In The News

US to Suspend New Foreign-Scholar Visas: Nature

Nidhi Subbaraman and Alexandra Witze June 24, 2020
The US president issued a proclamation expanding limits for foreign workers, including a suspension on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign scholars and employees for tech firms. The block will not extend to current visa holders, but that does not ease their uncertainty. “The Trump administration characterized the decision as a plan to stave off the economic impact of the coronavirus...

COVID-19 Hits No-Degree Workers: Guardian

Kalyeena Makortoff April 26, 2020
Up to 52 million jobs in Europe are at risk during the pandemic for workers without a university degree, possibly leading to increased social inequality. They may face cuts to hours or pay, temporary furloughs, or permanent layoffs. Workers most at risk include those who work in close proximity to others such as retail staff, cooks and construction workers, while safer jobs consist of those who...

Lives Versus Livelihoods: Japan Times

Gwynne Dyer April 17, 2020
COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, and China imposed strict lockdown measures for 70 days. The city has reopened with officials screening temperatures and citizen movements. Other nations, especially the United States, hope to reopen economies after 30 days of lockdown isolation with less stringent measures. “Everybody knows that you can’t shut the economy down indefinitely, but nobody wants to...

Harvests at Risk With Squeezed Labor: Bloomberg

Mike Dorning, Edward Ludlow and Ainslie Chandler March 27, 2020
Governments’ go-to method for stopping the spread of COVID-19 is imposing travel limits on infected countries. Such limits could threaten food production in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. “American produce growers preparing to harvest crops are warning of a devastating impact on fruit and vegetables after the U.S. Embassy in Mexico announced a halt to visa interviews for seasonal farm...

Work-From-Home Becomes New Normal: Korea Times

Anna J. Park March 20, 2020
With countries encouraging isolation and shelter-in-place and communities put into lockdown, companies encourage employees who can to work from home. “A recent report by Hana Financial Investment pointed out that so-called ‘telecommuting,’ or working from home, has been increasing since the 2000s with the rapid development of information technology, and it was to grow in the near future, even...

Brands Accused of Using Forced Chinese Labor: AFP

March 2, 2020
Human rights advocates have long criticized China for detaining about 1 million Uighurs for reeducation. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute reports that China has transferred about 80,000 Uighurs to factories around the country behind 80 global brands including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung and Sony. “Companies using forced Uighur labour in their supply chains could...

Coronavirus and Job Losses in China: SCMP

Sidney Leng February 13, 2020
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in China has climbed to more than 60,000 cases with more than 1,300 dead. Chinese authorities early on took steps to curtail crowds, resulting in an economic slowdown and “firms faced with tough decision whether to reduce staff levels and wages to be able to survive,” reports Sidney Leng for the South China Morning Post. Restaurants, hotels, retail stores...