#bargaining

Israel proposes two-month ‘fighting pause’ in exchange for release of all hostages: Report
22 January 2024 20:36 GMT | Middle East Eye
▻https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israel-proposes-two-month-fighting-pause-exchange-release-all-hostage

Israel has given Hamas a proposal, through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, which offers a fighting pause lasting up to two months. This is part of a broader multi-stage agreement that would also entail the release of all remaining captives held in Gaza, Axios reported on Monday.

The proposal, citing two Israeli officials, outlines that the deal would involve releasing all surviving hostages and returning the remains of those who died. In the initial phase, women, men above 60 years old, and hostages in critical medical condition would be released, as stated by the officials.

The next phases will involve the release of female soldiers, civilian men under 60, Israeli male soldiers, and returning the bodies of the hostages.

Axios reported that under the proposed deal, Israel and Hamas would pre-determine the number of Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged for each Israeli hostage in different categories. Following this agreement on numbers, separate discussions would then be held to decide on the specific identities of these prisoners, according to the officials.

The Israeli officials said the proposal makes clear Israel will not agree to end the war and will not agree to release all 6,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, Axios reported.

According to Israeli officials, the proposal entails a repositioning of the Israeli forces, with some units being relocated away from major population areas in the enclave. This would facilitate a phased return of Palestinian civilians to Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip as the deal progresses, the Axios report says.

The Mystery of the Vanishing Pay Raise
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/sunday-review/the-mystery-of-the-vanishing-pay-raise.html

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2015/10/30/greenhouse/8dcc26a1f65a430c5be44a35ecdb8f2b6c9035c4/1101-web-GREENHOUSE-600.png

... the labor market is a lot softer than a 5.1 percent jobless rate would indicate. For one thing, the percentage of Americans who are working has fallen considerably since the recession began. This disappearance of several million workers — as labor force dropouts they are not factored into the jobless rate — has meant continued labor market weakness, which goes far to explain why wage increases remain so elusive. End of story, many economists say.

[...]

Jared Bernstein, a former chief economist for Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., put it another way: “There’s this pervasive norm” among employers “that labor costs must be held down at all costs because maximizing profits is the be-all and end-all.”

He added that the “atomization” of the American workplace — with the use of more temps, subcontractors, part-timers and on-call workers — had reduced companies’ costs and workers’ bargaining power.

As a result of all these trends, the share of corporate income going to workers has sunk to its lowest level since 1951. The Economic Policy Institute found that the decline in labor’s share of corporate income since 2000 costs workers $535 billion annually, or $3,770 per worker.

“The labor share has declined more than you would think in light of the tightening of the labor market,” said Lawrence Katz, a Harvard labor economist. “It suggests we’re seeing a decline in worker bargaining power.”

Another important trend depressing pay is that more than ever, companies are paying top dollar to star performers — whether marketing wizards or software programmers — while skimping on paying the many workers without special skills.