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Modus Operandi Essay

Effectiveness of the Environmental Levy Scheme

Effectiveness of the Environmental Levy Scheme Investigate the effectiveness of the Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags and Give suggestions on alternative solutions to saturating landfills within 5 years. I have chosen this topic on the basis that this scheme is the first measure in the Product Eco-Responsibility Scheme, thus by reviewing its effectiveness I can give suggestions regarding successful factors and areas for improvement on further schemes of similar nature. (Part 1) Also, as the controversy on construction bill for an incinerator in Hong Kong is hot these days, it has interested me to evaluate other alternatives to reduce waste production, using the analysis in Part 1. (Part 2) Date of submission: 1st July,2015. Table of contents Introduction Background Literature review Objectives and expected outcomes Focus questions Methodology Findings and analysis Effectiveness of the Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags Did the PSB scheme succeed in bringing down plastic bag waste production? To what extent? The pros of the PSB scheme and successful factors The cons of the PSB scheme and areas for improvement Implications of the effectiveness of the PSB scheme Recommendations on future waste reduction schemes from the experience of PSB What elements of the PSB scheme can be kept in further schemes of waste reduction? What are the problems in the PSB scheme that further schemes of waste reduction needs to tackle? The direction for future waste reduction schemes and feasible solutions Education and promotion Public attitude reflected from the PSB scheme Conclusion Reflection Bibliography Appendix Introduction 1.1 Background I am interested in the topic Investigate the effectiveness of the Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags and Give suggestions on alternative solutions to saturating landfills within 5 years as recently debates on the urgency and essentiality of building an incinerator in Hong Kong are boiling hot in Hong Kong. As an eco-friendly person, I am deeply concerned that all landfills in Hong Kong are estimated to meet saturation by 2019, calculating by the current waste production rate. [i] Coincidentally, the PSB scheme was entering the second phase on 1st April 2015 and is another hot eco topic this year. From analysis on Hong Kong Connection (TV programme produced by RTHK), it inspired me this PSB scheme may provide some insights into how waste reduction works and what the pros and cons are of utilizing financial disincentive. Based on evaluation of the PSB scheme, I can give suggestions on alternate solutions of waste reduction. Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Bags is the taxing of plastic bag of $0.5 per bag. It is the first scheme under the Producer Responsibility Scheme under the Environmental Protection Department. In the first phase 7 July 2009 – 31 March 2015, about 3000 retail outlets were covered. In the full implementation phase starting 1 April 2015, all retail outlets (more than 100,000 points of retail sales) in Hong Kong are covered.[ii] 1.3 Objectives and expected outcomes There are two main objectives in this study: 1. To evaluate the successful factors and areas for improvement of the PSB plan and 2. To give recommendations on future waste reduction schemes using the experience learnt from the PSB plan. By data collection and analysis, I expect to gain the following outcomes: the actual results of the PSB scheme, the reasons people support or boycott the scheme, governmental communication with the public regarding waste production, the criteria for a successful eco- scheme in the public’s eyes and the relation of education and promotion to effectiveness. 1.4 Focus Questions The focus questions regarding the topic include: -What is the current situation of Plastic Shopping Bag Levy? How effective is it in reducing plastic waste? -How do citizens evaluate the effectiveness of the PSB Levy? -What are the benefits of the PSB Levy to HK’s environment? -What damage or disharmony will PSB Levy bring to HK? -What can we conclude from the current situation on the effectiveness of the PSB Levy? What elements can thus be used to make future environmental policy more effective? 2. Methodology I have used the following data collection method for primary data: 3. Findings and Analysis 3.1 Effectiveness of the Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags 3.1.1 Did the PSB scheme succeed in bringing down plastic bag waste production? To what extent? The PSB scheme was to a large extent successful in bringing plastic bag waste production. The distribution of PSB in retail outlets has reduced by 90% since the launch of the PSB scheme in 2009.[iii] It was estimated that 84 million PSB was distributed in 2009, thus it has decreased to 8.4 million approximately uptil now. [iv] From the questionnaire survey, the majority of 80% respondents said they would not use PSB while only a minority of 20% said they would. It shows the effectiveness of the PSB scheme. From the field observation, the PSB distribution is a low 5% per hour.[v] The number of PSB distributed in supermarkets has decreased to 403, according to a survey conducted by Green Action. [vi]The government has attributed the change to the increasing public awareness of Bring Your Own Bag promoted by the PSB scheme. [vii] Therefore, the PSB scheme has succeeded to bring down PSB distribution and raise eco-awareness. 3.1.2 The pros of the PSB scheme and successful factors The PSB scheme is successful in bringing down PSB usage and raising eco-awareness, as mentioned in 3.1.1. According to the questionnaire survey, 57% and 39% of respondents said they choose not to claim PSB because they don’t want to pay the $0.5 charge and that they are eco-friendly. This shows that one of the successful factors of the scheme is the financial disincentive, as Hong Kong people are money-conscious. [viii] This also shows that the PSB scheme has raised public awareness towards their eco attitude. The elements that made the PSB scheme successful can give reference to future waste reduction schemes. Firstly, financial disincentive is effective in discouraging waste production, thus this element should be kept. Also, another successful factor is promoting positive value such as Bring Your Own Bag, as public awareness has been raised in the PSB scheme.[ix] The cons of the PSB scheme and areas for improvement Despite the obvious effectiveness, there is still room for improvements for the PSB scheme. The cons of the PSB scheme include the small amount of levy not being threatening enough and the difficulty in supervision. According to the questionnaire survey, 70% of respondents said they would use PSB as it is convenient and 65% said the levy is affordable. [x] Thus, we see that maybe the levy should be increased to be more effective. Also, according to the field observation, some customers tend to buy prepackaged goods or take many storage bags with no hand-hold to avoid the levy.[xi] Therefore, this shows that ineffective supervision would negatively affect the effectiveness of the measure. The major problem of the PSB scheme right now, concluded from the above, is the deep-rooted public attitude. Hong Kong people are often money-minded and cynical, which may cause them to disregard the PSB scheme for their personal interest, such as avoiding the levy but still using other plastic bags or misusing recycling bags. [xii] The main issue to tackle in order to better future waste production schemes is how to change the public attitude and promote correct values in the long run. Implications of the effectiveness of the PSB scheme The PSB scheme is the first scheme under the Producer Responsibility Scheme, thus is the water tester that indicates whether financial disincentive is effective to reduce waste production. Its success reflected that Hong Kong people are very conscious when something affects their personal interest directly, such as additional financial burden, therefore future waste reduction scheme should still be focused on this weakness of Hong Kong people (financial disincentive). [xiii] One supporting evidence is found in the questionnaire survey. When asked to rank what are the priorities that urge them to support a waste reduction scheme, most respondents ranked economical factor first, then personal factor. Remarkably, they least value environmental factor and sustainability, showing Hong Kong people are generally more money-minded than eco-conscious.[xiv] The implications of this phenomenon are that financial disincentive is most suitable for waste reduction in Hong Kong as financial concern is the greatest motivational power for Hongkongers to change living habits, also that future schemes should focus on delivering positive values such as the importance of eco-protection and sustainability in promotion and public education.[xv] Recommendations on future waste reduction schemes from the experience of PSB 3.2.1 What elements of the PSB scheme can be kept in further schemes of waste reduction? As discussed in 3.1.2, the main elements to be kept in further schemes of waste reduction are financial disincentive and effort to change public attitude in changing lifestyles, also their approaches to waste. [xvi] Based on the questionnaire findings, most respondents are supportive to the PSB scheme and regard it a political and social success. [xvii] This also showed that transparency of government measures and effective downward communication and public consultation is important, and should be continued in future waste reduction schemes.[xviii] 3.2.2 What are the problems in the PSB scheme that further schemes of waste reduction needs to tackle? As discussed in 3.1.3, the main problems of the PSB scheme are the hard-to-change public attitude and thus their living habits, also non-threatening amount of levy and insufficient supervision. Furthermore, most respondents think the crux of the waste production problem are inadequate environmental education, lack of promotion of government eco-schemes and the buy-and-throw habit of the prosperous metropolis.[xix] These are problems that future waste production scheme most urgently face. The direction for future waste reduction schemes and feasible solutions In response to 3.2.2, hereby I would recommend important points for improvement with regard to the above problems. Firstly, when implementing waste reduction schemes, powerful financial disincentive should be enforced to respond to Hong Kong people’s money-conscious mindset and relatively smaller concern for the environment. [xx] It is the only way to receive biggest response from the public and see changes in their daily living. Secondly, to tackle the supervision difficulty, a report system by hotline can be opened to the public to report violation of the policy by either shops or the general public.[xxi] This can make supervision more all-rounded. Thirdly, education and promotion to indoctrinate correct and positive values is also important. As shown in the questionnaire findings, the public value economical concern over environmental concern, which is unhealthy and detrimental to eco-protection. Thus, education and promotion is essential. In order to find out the most supported waste reduction schemes, I have asked respondents to rank policies that they regard as most effective in reducing waste. The survey results show that policies involving separation, recycling and levy are seen as most effective, with the top being Source Separation of Domestic Waste, scoring 1580 in sums.[xxii] This shows that the public would support waste reduction schemes that only require little alterations in daily living, such as household waste separation, or recycling and financial disincentive. This match with the fact that their top concern is economical factor and second is personal factor when responding to a waste reduction scheme.[xxiii] In contrary, public opinion do not support policies involving new landfills and incinerators, the bottom being opening up new landfill in current country parks, scoring only 882 in total.[xxiv] This shows that the public is least likely to support waste reduction scheme that might be detrimental to their living environment and health, or those that may use a large amount of government reserves as it violates economic efficiency. This match with their priority list as they most value economical factor (efficiency, personal burden) and personal factor (impact to living environment and health). This ranking gives us important and clear insights into which directions to go and also how best to suit public concerns and gain public support in waste reduction schemes. Education and promotion à ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ©Ã‚ «Ã¢â‚¬  à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã‚  Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¦Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ²***** With reference to 3.2.3, we have gained some insights into what values are to be changed for future waste reduction schemes to go smoothly (money over environment) , and also what are most motivational to the general public. 3.2.5 Public attitude reflected from the PSB scheme à ¦Ã…  Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ 4. Conclusion 5.Reflections 6. Bibliography 7.Appendix [i] Environment minister Wong Kam-sing, 2003, Hong Kong issues dire warning on landfills amid protests by residents, South China Morning Post, http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1246229/city-could-drown-trash-environment-minister-warns [ii]Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Bags, Environmental Protection Department, http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/pro_responsibility/env_levy.html [iii] Press Release, 28 Mar 2015, Environmental Protection Department, http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201503/28/P201503270921.htm [iv] Will Hong Kongs city-wide levy on plastic bags really change behaviour?, Time Out Hong Kong, http://www.timeout.com.hk/big-smog/features/71898/will-hong-kongs-city-wide-levy-on-plastic-bags-really-change-behaviour.html [v] Field observation, appendix 3 [vi] Environmental Levy on Plastic Shopping Bags What are the problems?, CSR Asia, http://csr-asia.com/csr-asia-weekly-news-detail.php?id=11753 [vii] Press Release, 28 Mar 2015, Environmental Protection Department, http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201503/28/P201503270921.htm [viii] Plastic society rethinks bags, Macau Business, 26th May 2015, http://www.macaubusiness.com/news/plastic-society-rethinks-bags.html [ix] Press Release, 28 Mar 2015, Environmental Protection Department, http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201503/28/P201503270921.htm [x] Questionnaire survey, Q3, appendix2 [xi] Field observation, appendix 3 [xii] Values Education in Hong Kong – Problems and Possibilities, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/images/99_fok_values_ed.pdf [xiii] Values Education in Hong Kong – Problems and Possibilities, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/images/99_fok_values_ed.pdf [xiv] Questionnaire survey, Q8, appendix2 [xv] Values Education in Hong Kong – Problems and Possibilities, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/images/99_fok_values_ed.pdf [xvi] Waste Reduction Framework Plan, Environmental Protection Department, http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/wrfp_summary.html [xvii] Questionnaire survey, Q5 and Q6, appendix2 [xviii] Public Consultation Report on the Proposal on An Environmental Levy on Plastic Shopping Bags , http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/files/Consultation_Report_Levy_Eng.pdf. [xix] Questionnaire survey, Q9 , appendix2 [xx] Values Education in Hong Kong – Problems and Possibilities, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/images/99_fok_values_ed.pdf [xxi] Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags, Environmental Protection Scheme, http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/pro_responsibility/env_levy.html [xxii] Questionnaire survey, Q7 , appendix2 [xxiii] Questionnaire survey, Q8 , appendix2 [xxiv] Questionnaire survey, Q7 , appendix2

Which Culture Should We Teach? Which Version of History is Correct? :: Teaching Education Philosophy

The educational process should not just be a process aimed at relaying information to students. Students have a rare opportunity to experience their youth and grow intellectually. College provides a chance for young people to experience life in a loose setting where they can grow as individuals and form their own opinions about life. When developing a school curriculum, members of college boards need to remember how vulnerable this time is in a student's life. The question of, whether colleges should emphasize a unified view of culture and the things that we have in common or whether they should emphasize people's differences is a complicated one. When first looking at this question many of people would be adamant about the fact that colleges have a certain responsibility to teach about different cultures, and I agree with that, but only to a certain extent. I think always wanting to emphasize peoples differences could be a problem. In today's multi-cultural world it is important to know about ones own culture and the cultures of others, but we can't forget to teach about our own culture. The culture we share as a whole, the American culture. Many people forget about the rich culture we have in America. A lot of the time people get wrapped up in looking at the differences between us and forget to look at all the similarities. Another problem that can arise when different cultures refuse to integrate is it thickens the walls between us. Everyone is always talking about trying to tear down these invisible walls between racial groups and religious groups, but then these same people, high ranking government and school officials are constantly pounding into peoples heads how different we are, and in some cases why some group should be angry at some other racial group. All this is doing is causing trouble and putting resentment into peoples heads, which just adds to the barriers between us. When a student graduates from high school he is faced with a decision about what he is going to with the rest of his life. One option that is open to these students is college. In college a student is given a chance to learn about a subject of his choice. While getting this education the student is surrounded by a rich wealth of knowledge and ideas that can influence the way he looks at life. High School a vulnerable time in many of these students' lives.

Quit Your Job - Buy and Sell Websites for a Living! :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Quit Your Job - Buy and Sell Websites for a Living! Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com The stock market and real estate industry have long been populated by day traders and â€Å"flippers†, those that buy and sell in a short period of time in order to make a quick profit. In the real estate industry the life of a house flipper can be very appealing. Buy a renovator’s dream property at a discounted price, renovate and modernize it and then sell it at a few months later at a profit. This process can then be repeated over and over. Buying and selling businesses is appealing but given the high costs of making the purchase it is quite difficult to start, especially as a young entrepreneur. If you go wrong you may end up loosing a lot of money (just as you can with the stock market and real estate), so you really want to be sure of your skills and ability before investing. The Internet is very new and the whole online commerce industry is just establishing marketing practices that work. Quite frankly, most of the people running businesses online have very poor websites. A lot of people running popular sites are not taking advantage of their traffic by monetizing it (this could be by choice or ignorance). Making a profit may be as simple as implementing a smart AdSense campaign on a popular site after buying it from an owner wishing to move on to other things. Perhaps an e-commerce site could use some search engine marketing or some tweaking to an AdWords campaign might do the trick, or better still, monetize, optimize, affiliate and upsell for maximum gain - make use of all the marketing tricks at your disposal. I’m sure if we did some statistical sampling of the web industry search engine optimization techniques would be understood by a minority of webmasters and implemented well by even fewer. Search engine optimization is becoming mainstream and no doubt as the web continues to mature more and more people will study, test and build better websites, but it’s definitely still early days. What this says to me is â€Å"business opportunityâ€Å". For those with the know-how, the energy to implement and a little bit of funds to buy the sites there are big gains to be made. What makes it even more appealing, especially for young or new entrepreneurs, is the price - we are talking about a lot less funds then it would take to invest in stocks, buy property or purchase a bricks and mortar business.

An Intellectual and Emotional Response to Oedipus the King :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

An Intellectual and Emotional Response to Oedipus the King    While reading the play Oedipus the King, my response to the work became more and more clear as the play continued. When I finished the play, my reaction to the work and to two particular characters was startling and very different from my response while I was still reading. My initial response was to the text, and it was mostly an intellectual one. I felt cheated by the play because the challenge of solving the mystery of the plot was spoiled for me by the obvious clues laid out in the work. My second response was not as intellectual; instead, it came more from a feeling that the play evoked in me. I felt a strong disappointment in the drastic actions that Oedipus and Jocasta took at the end of the play. My two different responses to Oedipus the King, one intellectual and one not, now seem to feed off and to amplify each other as if they were one collective response. The play's plot, in a nutshell, develops like this. After solving the riddle of the Sphynx, who had kept Thebes under a curse of some kind, Oedipus is invited to become king of the city. He marries Jocasta, the widow of the previous king, and they have two children. When the play begins, Thebes is again under some sort of curse, and Oedipus tries to find out its cause so that he can rescue the city. He is told that the cause of the curse is that the murderer of the previous king is still in the city and has gone unpunished. In the process of searching for the murderer, Oedipus discovers that it is he, himself, who is responsible and that he is actually the son of Jocasta and her previous husband. Horrified by his sins of incest and murder, Oedipus claws out his eyes. Jocasta commits suicide because she is so disgraced. My disappointment in the lack of mystery in the plot of the play was evoked by the continual clues appearing throughout the play. For example, in Oedipus's first speech to the people of Thebes, he condemns the murderer of the previous king, stating that "he will suffer no unbearable punishment, nothing worse than exile" (261-62). This is the first of a multitude of clues about the outcome of the play.

National Commission on Industrial Relations

INDUSTRIAL RELATION & LABOUR LAWS Assignment Topic National commission on Industrial Relation Recommendation Submitted by J. Mary Smile MBA-Final Year NATIONAL COMMISSION ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS The first National   Labour Commission 1929, had promised lot in the direction of social security, social welfare, wages, social insurance, industrial relations, industrial adjudication, collective bargaining etc,. In sequel to the recommendations made in the report of the first national commission on labour series of labour enactments were passed.After the gap of almost 72 years the Second National Labour Commission has been   constituted and submitted its report in the year 2002 to the Government of India. At the outset the terms of reference to the commission are as under: 1. To suggest rationalization of existing laws relating to labour in the organised sector, 2. To suggest an umbrella legislation for ensuring a minimum level of protection to the workers in the unorganized sector.Met hodology: Before penning down the report, the Commission followed the following methodology: * arranged consultation / conferences in the major cities of India to get the opinion of the Industry, public, educationalists   and so on institutions'; * circulated a questionnaire across the industry and the society in terms of the reference * surveys conducted both in organised and unorganised sector General Recommendations: 1.We recommend that the Central Government and the State Government should have a uniform policy on holidays, only 3 national holidays be gazetted – namely Independence Day, Republic Day and Gandhi Jayanti Day, two more days may be added to be determined by each State according to its own tradition and apart from these each person must be allowed to avail of 10 restricted holidays in the year, Government holidays should be delinked from holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act. (5. 29) 2. Flexibility in the hours of work per week and compensation for ov ertime. 5. 32) 3. Attempt to change the basis of tenure in all jobs (permanent as well as non-permanent) to contractual and for stipulated periods, involves a basic change in attitude and notion. If transforming the basis of all   employment is a social necessity because it has become economic necessity for industrial and commercial enterprises, then, it is equally necessary to create social acceptability for the change and the social institutions that can take care of the consequences. (5. 34 ; 35).The fundamental change of this type has to be preceded by : i)    evolution of socially accepted consensus on the new perceptional jobs ii)   the evolution of a system of constant up-gradation of employability through training in a wide spectrum of multiple skills iii) the setting up of a system of social security that includes unemployment insurance and provisions for medical facilities; and iv) the institution of a mandatory system of two contracts – one, an individual con tract and two, a collective contract with workers union. . The commission recommends that government may laid down list of highly paid jobs who are presently deemed as workman category as being outside the purview of the laws relating to workman and included in the proposed law for protection of non-workmen. Another alternative is that the Govt. fix a cut off limit of remuneration which is substantially high enough, in the present context such as Rs. 25,000/- p. m. beyond which employee will not be treated as ordinary   â€Å"workman†. 6. 19) wage ceiling of Rs. 25000/- 5. Further the Commission recommended that it would be logically to keep all the supervisory personnel, irrespective of their wages / salary, outside the rank of worker and keep them out of the purview of labour law meant for workers. All such supervisory category of employees should be clubbed along with the category of persons who discharge managerial and administrative functions.The Commission would also recommend that such a modified definition of worker could be adopted in all the labour laws. We expect management to take care of the interest of supervisory staff as they will now be part of managerial fraternity. (6. 20)   Modified definition of worker 6. Existing set of labour laws should be broadly grouped into   four or five groups of laws pertaining to: * Industrial relations * Wages * Social security * Safety * Welfare and working conditions and so on 7.The Commission is of the view that the coverage as well as the definition of the term ‘worker' should be the same in all Group of laws subject to the stipulation that social security benefits must be available to all employees including administrative, managerial, supervisory and other excluded from the category of workmen and others not treated as workmen or excluded from the category of workmen I. APPROACHES IN DRAFTING THE LAW ON LABOUR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS Firstly, the Commission would prefer the gender neutral e xpression ‘worker' instead of the currently used word ‘workman'.Secondly, the law will apply uniformly to all such establishments. Thirdly, we recognize that today the extent of unionization is low and even this low level is being eroded, and that it is time that the stand was reversed and collective negotiations encouraged. Where agreements and understanding between two parties is not possible, there, recourse to the assistance of a third party should as far as possible be through arbitration or where adjudication is the preferred mode, through Labour Courts and Labour Relations Commissions of the type be proposed later in this regard and not governmental   intervention.A settlement entered into with recognised negotiating agent must be binding on all workers. Fourthly, we consider that provisions must be made in the law for determining negotiating agents, particularly on behalf of workers. Fifthly, the law must provide for authorities to identify the negotiating agen t, to adjudicate disputes and so on, and these must be provided in the shape of labour courts and labour relations Commissions at the State, Central and National levels.Sixthly, The Commission is of the view that changes in labour laws be accompanied by a well defined social secuirty package that will benefit all workers, be   they in ‘organised' or ‘unorganised' sector and should also cover those in the administrative, managerial and other categories which have been excluded from the purview of the term worker. II. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND TRADE UNIONS 1. It is necessary to provide minimum level of protection to managerial and other (excluded) employees too against unfair dismissal or removal.This has to be through adjudication by Labour court or Labour Relations Commission or arbitration. (6. 22) 2. Central laws relating to the subject of labour relations are currently the ID Act, 1947, The TU Act, 1926, Industrial Employment (SO) Act, 1946, Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976. There are State level legislation too on the subject. We recommend that the provisions of all these laws be judiciously consolidated into a single law called † The Labour Management Relations Law† or â€Å"Law on Labour Management Relations†. (6. 26) 3.Recommend the enactment of special law for small scale units. We have come to the conclusion that the reasonable threshold limit will be 19 workers. Any establishment with workers above that number cannot be regarded as â€Å"small. (6. 28) 4. The commission has avoided the term ‘Industry'   with a view that the persons engaged in domestic service are better covered under the proposed type of umbrella legislation, particularly in regard to wages, hours of work, working conditions, safety and social security. (6. 40) 5. Modification in the terms like ‘strikes', ‘work stoppage' etc. nd the terms go slow and work to rule must be regarded as misconduct under Stand ing Orders and Provisions relating to unfair labour practice. (6. 41) 6. Commission has recommended to the withdrawal of Essential Services Maintenance Act (6. 49). 7. The Commission has suggested to identify a bargaining agent on the basis of check-off system, with 66% entitling the Union to be accepted as a single negotating agent and if no union has 66% support, then Unions that have the support of more than 25% should be given proportionate representation on the college. (6. 6) 8. Check-off system in an establishment employing 300 or more workers must be made compulsory for members of all registered trade unions. (6. 73) 9. Commission also recommended that recognition once granted, should be valid for a period of 4 years to be co-terminus with the period of settlement. No claim by any other Trade Union / Federation / Center for recognition should be entertain till at least 4 years have elapsed from the date of earlier recognition. (6. 76) 10. Establishment employing 20 or more w orkers should have Standing Order or Regulations.There is no need to delimit the issues on which Standing Orders can or need be framed. As long as two parties agree all manner of things including multi-skilling, production, job enrichment, productivity and so on can also be added. The appropriate Government may prescribe a separate Model Standing Orders for units employing less than 50 workers. The Commission has drafted a draft Model Standing Orders in this regard. (6. 77). 11. Every establishment shall establish a grievance redressal committee consisting of equal number of workers and employers representatives.The said committee be the body to which all grievance of a worker in respect of his employment will be referred for decision within a given time frame (6. 80). 12. Commission's view on Chapter V B (Special Provisions relating to Lay-off, Retrenchment & Closure in the Establishments employing not less than 100 workmen) of the ID Act :   The Commission has felt that, in the new circumstances of global competition, it may not be possible for some enterprises to continue and meet the economic consequences of competition.In such cases, one cannot compel non-viable undertakings to continue to bear the financial burden that has to be borne to keep the concern going. They should, therefore, have the option to close down. In these circumstances, the commission came to the conclusion the best and more honest equitable course will be to allow closure, provide for adequate compensation to workers and in the event of an appeal, leave it to the Labour Relations Commission to find ways of redressal – through arbitration or adjudication. 6. 87). 13. The commission has recommended for maintenance of panel of arbitrators by the LRC concern, to settle the disputes. (6. 93). 14. The matters pertaining to individual workers, be it termination of employment or transfer or any other matter be determined by recourse to the Grievence Redressal Committee, conciliation and arbitration / adjudication by the Labour Court. Accordingly, Sec. 2 a of the ID Act may be amended. 6. 96) 15. The system of legal aid to workers and trade unions from Public Fund be worked out to ensure that workers and their organisations   are not unduly handicapped as a result of their inability to hire legal counsel. (6. 98) 16. Strike should be called only by the recognised negotiating agent and that too only after it had conducted a strike ballot among all the workers, of whom at least 51% of support the strike. (6. 101). 7 Workers participation in management – the legislative teeth should be provided. (6. 102). 18. The provisions in respect of small establishments can be in the form of a separate law name Small Enterprises (Employment Relations Act) or be included in the general law as a separate chapter to ensure that the interest of the workers are fully protected, even while lessening burden on the management and providing them with vigilance in exercising ma nagerial functions. 6. 106) III. CONTRACT LABOUR/CASUAL TEMPORARY WORKERS The Commission has recommended that contract labour shall not be engaged for core production /   service activities. However, for sporadic seasonal demand, the employer may engage temporary labour for core production / service activity. As mentioned by the commission that off-loading perennial non-core services like canteen, watch and ward, cleaning, etc. o other employing agencies has to take care of three aspects – (1) there have to be provisions that ensure that ensure that perennial core services are not transferred to other agencies or establishments; (2) where such services are being performed by employees on the payrolls of the enterprises, no transfer to other agencies should be done without consulting, bargaining (negotiating) agents; and (3) where the transfer of such services do not involve any employee who is currently in service of the enterprise, the management will be free to entrust th e service to outside agencies.The contract labour will, however, be remunerated at the rate of a regular worker engaged in the same organisation doing work of a comparable nature or if such workers does not exist in the organisation, at the lowest salary of a worker in a comparable grade, i. e. unskilled, semi-skilled or skilled. (6. 109). The Commission would recommend that no worker should be kept continuously as a Casual or temporary worker against a permanent job for more than 2 years. (6. 110) IV. WAGES i) The Commission recommends that every employer must pay each worker his one-month's wage, as bonus before an appropriate festival, be it Diwali or Onam or Puja or Ramzan or Christmas. Any demand for bonus in excess of this upto a maximum of 20% of the wages will be subject to negotiation. The Commission also recommend that the present system of two wage ceilings for reckoning entitlement and for calculation of bonus should be suitably enhanced to Rs. 7500/- and Rs. 3500/- for entitlement and calculation respectively. (6. 113). ii) There should be a national minimum wage that the Central Government may notify. This minimum must be revised from time to time. It should, in addition, have a component of dearness allowance to be declared six monthly linked to the consumer price index and the minimum wage may be revised once in five years. The Commission also recommends the abolition of the present system of notifying scheduled employments and of fixing/revising the minimum rates of wages periodically for each scheduled employment, since it feels that all workers in all employments should have the benefit of a minimum wage. 6. 114) (iii) There is no need for any wage board, statutory or otherwise, for fixing wage rates for workers in any industry. (6. 118). V. WORKING CONDITIONS, SERVICE CONDITIONS ETC The Commission recommended enactment of a general law relating to hours of work, leave and working conditions, at the work place. For ensuring safety at the wor k place and in different activities, one omnibus law may be enacted, providing for different rules and regulations on safety applicable to different activities. The Commission have appended a draft indicative law on hours of work and other working conditions after this chapter, and an omnibus draft indicative law on safety in the chapter on Labour Administration). Such general law on working conditions etc OTHER  RECOMMENDATIONS * Recommendations on women & child labour * Recommendations on skill development * Labour Administration * Workers participation in management * Employment scenario in the country * Review of wages and wage policy

Health Care Provider

A. S. Course: Health Policy $ Ethics in Public Health April 8, 2013 Health care as a right or privilege Our moral duty is to take care of each human been regardless the cost. There is nothing more valuable that we possess rather than our health as well there is nothing that should be more costly and more protected then life itself.On the question â€Å"whose responsibility is to protect† our personal health, the right answer, about the individual or society responsibility most probably â€Å"lies somewhere between† those choices, furthermore by having healthy basis each of the society from one side and society from the other side as well should â€Å"have something to gain†.Neither of individuals or society should expect that the other should take on whole responsibly, therefore individuals should take at least some responsibility, as well society will serve as a â€Å"safety net†. (Williams, 2012). Over the time, taking care for people who are unable to a llow themselves a health care was based on charity, compassion, benevolence rather than some principle of ethics or justice.Within United States of America and mainly industrialized countries, the â€Å"primary barrier to health care† is related without appropriate â€Å"insurance reimbursement† (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2001) The constitution of World health Organization at the time will be the first international step to ensure the highest enjoyment health standards settle them up as fundamental and necessary right for every human being as (â€Å"the right of health†), those international human rights as a set of social—norms, laws, institutions based on agreements that secure the right of health enjoyment.Furthermore every world country is a part of at least â€Å"one human rights treaty† that involves health related rights as well this one will include and health necessary conditions (World Health Organization, 2013). Comm on set of goals, and objectives for both private and public sector partnerships actions to help ethnic, and racial minorities will be provided by the national stakeholders Strategy for Achieving Health Equality under whose umbrella will be covered incorporates ideas, suggestions and comments from â€Å"thousands individuals and organizations, country wide.National Partnership for Action will state: â€Å"Health equity is attainment of the highest level of health for all people† (National Partnership for Action, n. d. ) Furthermore, across United States 45 million citizens reaming uninsured, borderline or underinsured. The ones who are living in â€Å"poverty† are experiencing the worst health status, keeping in mind several important factors as educational, employment, income and race that determinate personal ability and adequate health care access (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2007).Opposite, for instance health plan members in California have many rights, as to have appointment when they need one as well waiting time is limited, to have appointment with a specialist when you needed, to have continuity of care, to receive continuity of care, to receive treatment for certain mental health conditions, second doctors opinion, to know why your insurance plan denies a service or treatment, the right to understand your health problems and treatments, to see writhen diagnosis, to be informed consent when you have a treatment, the right to file a complaint and ask for an independent medical review, right to choose your own doctor, the right to language services, the right to see medical reports and keep your medical information private, the right to have an advanced directive est. (Department of Menaged Health Care, 2012). The Affordable Care Act The affordable care Act brings consumers back in charge of their own health care.Undress this law the â€Å"Patient’s Bill of Rights† was created and gives all the United state s of America’s people the stability and flexibility they need to make informed choices about their own health: * Provides coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions * Protects your choice of doctors * Ends lifetime limits on coverage * Ends pre-existing condition exclusions for children * Ends arbitrary withdrawals of insurance coverage * Reviews premium increases * Helps you get the most from your premium dollars * Restricts annual dollar limits on coverage * Removes insurance company barriers to emergency services In the frame of health care law after the Patient’s Bill of Rights was adopted, the Affordable Care Act in regards â€Å"has provided additional rights and rotections† as preventive care at no cost to you and as well guarantees your right to appeal (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2012). Furthermore the Affordable care act will frame individuals, families and business owners in control regarding their health care. Working familie s and working families will reduce their premium costs providing tax relief as of billions of dollars, which one will represent the largest middle class tax health cut in the United States. From the other side noninsured Americans will have the option to choose health insurance that best works or them in a new open and competitive market (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, n. d. Unfortunately, today huge gaps remain between poor and rich countries, has been widened mainly in Africa what is not case with the wealthy nations, income inequality has been increased for instance worldwide one billion people live on less than one dollar a day and New York city will remain one of the â€Å"world’s wealthiest cities, but its south neighborhood is one of the nation’s poorest communities† and health care even available is not applicable. Based on this â€Å"public health workers incorrectly† will use the word disparity as a synonym for poverty and a the sa me time they will establish link the disparities in regards health care availability between rich and poor, White and non-White, native or foreign born, and so on (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2006).Keeping in mind that most countries around the world decided that health care is a right instead of privilege the congress session in 2011 immediately will vote to repeal the healthcare reform bill where the reforms will came to the question: â€Å"Is health care a right or privilege? † (John L. Marshall MD, 2011) References: National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2001, June). Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Justice and the right to a decent minimum of healthcare: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/11890080 National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2006, December). Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Health for All in the 21st Century: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1698153/ National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2007, March 2 8).Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Healthcare access as a right, not a privilege: a construct of Western thought: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/17391522 Department of Menaged Health Care. (2012). Retrieved April 6, 2013, from Health Care Rights : http://www. dmhc. ca. gov/dmhc_consumer/br/br_rights. aspx U. S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2012, February 6). Retrieved April 8, 2013, from Patient's Bill of Rights: http://www. healthcare. gov/law/features/rights/bill-of-rights/ World Health Organization. (2013). Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Human rights: http://www. who. int/topics/human_rights/en/ John L. Marshall MD. (2011, February 3). Medscape. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Is Healthcare a Right or a Privilege? http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/736705 National Partnership for Action. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Health Equity ; Disparities: http://www. minorityhealth. hhs. gov/npa/templates/browse. aspx? lvl=1;lvlid=34 U. S. Department of Health ; Human Services. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 7, 2013, from The Affordable Care Act, Section by Section: http://www. healthcare. gov/law/full/index. html Williams, A. (2012, December 2). Is health care a right? And whose responsibility is it? The Washington Times. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://www. washingtontimes. com/news/2012/dec/2/williams-is-health-care-a-right-and-whose-responsi/