Malaysian palm giant IOI faces labour abuse allegations in a new report

Malaysian palm giant IOI faces labour abuse allegations in a new report

KUALA LUMPUR - Workers at Malaysian palm oil company IOI Corp are mistreated by managers, face poor living conditions and pay high recruitment fees, according to a report to be published on Wednesday by human rights group Finnwatch.

IOI said it would comment on the report after its public release and directed Reuters to a "grievance tracker" on its website where it addressed the specific complaints raised by Finnwatch.

IOI faces the accusations days after saying it will assist in any investigation after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a letter to an activist that it was investigating the firm over forced labour allegations.

Similar U.S. investigations have in the past led to some Malaysian companies, including two palm oil producers, being banned from selling their products in the United States.

Helsinki-based Finnwatch said it found IOI estate workers from India paid up to 45,000 rupees ($606.31) in recruitment fees, lived in poor housing conditions and were not given copies of their employment contracts. It also criticized its wage policy.

"The case also brought into light serious, persisting gaps in the IOI Group's wider recruitment and wage policies, and commitment to respect for human rights," Finnwatch said in the report.

The findings follow an investigation by Finnwatch at an IOI estate in Pahang state on Malaysia's east coast. It opened an investigation in August 2020 after receiving complaints from a relative of an IOI worker.

Finnwatch shared the report on the investigation with Reuters ahead of its publication on Wednesday. It has also shared the findings and the full report with IOI, and has engaged with IOI since last August.

In the 'grievance tracker' on its website, IOI said it had suspended recruitment of workers from recruitment agencies in India after Finnwatch said workers were forced to pay high fees to secure a job. IOI said the fees paid by its workers were illegally collected by unknown actors, cannot be verified, and were beyond the firm's jurisdiction.

U.S. CBP SCRUTINY

Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, relies on migrants to produce the edible oil found in products from food to fuel.

The U.S. CBP has banned three Malaysian companies in the last year, including palm oil producers FGV Holdings and Sime Darby Plantations, for allegedly practicing forced labour including abusive working and living conditions.

Both companies have appointed auditors to evaluate their labour practices and said they would engage with the agency to address the concerns raised.

Following Finnwatch's investigation, IOI said on its website it had demoted an employee for mistreating a worker and released guidelines on providing basic amenities and verifying work hours.

IOI told Finnwatch that some workers are paid less as they do not reach the set work targets, according to the company's response that is also published in the report.

Finnwatch found that IOI had a complex piece-rate wage policy that it said has led to abuse, errors, and some being paid below the minimum wage.

In its response to Finnwatch, IOI said workers were given decent housing, but conditions deteriorated "because of a lack of cleanliness by the workers."

IOI also said it has ordered all estates to give workers a copy of their employment contracts.

Green Tea Might Help Tackle Covid

Green Tea Might Help Tackle Covid: Indian-Origin Researcher

Green Tea 

As India continues to be ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, a team of researchers is investigating how green tea could give rise to a drug capable of tackling Covid-19.

The initial findings suggested that one of the compounds in green tea could combat the coronavirus behind Covid-19, said lead author Suresh Mohankumar, who researched during his time at JSS College of Pharmacy in Ooty before taking up his current role at Swansea University Medical School.

"Nature's oldest pharmacy has always been a treasure of potential novel drugs and we questioned if any of these compounds could assist us in battling the Covid-19 pandemic?" said Mohankumar.

"We screened and sorted a library of natural compounds already know to be active against other coronaviruses using an artificial intelligence-aided computer program," he added.

Mohankumar emphasized that the research was still in its early days and a long way from any kind of clinical application, in the study published in the journal RSC Advances.

"The compound that our model predicts to be most active is gallocatechin, which is present in green tea and could be readily available, accessible, and affordable," the researcher said.

There now needs to be further investigation to show if it can be proven clinically effective and safe for preventing or treating Covid-19.

"This is fascinating research and demonstrates that natural products remain an important source of lead compounds in the fight against infectious diseases," said Andrew Morris, Professor, Swansea University.

"I am also really pleased to see this international research collaboration continuing now that Mohankumar has joined the Pharmacy team," Morris added.

Green Tea Video Link 

Healing Jagannath & Siblings

Healing Jagannath & Siblings: Phuluri Tela Seba & 75% Chariot Work Complete Today 

Puri: Treatment of sibling deities is underway at Anasara Ghar (an asylum for the sick) at Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri, The triad fell ill after the elaborate bath with 108 pitchers of herbal and aromatic water on June 24.

As a part of the treatment, Phuluri Tela (Oil) will be applied to the whole body of the idols by Daitapati Sevayats (servitors) after Madhyana (midday) Dhupa on Tuesday.

The special Phuluri Tela Seva is a unique healing method to cure the deities effectively.

Bada Odia Mutt, which is the Adi Pitha of Atibadi Jagannath Das, supplies Phuluri Tela for the deities. The oil is made using flowers such as Ketaki, Malli, Boula, and Champa, roots, sandalwood powder, camphor, rice, and grains. The main ingredient is Sesame oil.

This special oil is prepared on Hera Panchami — the fifth day of the rath yatra festival — to be applied on the idols during the following year’s hibernation.

“Phuluri Tela is applied to the Lords on Ashtami, the fifth day of the Anasara period, as they continue to suffer from fever. This oil protects the idols from moths and insects. All rituals are being held in time,” said senior Daitapati Binayak Dasmohapatra.

During these fifteen days, the Lords are offered fruit juices and medicines made of indigenous herbs and roots. Other medicinal lotions are also being applied for the recovery of the deities under the Osa lagi ritual. The sevayats renovate and repaint the deities with natural paints that need about 15 days to dry.

The deities are expected to recover and be fit by July 11 following which they will be taken to the chariots for Rath Yatra.

Meanwhile, Rupakara Sevayats are busy constructing the three chariots of the presiding deities and are hopeful of finishing the work before time.

“We are doing Rishi Patta work now. The Rishis (sage) are the saviours of the chariot.  We hope the chariot work will be finished before time. As many as 30 Chitrakara Sevayats have been engaged in the painting work,” said a sevayat.

Puri Collector Samarth Verma said that all rituals after Snana Purnima and work for Rath Yatra are going on smoothly and 75 percent of chariot work has been completed. “Servitors are being administered the second dose of vaccine and we have set a target to complete the vaccination process before Rath Yatra. They will also undergo RTP-PCR tests and take part in the rituals only if the report is negative. A list of sevayats has been prepared for it. All guidelines issued by the SRC officer are being followed,” he said.

The servitors, who will be engaged in various rituals of the sibling deities during Rath Yatra, will undergo multiple rounds of the COVID-19 test.

According to Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the testing will be done at four stages – before Snana Yatra, before Gundicha Yatra, before Bahuda Yatra, and 15 days after Niladri Bije.

In view of the COVID pandemic, the annual sojourn of the sibling deities will be held only on the Grand Road of Puri without devotees on July 12.

Covid Unlock In Odisha

Covid Unlock In Odisha - 1 day Remaining for expiry of partial lockdown in the State 

1 day left before the expiry of the partial lockdown, the third phase of the pandemic curbs in Odisha this year, all eyes are now on the next move of the State government.

Even though in a majority of districts in the State, the graph of the virus cases has waned, the situation is still far from satisfactory in some districts, especially in the coastal belt.

Sources said the State Health Department is consulting various stakeholders before taking any decision on the next stage of pandemic restrictions while looking at Covid protocols, test positivity rate, and vaccination status.

Odisha government clamped down the lockdown restrictions for the first time this year after a massive resurgence in Corona cases. After enforcing the curbs from May 5 to 19 in the first phase and from May 19 to June 1, the government extended the lockdown till June 17. After a gradual dip and considerable improvement in various districts, the State authorities gave way to a series of relaxations in districts with low virus cases under a partial lockdown phase. But now intense public speculations continue to brew on whether similar partial lockdown restrictions will continue in Odisha with more relaxations or the period will see full phase unlocking activities based on the categorization of districts.

High placed sources indicate that the State government may go for more relaxations in the districts exhibiting less than 5% of TPR for an extended period of time. However, there is little or no likelihood of the opening of educational institutions, religious places which are places of mass public gathering because of virus outbreak scare.

It is also believed that decision on reopening businesses like salons, gyms, swimming pools, and restarting road public transport will be a massive challenge for the state administration.

In the meantime, the Chief of Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET), CBK Mohanty has said various aspects of the pandemic like positive count, active cases, vaccination numbers, hospitalization cases are being thoroughly analyzed on a district to district basis to prepare a comprehensive plan for the next stage of the unlocking activities.

Notably, Odisha has recorded 3319 virus cases in the last 24 hours. The trend of the daily cases furnished by the Health Department shows that the State continues to exhibit over 3000 plus new positives on a daily basis even a month and a week after registering its peak with over 12k cases on May 22.

While the average TPR of the State hovers around 5%, there are some districts like Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Jajpur, Bhadrak, and Mayurbhanj where the positivity rate continues its roller-coaster ride.

The Health Department has said that special strategies have been formulated after consultations with the authorities of these districts for further containing the virus cases.

Congratulations to this proud daughter of India

 Congratulations to this proud daughter of India, defending the Nation

Knee deep in snow, assault rifle in hand, stethoscope around the neck!

Dr. Deepsikha Chettri now a Captain in the Indian Army is the second female officer from Sikkim to ever serve in the Indian army

Daughter of Rajendra Kumar Chettri & Bindu Chettri, Sichey Gangtok. Educated in Tashi Namgyal Academy, & Birla Balika Vidyapeeth, PILANI

Topped off with her MBBS from Sikkim Manipal Institute of medical sciences

She is now stepping into her 8-month field tenure on the front lines, both as a Doctor and a Soldier! She secured an all-India rank of 6 and 2 among ladies in the army medical exams. She has truly made our nation proud and should serve as an inspiration to many

The type of FEMINISM world needs

Jai Hind

Plastic Shields Don’t Stop Aerosol Transmission of Coronavirus

Plastic Shields Don’t Stop Aerosol Transmission of Coronavirus

Plastic Shields

• New researchTrusted Source finds that while wearing a surgical face mask can provide protection against airborne infection, face shields offer little or no protection.
• EvidenceTrusted Source suggests that SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is transmitted when people expel virus-containing droplets when they sneeze or cough.
• StudiesTrusted Source has found that breathing and talking can expel droplets containing the virus. These particles remain airborne and may spread widely through a room.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people have used plastic visors and face shields for protection against potential infection in shops and other places where crowds gather.

However, a new researchTrusted Source presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases finds that while wearing a surgical face mask can provide similar protection against airborne infection as wearing a respirator, face shields offer little or no protection.

The study, conducted by researchers at Philipps University Marburg in Marburg, Germany, compared 32 types of masks intended for use in hospitals, including cloth and surgical masks, respirators, and face shields.

Researchers found that surgical face masks had the lowest drop in pressure, providing the least resistance to breathing. Respirator-type masks had the highest pressure drop.

The cloth masks and the noncertified surgical masks performed the worst, only filtering out between 11.3 and 14.2 percent of particles. Surprisingly, a type II surgical face mask had similar “as worn” filtration results at 47 percent as KN95 respirators at 41 percent. The FFP2 respirators showed the best filtration, blocking 65 percent of particles.

Face shields were found to have no significant effect at all. the public should wear certified surgical face masks of good quality rather than cloth masks or face shields, which performed poorly in our study.

Mobile World Congress(MWC)-2021: Samsung shows off One UI watch experience

Mobile World Congress(MWC)-2021: Samsung shows off One UI watch experience

Samsung shows off One UI watch experience, but no new hardware. The next Galaxy watch will the first smartwatch to support the new Wear platform developed by Samsung and Google.

Samsung revealed the new user interface for its next-generation Wear OS smartwatch at Mobile World Congress, but did not reveal the next Galaxy Watch 4. However, it did announce that the new hardware is coming later in the summer.

During a virtual event on Monday, the company confirmed that it will be adding the user interface found on its smartphones to bring a more unified experience on watch and phone. The South Korean company demonstrated what the actual software will look like. It showed how settings on your smartphone will mirror those on your watch. The experience, it says, will be seamless. So when you download an app on your smartwatch, it will automatically download and install on your watch. If you block contacts on your phone, those blocked numbers will be synced with your smartwatch.

Samsung also teased new integrations with apps like Starva, Adidas Running, and Spotify, the latter of which will bring offline playback to Wear OS. The company also said that it will open its watch face design tool to Google developers, allowing them to create, unique watch faces.

It has been known that Google has combined its Wear OS platform with Samsung’s Tizen. The announcement was made during the annual Google I/O last month. The new platform will focus on faster performance, longer battery life, and the developer community. It will also support up to 30 percent faster apps.

Sadly, Samsung didn’t share much about the next Galaxy Watch 4 hardware. Rumours and leaks have revealed enough about the potential Apple Watch competitor from Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker. Samsung usually announces new smartwatches during its Unpacked event in late July or early August. This year, the company could debut the Galaxy Fold 3 and Galaxy Flip 2 alongside the Galaxy Watch 4. Samsung’s next-generation smartwatch is expected to have a circular edge-to-edge display and will be powered by a 5nm processor.