Monthly Archives: January 2017

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/Robots-worming-their-way-into-Japanese-service-sector?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Tour company H.I.S. to launch advisory business Robots greet guests at the Henn-na Hotel in the H.I.S. group’s Huis Ten Bosch theme park. TOKYO — A growing number of service-sector businesses in Japan are opening up to the idea of using robots to cope with worker shortages and boost productivity, and major tour company…

There are reasons to be worried about the head of Donald Trump’s new National Trade Council http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21715017-there-are-reasons-be-worried-about-head-donald-trumps-new-national-trade-council-peter?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/peternavarroisabouttobecomeoneoftheworldsmostpowerfuleconomists, Jan 21st 2017 THE day after Ronald Reagan won his second term as president in 1984, a doctoral student at Harvard University published his second book. “The Policy Game: How Special Interests and Ideologues are Stealing America” complained…

Jan. 21, 2017, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-travis-bradberry/13-habits-of-super-persua_b_14272946.html Whether you’re convincing your boss to fund your project or your preschooler to put his shoes on, persuasion is a skill that’s instrumental to your success in life.

Written by Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO), Jan 20, 2017 This article is part of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 The United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda commits us to “leave no one behind”, while the International Labour Organization’s goal of “Decent Work for All” embraces the same principle.

Danica M. Uy, Businessworld, Jan. 20, 2017 HIGHER across-the-board wages run the risk of limiting the employment prospects of less experienced workers and women, according to a paper published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

by Roy Stephen C. Canivel, Businessworld, Jan. 20, 2017 THE MOVE to address illegal contractualization is now “back to square one” after President Rodrigo R. Duterte rejected a proposed department order addressing some issues with the employment practice, persons affiliated with the labor movement and employers’ groups said.

Tempo, Jan. 20, 2017 The Bureau of Immigration said yesterday that more than 45,000 Filipinos, mostly women, were disallowed from leaving the country last year as it vowed to continue its no letup campaign against the lucrative human trafficking racket.

Businessworld, Jan. 20, 2017 IF YOUR JOB involves inputting reams of data for a company, you might want to think about retraining in a more specialized field. Or as a plumber. After industrial robots and international trade put paid to many manufacturing jobs in the West, millions of white-collar workers could now be under threat…

By Claire Poskitt, Jan. 20, 2017 In 2011, a startup social media company managed to get 10,000 signups on its website within three months without revealing the product or service actually being offered. And although Kohort is now defunct, there are lessons that can be learned from its experience.

Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News, Jan 20 2017 An employers’ group on Thursday said that talks on new regulations regarding contractual labor are back to square one. The Employers Confederation of the Philippines said this after representatives from the labor and management sectors failed to agree on the draft department order presented to President Rodrigo Duterte…

By: Doris Dumlao-Abadilla, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 20, 2017 Across Asia, the Philippines is among those with the highest percentage of citizens who don’t exercise regularly mostly due to lack of time, lack of personal motivation and “distractions” of modern life, based on the latest Sun Life Financial Asia Health Index.

By: Jodee Agoncillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 20, 2017 Eight days after a two-hour fire hit an LPG refilling station in Pasig City, one more gas employee died on Thursday, adding to the other eight who earlier died in different hospitals.

Remote working and flexible working is vital to sustain of the workforce of the future. By Eileen Brown for Social Business | January 20, 2017 ‘Remote working’ and ‘working from home’ is becoming more and more common with workforces. Businesses of the future must adapt in order to cope with the increasing complexities with our…

Marikina 2nd District Representative Miro Quimbo says this proposal is ‘already a great victory for tax reform advocates’ BY PATTY PASION, Jan 19, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – House Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo said on Thursday, January 19, that the Department of Finance (DOF) is pushing for tax exemption for individuals earning a gross income of…

“Our goal is to connect people with the stories they find most meaningful, and we know people want accurate information,” Facebook says in a statement Don Kevin Hapal, Rappler, Jan. 19, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Facebook assured Senator Francis Pangilinan they “take misinformation seriously” and were “working.. to address the issue of fake news and…

Liza Reyes, ABS-CBN News, Jan 19 2017 The Supreme Court (SC) has junked with finality the government’s appeal to stop the return of nearly P5 billion in withholding taxes it charged on anti-poverty bonds and pay interest for failure to comply promptly with the court’s earlier ruling.

Jeff Cox, CNBC, Jan 19, 2017 George Soros thinks President-elect Donald Trump will fail — and that will be just fine with the billionaire investor and supporter of progressive causes.

By: Julie M. Aurelio, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 19, 2017 The Philippines has started deporting 1,316 Chinese workers who were arrested last year working at an illegal online gaming hub owned by Chinese gambling tycoon Jack Lam.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Jan. 19, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Philippine exports should be able to endure the impact of the country possibly losing its Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) privileges with the European Union (EU) due to rising cases of alleged extrajudicial killings and plans to bring back the death penalty,…

Marikina 2nd District Representative Miro Quimbo says this proposal is ‘already a great victory for tax reform advocates’ BY PATTY PASION, Rappler, Jan 19, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – House Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo said on Thursday, January 19, that the Department of Finance (DOF) is pushing for tax exemption for individuals earning a gross income…

Robots could be given ‘electronic person’ status, says report, which argues a legal framework is urgently needed for robots and self-driving cars. By Steve Ranger | January 18, 2017 Should robots be classed as ‘electronic persons’? The European Union needs to set rules for the use of robots, to settle issues around ethics, safety and…

Below is the link on the petition about two Indian nationals sentenced to death in Qatar. Please Sign Online Petition – To Save Two Indian Nationals Subramaniam and Chelladurai sentenced to death at Qatar. https://www.change.org/p/union-save-two-indian-nationals-subramaniam-and-chelladurai-sentenced-to-death-at-qatar  

By Ariel Nepomuceno, Businessmirror, Jan. 18, 2017 January 9, 2016, is a crucial day for antipoverty and health advocates. The issuance of Executive Order (EO) 12 by President Duterte aims to implement the provisions of the reproductive-health (RH) law, which were not covered by the temporary restraining order released by the Supreme Court (SC). Furthermore,…

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Jan. 18, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are being encouraged to move their new projects out of Metro Manila under the new Investment Priorities Plan, while new telecommunication players are urged to support their provincial expansion.

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star), Jan. 18, 2017 How many drug addicts are there really? Two counts are given, the police’s and President Rodrigo Duterte’s. And they widely vary. If we go by the former’s figures, then the latter’s would look sorely understated – by half.

By: Jodee A. Agoncillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 18, 2017 “I could have saved myself. But if I had done that, more people would have died. That would be on my conscience, little sister.”

By: Jocelyn R. Uy, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 18, 2017 The P8.3-billion budget for a tuition-free schooling in state universities and colleges (SUCs) this year will be enjoyed mostly by moneyed and “nonpoor” students as only 8 percent of the poor are enrolled in college, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

By: Leila B. Salaverria , Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 18, 2017 Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez is the wealthiest member of President Duterte’s Cabinet while Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano is the poorest, according to the net worth that they declared upon joining the government.

Andreas Irmen and Anastasia Litina, Jan. 18, 2017 https://hbr.org/2017/01/what-a-study-of-33-countries-found-about-aging-populations-and-innovation?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social The populations of almost all Western countries are getting older, as the Baby Boomers, born in the 1950s and 1960s, live longer and have fewer children than previous generations. Population aging of this dimension is possibly unique in world history. No surprise, then, that it poses…

The agriculture sector, which employs more than 85,000 children, has the highest incidence of child labor in the country Patty Pasion, Jan. 18, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III ordered more prohibitions for minors in the agriculture and livestock farming sectors, as part of the government’s efforts to curb child labor in…