1 WTO’s ‘landmark’ IT trade deal (BBC) The World
Trade Organisation (WTO) has struck a "landmark" deal to cut tariffs
on $1.3 trn worth of technology products. The deal will update the 18-year-old
IT Agreement and add 200 products to the zero tariff list. It is expected to
give a boost to producers of goods ranging from video games to medical
equipment.
The WTO says the sum is equal to global trade in
iron, steel, textiles and clothing combined. "Today's agreement is a
landmark," said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo. The final technical
details will be worked out until December.
The existing 1996 IT agreement was seen by industry
and policy makers as woefully out of date as it did not cover devices and
products invented since then. Technology manufacturers such as General
Electric, Intel, Texas Instruments, Microsoft and Nintendo are among the many
companies expected to benefit from the deal. Negotiations on updating the
technology agreement began in 2012.
2 New York’s $15 per hour may be highest minimum
wage (George Arnett & Alberto Nardelli in The Guardian) Fast-food workers
in New York City will be paid a minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2018 with the
rate rolling out to the rest of the state by 2021. The move follows more than a
year of campaigning on the issue. San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle have
all approved a $15 minimum wage for all employees in the three cities.
At today’s exchange rate, $15 is a higher minimum
wage than any other major jurisdiction in the world. Australia comes closest
with a $12.50 base hourly wage. Major European economies such as France and
Germany (which introduced a minimum wage after the last general election) hover
around the $10 and $9 mark respectively.
The rate is below $5 an hour in Greece and Spain,
which is similar to Japan ($6), and even lower in Brazil where it’s $1.25 -
though of course the cost of living varies between states and countries. An
hourly wage of $15 is of course still the exception in the US and many jobs are
exempt from the rate. The minimum wage at a federal level is $7.25.
3 New skills for the changing workplace (Chia Yan
Min in Straits Times) In the past 20 years, the computer and digital revolution
has changed the workplace almost beyond recognition, and jobs that involve
repeated, routine actions are being replaced by automated machines and robots,
says Ms Christine Wright, managing director of recruiting experts Hays.
This disruption is taking place across all
industries and in all geographies. According to a 2013 study by the Oxford Martin
School, 47 per cent of all jobs in the US and Britain are at risk because of
computerisation. Amid this upheaval, new jobs and industries are coming to the
fore. For instance, Google - now so ubiquitous that it even has its own verb -
was founded just 17 years ago.
Other key trends are also emerging, including a
growing ageing population in the developed world and their attendant healthcare
needs as well as the anticipated vast spending on infrastructure in developing
countries, notes Ms Wright. These developments will bump up global demand for
healthcare professionals, architects and civil engineers in the coming decades.
Large e-commerce retailers are looking for people
"who can think of the entire e-commerce supply chain". "A very
different set of skills is needed to sell in the digital world, compared to
brick and mortar," says Aparna Bharadwaj of the Boston Consultancy Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment