations of an undertaking in order to protect employees and, in particular, the State budget from covering unforeseeable costs.

Pro-Labor Institutions and Corporate Employment Efficiency

We examine how labor-friendly institutional features (i.e., laborism) relate to corporate investment efficiency in labor in a sample of firms from 33 countries over 1996–2012. We consider three dimensions of laborism—the presence of a left-leaning government, rigidity of employee protection laws, and collectivist culture. Our evidence shows that firms operating in stronger laborism countries make less efficient labor investment decisions, which is consistent with higher labor adjustment costs associated with laborism.