U.S. Department of Labor, update

 

U.S. Department of Labor

July 7, 2022

Protecting pensions for America’s unionized workers Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh joined President Biden this week in Cleveland, OH to announce the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s final rule implementing the American Rescue Plan’s Special Financial Assistance Program. This program represents the most substantial policy in almost 50 years to protect the millions of workers, retirees and their families served by our nation's multiemployer pension plans.  Read the White House factsheet  Read Secretary Walsh’s blog post  $140M in Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy and Training grants We’re making $140 million in grant funding available to states to provide jobs, employment training and services for America’s unemployed and underemployed workers.  Union jobs are good jobs In Mississippi last week, Secretary Walsh discussed the barriers that keep workers in the south from organizing unions and emphasized the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to supporting workers’ right to collectively bargain. Read tweets from the secretary’s trip.   Employment assistance for transitioning service members Our Veterans’ Employment and Training Service is partnering with eight additional organizations to deliver employment assistance to service members and their spouses transitioning out of the military.  Read about the VETS partnerships  See how VETS helps transitioning service members  Reflecting on 50 years of the workers’ compensation system Join us for a panel discussion with leading workers’ compensation experts to reflect on the 50-year legacy of the  National Commission. View it live at 10 a.m. on July 11.   Employers: share your labor-management partnership stories Thousands of employers across the country work creatively and cooperatively with unions that represent their employees to resolve complex workplace issues through labor-management partnerships. We want to hear from you about how having a collective bargaining relationship with your employees has benefitted your business. Share your story here.  IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Coronavirus protections OSHA is extending its National Emphasis Program to protect high-risk workers from coronavirus.   Timesheet app updated Want a quick and easy way to track your pay and work hours? Download the DOL-Timesheet App – now available for free on Android and Apple devices! Youth services series We’re hosting a series of dialogues to inform organizations about youth services in the workforce system.   USMCA at two The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is impacting workers around the world, including in Silao, Mexico, where workers recently elected a new independent union at the GM auto plant.  Wages restored Following a court order, an Indianapolis security company has paid $370,918 in back wages and damages to 215 workers.   New fines for repeat violator OSHA has proposed $315,953 in fines for an Ohio vehicle parts manufacturer that continues to expose workers to dangerous machine hazards.

Defense Opportunities in Indonesia - Webinar, Aug. 9, 2022

Join the United States Dept. of Commerce International Trade Administration for a Webinar on Aerospace and Defense Opportunities in Indonesia

This webinar will overview the numerous aerospace defense opportunities for U.S. businesses in Indonesia and will feature U.S. and Indonesian government officials providing expertise.

Speakers:Defense Attaché (Space)
Indonesian Ministry of Defense
Lockheed Martin (Indonesia)
U.S. Embassy - Indonesia


Why You Should Join:Hear directly from U.S. Commercial Service and DOD officials about defense opportunities and the market landscape
Hear directly from Indonesian Ministry of Defense officials on goals, needs, and procurement opportunities for U.S. businesses.
Gain prospective on best practices for U.S. aerospace and defense firms working in the Indonesian market
Learn more about how to receive USG support in entering or extending reach in the Indonesian market through the Indo-Defense Aerospace and Defense Trade Mission.

Growth in the Aerospace and Defense Market and Regional Opportunities

As the Indonesian military expands its budget, there are opportunities for U.S. defense manufacturers to sell a range of military aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS equipment, vehicles, communications systems, spare parts, and maintenance services. Monitoring and protection of sea-borne traffic for both national security and fisheries enforcement presents new opportunities, as well.

Register Now: Click here



Date & Time:

August 9, 2022
9:00PM EST
6:00PM PST

Cost: Free

Questions contact:

Andrey Piroozgar
Tel: (312) 339-6516
Andrey.Piroozgar@trade.gov

Luke Yanos
Tel: (202) 308-0953
Luke.Yanos@trade.gov

"ΝΕΑ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ" ενημέρωση

Αθήνα, 7 Ιουλίου 2022

Επίσκεψη κυβερνητικού κλιμακίου και βουλευτών της Ν.Δ. στο Νομό Ροδόπης



Συνεχίζονται οι επισκέψεις κλιμακίων της Νέας Δημοκρατίας, σε ολόκληρη τη χώρα, με βασικό στόχο την προβολή του κυβερνητικού έργου και την επικοινωνία του σε τοπικό επίπεδο.

Επόμενη στάση, ήταν ο Νομός Ροδόπης. Σε αυτή την επίσκεψη ο επικεφαλής του κλιμακίου, Υπουργός Οικονομικών κ. Χρήστος Σταϊκούρας, ο Υφυπουργός Πολιτισμού κ. Νικόλας Γιατρομανωλάκης και ο Γενικός Γραμματέας Πρωτοβάθμιας Φροντίδας Υγείας κ. Μάριος Θεμιστοκλέους συνοδευόμενοι από το Βουλευτή της περιοχής κ. Ευριπίδη Στυλιανίδη και τους Βουλευτές κ.κ. Φωτεινή Αραμπατζή και Γιώργο Τσιλιγγίρη, επισκέφθηκαν εργοτάξια, συναντήθηκαν με εκπροσώπους και φορείς των τοπικών αρχών και αναφέρθηκαν στο κυβερνητικό έργο που βρίσκεται σε εξέλιξη στην περιοχή.

Making Europe’s sewage treatment plants more efficient and circular can help meet zero-pollution targets

Making Europe’s sewage treatment plants more efficient and circular can help meet zero-pollution targets



Dear reader,

Sewage treatment can play a key role in Europe’s shift to a zero-pollution future by becoming more resource efficient and contributing to the circular economy, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today.

Find out more

Circularity can enhance greenhouse gas emission savings when renovating Europe's buildings

 

Dear reader,

Building renovation is a key contributor to improving energy efficiency and to achieving a climate neutral European Union (EU) by 2050. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, investigates how circular economy principles can enhance the benefits of building renovation. It finds that, through 2050, circularity can significantly reduce the use of materials and contribute significant additional reductions in the CO2 emissions embedded in Europe’s buildings.

 

Find out more

The Council and the Parliament launch urgent temporary measures for Ukrainian driver documents

 

Press material Thursday 7 July 2022   ● Council of the EU   07/07/2022 12:20 | Press release | The Council and the Parliament launch urgent temporary measures for Ukrainian driver documents   In response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, the Council and the European Parliament agreed on introducing through urgent procedure specific and temporary measures concerning Ukrainian driver documents. The legislative proposal is linked to the reception of Ukrainian refugees and aims at reducing the administrative requirements normally applying to third country drivers when driving within the EU. This innovative measure alleviates the administrative burden on Ukrainian refugees as regards driving documents and, at the same time, provides a harmonised approach for the duration of temporary protection. "We want to unify and simplify the recognition of the driving documents in the member states for Ukrainian refugees. Hopefully, this will make their daily lives a little bit easier until this unacceptable war is finally over.”" Jaroslav Zajicek, Czech Deputy Permanent Representative

Readers of Europe 2022 – Estonian recommendation

 

Library blog Thursday 7 July 2022

● General Secretariat of the Council   Readers of Europe 2022 – Estonian recommendation   This summer the Council Library will shine a light on new and emerging European literary talent, with the third instalment of our Readers of Europe initiative. Through books recommended by the Brussels-based Permanent Representations to the EU, the literary pit stops on this tour will unearth some of Europe’s exciting new talent. Today’s selection is by the Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU – ‘Pobeda 1946: A Car Called Victory’ by Ilmar Taska.

Readers of Europe 2022 – Estonian recommendation

• 7 July 2022
 
• Reading suggestion
 
• gsclibrary

Culture EU member states

© GettyImages

Recommendation by the Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU

Book selected: ‘Pobeda 1946: A Car Called Victory’ by Ilmar Taska

The year is 1946. A young boy living in Tallinn dreams of being a bus driver. One day his eye catches something that leaves him spell-bound. A beautiful Russian Pobeda! A car called Victory.

The driver asks him if he wants to go for a spin. He lets him hold the steering wheel. He asks about his father. The boy answers even though he knows he is not supposed to. Shortly afterwards, his father disappears.

Ilmar Taska transports you to the early days of the Soviet Union in Estonia, with his powerful debut novel, ‘Pobeda 1946: A Car Called Victory’. This is an Estonia where state terror against people was becoming an everyday part of normality; an Estonia much different to today.

You meet a nameless family: parents and their little boy. Other nameless citizens are taken away daily to labour camps. The terror of living under constant state surveillance is palatable.

Taska does not gratuitously describe the violence inflicted upon citizens. But it is always there. Lurking. 

The author is observant. He perfectly captures the contrast between the innocence of the warmth of the world the child’s parents try to offer him, and the grey shades of suspicion that shroud the country.

A society wrought with mistrust and betrayals. An environment where everything you said had to be carefully considered. Where confessions were forced out of innocent people. Even unwitting children.

The boy has been shielded by his parents from the reality and horrors of his surroundings. He is too young to understand why his dad never leaves the house, why their curtains are always closed. But doing their best to shield him has inadvertently made him an easy convert and informer for the KGB.

This is the definition of a page turner. A book you won’t be able to put down.

Ilmar Taska is best known in his native Estonia as a film director and producer. ‘Pobeda 1946: A Car Called Victory’ is his first full-length novel, and is based on a prize-winning short story from 2014.

For those wishing to unearth other Estonian literary gems, discover more via Eureka, the online catalogue of the Council Library.

• Estonian literature in Eureka

About the Readers of Europe initiative

2022 has been designated the European Year of Youth. As such, the Council Library has chosen to devote its annual Readers of Europe initiative to young people, putting the focus squarely on new and emerging European literary talent.

The Permanent Representations to the EU have once again been invited to recommend books from their countries to read over the summer, for the third edition of our ‘Readers of Europe’ campaign. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Discover something new’, the idea being that every Permanent Representation selects a book from their country by an author who has published their first work within the last five years. We will then promote these selections over the summer on the Council Library blog.

Europe is awash with exciting young authors. Dive into this selection and discover stories that hum with fresh ideas and luminous prose. Novels that ask piercing questions about humanity. Stories that are edgy and beautiful, gripping and unsettling. Stories worthy of a place in any library.

So find a comfy place to sit back and relax, as we showcase some of Europe’s most promising literary talent. Join us as we once again encounter the Readers of Europe.

• European Year of Youth (background information)

This post does not necessarily represent the positions, policies, or opinions of the Council of the European Union or the European Council.
The Council Library reading room is open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12.00 to 15.00. The Info Desk remains open online from Monday to Friday.

WTO update

 

07 Jul 2022 Latest news

Dear maria CHADZIDAKIS VAVOURANAKIS, Below are the news items published today on the WTO public website which match with your news preferences.

NEWS ITEM G20 economies show restraint in use of trade restrictions amidst ongoing instability G20 economies continued to exercise restraint in the use of trade-restrictive measures despite increasing economic uncertainty aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, according to the 27th WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures issued on 7 July. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on G20 countries, and WTO members at large, to show that the international community can work together to de-escalate tensions and ensure a solid economic recovery. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Aid for Trade Global Review to focus on environment, empowerment and connectivity This year’s Aid for Trade Global Review — to take place from 27 to 29 July — will feature over 50 sessions held in-person at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva or online. Under the theme “Empowering Connected, Sustainable Trade”, the Review will examine the opportunities that digital connectivity provides for economic and export diversification in developing and least-developed countries. It will also explore how the WTO-led Aid for Trade initiative can help empower various economic actors, such as women, to realize these opportunities. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Members mark 5th anniversary of Trade Facilitation Agreement, share experiences on impact WTO Members marked the 5th anniversary of the entry into force of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), with a commemorative workshop on 29 June. News item   ⟶