New tax thresholds and hike in corporation tax are expected to raise about 2.6 trillion rubles ($29bn) a year.
Russia has announced plans to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy as it scrambles for additional revenue to fund its invasion of Ukraine.
Government spending has exceeded revenue by tens of billions of dollars since Moscow ordered its troops into Ukraine in February 2022 as sanctions have cut off lucrative energy sales to Europe.
The Ministry of Finance proposed on Tuesday new tax thresholds for top earners and a hike in corporation tax.
The amendments are expected to raise about 2.6 trillion rubles ($29bn) a year, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Finance Ministry calculations.
“The changes are aimed at building a fair and balanced tax system,” Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said in a statement, adding that the extra funds would bolster Russia’s “economic wellbeing”.
The proposed amendments would come into force from 2025.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the country would raise taxes for companies and wealthy individuals shortly before he secured a fifth term in office in March, in a further step away from the flat rate of income tax that was the cornerstone of his economic policy during his first two decades in power.
Income tax is currently 13 percent for the majority of Russians, with some higher earners paying a rate of 15 percent.
The Finance Ministry said under the amendments that the 15 percent rate would apply for annual incomes between 2.4 and 5 million roubles ($27,000-56,000), with three higher bands – of 18 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent – further up the income ladder. The top rate would apply to earnings exceeding 50 million roubles ($560,000).
Siluanov said the changes would affect 2 million people and there would be rebates for families of two or more children.
The corporate tax, meanwhile, will rise to 25 percent from 20 percent, adding 1.6 trillion roubles ($18b) to the budget in 2025 and 11.1 trillion roubles ($125.3bn) by 2030, according to Interfax.
The ministry said corporate tax rates could increase because the share of profitable companies in the economy was growing.
Soldiers fighting in Ukraine would be offered exceptions from the tax regime, the Finance Ministry said.
Russia ran a combined budget deficit of about 6.5 trillion rubles ($73b) in 2022 and 2023.
It has budgeted for a shortfall of 1.6 trillion rubles ($18b) this year, equivalent to about 0.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Opposition Labour Party slams election pledge as latest ‘desperate move’ by governing party.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to cut taxes for millions of pensioners as he seeks to turn around his Conservative Party’s dismal poll numbers ahead of general elections in July.
Under the plans announced on Monday, the tax-free allowance for pensioners would increase by at least 2.5 percent, or in line with the highest of average earnings or inflation.
The proposals would see some 8 million pensioners pay about 100 pounds ($128) less tax in 2025 and about 275 pounds less annually from 2030.
Under a so-called triple lock introduced by the Conservatives in 2011, the state pension already rises either by 2.5 percent or in line with average earnings – whichever is highest – but income tax thresholds have been frozen since 2021.
The opposition Labour Party, which is widely tipped to take power after 14 years in opposition, has committed to keep the triple-lock guarantee for at least five years if elected.
Sunak said the “bold action” showed that his party was on the side of pensioners.
“I passionately believe that those who have worked hard all their lives should have peace of mind and security in retirement,” he said.
Labour Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth slammed the announcement as “another desperate move from a chaotic Tory party torching any remaining facade of its claims to economic credibility”.
“Not only have they promised to spend tens of billions of pounds since this campaign began, they also have a completely unfunded £46 billion [$59bn]policy to scrap national insurance that threatens the very basis of the state pension,” Ashworth said.
Opinion polls have for months shown the Conservatives lagging Labour by about 20 percentage points amid voter discontent over high inflation, weak economic growth and a series of political scandals.
Some polls have suggested that the Conservatives are on track for their worst election defeat in history, surpassing their 178-seat loss in 1997 under John Major.
A record 78 Conservative MPs have announced they will not contest the election, including leading figures such as Secretary for Housing Michael Gove and former Prime Minister Theresa May.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev says Uzbekistan also interested in buying more oil and gas from Russia.
Russia will build a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, the first such project in post-Soviet Central Asia, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said as he met visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin said on Monday that Russia would put $400m into a joint investment fund of $500m to finance projects in Uzbekistan.
Mirziyoyev also said Tashkent was interested in buying more oil and gas from Russia, a reversal of decades-long practice where Moscow imported hydrocarbons from Central Asia.
The Uzbek president described Putin’s visit as “historic”.
“It heralds the beginning of a new age in the comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance relations between our countries,” Mirziyoyev said.
Putin described Tashkent as a “strategic partner and reliable ally”.
According to documents published by the Kremlin, Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom will build up to six nuclear reactors with a capacity of 55 megawatts each in Uzbekistan, a much smaller-scale project than the 2.4-gigawatts one agreed in 2018, which remains to be finalised.
The agreement, if implemented, will showcase Russia’s ability to export not only energy, but also high-tech products to new Asian markets, at a time when the West is increasing pressure on it through sanctions.
There are no nuclear power plants in any of the five ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, although Uzbekistan and its neighbour Kazakhstan, both uranium producers, have long said their growing economies needed them.
The Kazakh project, however, can only move ahead after a national referendum that has not yet been scheduled.
“Nearly all the leading countries of the world ensure their energy security and sustainable development with the help of nuclear energy,” Mirziyoyev said.
Gas deliveries
Putin also announced that Moscow would sharply increase gas deliveries to Uzbekistan.
Russia, a major fossil fuel producer, has important energy projects with neighbours in the region as they face energy shortfalls despite having their own gas and oil resources.
Uzbekistan last October started importing Russian natural gas via the same pipeline which had previously pumped it in the reverse direction.
Although its own gas production remains substantial at about 50 billion cubic metres a year, Uzbekistan struggles to fully meet domestic demand, and Russian supplies have allowed it to avert an energy crisis.
The two leaders also said their governments were working on large projects in mining, metals, and chemicals.
Uzbekistan, whose economy depends heavily on remittances from migrant labourers working in Russia, has maintained close ties with Moscow after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
However, Mirziyoyev and other leaders in the region have not spoken publicly in support of what the Kremlin calls its special military operation in Ukraine, and the countries in the region are also working with the West on projects such as cargo shipping routes designed to bypass Russia.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang says the three countries should view each other as ‘partners and opportunities for development’.
China’s No 2 official has urged Japan and South Korea to reject protectionism and uphold globalisation as the countries kicked off their first trilateral summit in almost five years.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang made the remarks on Monday as he met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Yeok-seol in Seoul for their countries’ first three-way meeting since December 2019.
Li said the three countries should see each other as “partners and opportunities for development”, China’s state-run Xinhua reported.
“Li called for opposing turning economic and trade issues into political games or security matters, and rejecting protectionism as well as decoupling or the severing of supply chains,” Xinhua said.
On Sunday, Li said foreign companies were an “indispensable force” for China’s development and his country would always be open to such firms, Xinhua said.
China will expand market access to improve the business environment so that foreign firms “can rest assured in their investment and development in China”, Li was quoted as saying during a meeting with Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong.
While the three leaders are expected to push for greater economic cooperation during the summit, the agenda has been overshadowed by North Korea’s announcement that it will launch a satellite into orbit between May 27 and June 4.
Experts say there is significant overlap between the technology used to launch satellites and ballistic missiles, which Pyongyang is barred from developing under multiple United Nations resolutions.
Yoon said the international community should respond “decisively” to any launch by Pyongyang.
“I hope that our three countries, who are working together as members of the UN Security Council this year, will join forces to contribute to peace and prosperity in the international community by gathering wisdom and strength in the face of a global complex crisis and geopolitical conflicts,” Yoon said before beginning talks with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts.
Kishida also called on Pyongyang to cancel the launch.
South Korean officials earlier said the leaders would sign a joint statement on cooperation on the economy and trade, science and technology, people-to-people exchanges and health, and the ageing population.
Japan’s Nikkei Asia reported that the sides were expected to agree to resume free trade agreement negotiations that have been on hold since 2019.
The three leaders’ draft joint statement commits the sides to hold talks on a “mutually beneficial” and “high-quality and inclusive” free trade deal, Nikkei said.
More than 200 business leaders from the three countries agreed to boost cooperation in trade and supply chains during a meeting held on the sidelines of the summit.
Relations between China, Japan and South Korea have been strained over several disputes, many of them related to issues stemming from imperial Japan’s wartime aggression.
US slaps tariffs on Chinese goods, and Beijing launches an anti-dumping inquiry in response.
Chinese imports have helped push down the cost of products like video games, T-shirts and home appliances in the United States. But many American factories say these imports have driven them out of business and cost more than a million people their jobs.
President Joe Biden says he will not allow China to “unfairly control the market”.
In the run-up to November’s elections, he has sharply raised tariffs on Chinese imports ranging from electric vehicles to solar cells to protect American industries and workers.
Beijing has launched an anti-dumping investigation in response.
And Cuba’s sugar industry is in crisis.
Plus, the world faces shortages of critical minerals.
Aboude, Ivory Coast – It’s 11am in Aboude, a village in southern Ivory Coast, and Magne Akoua has already been working on his cacao farm for several hours. The 65-year-old moves slowly and methodically from one tree to the next, scrupulously shunning the scorching sun.
“We have to check on our fruit daily. Every three months, it becomes ripe and we can harvest it. But harvest hasn’t been good at all lately,” he says.
Akoua has been a farmer for more than 40 years since he decided to leave a low-level administrative job in Abidjan, the country’s economic capital, to run a small piece of family land on the outskirts of his native Aboude.
Cacao – the plant whose pods are harvested into cocoa, eventually becoming chocolate – is an intricate agricultural product that is particularly vulnerable to its natural environment.
“I love cacao. It’s what I know best. But it’s very difficult to work with,” Akoua explains. “It gets contaminated by pests. It needs a perfect balance between rainfall and heat to thrive, otherwise, its roots get flooded and rot or they simply dry up. This means that we get fewer pods and fewer pods means fewer cacao beans.”
This is what has happened in recent years in the country, and increasingly so during the latest harvest season that began in October 2023.
The top cacao producers in the world – Ivory Coast followed by its neighbour, Ghana – have been severely affected by the El Nino weather pattern.
The climate phenomenon, characterised by warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, has been bringing drier conditions to the West Africa region.
A farmer’s wife stirs his cocoa beans spread out in the sun for drying in Bringakro, a village in the Djekanou sub-prefecture of Ivory Coast [File: Sia Kambou/AFP]
Additionally, climate change-induced hotter temperatures and altered rainfall patterns have further affected cocoa harvests.
“A few seasons ago, one hectare [2.5 acres] would yield about 600 kilos of cacao. Nowadays, it barely produces 300 kilos,” Akoua says.
‘We barely survive’
The struggle to make ends meet is not new.
“Cacao farming requires a lot of physical work and time. We can’t afford more manpower, so we [with the boys in the family] do everything ourselves,” Akoua says. “We barely survive doing all of this.”
But the everyday challenges are made more acute in a hugely unequal market where production shortfalls mean farmers struggle to make ends meet while surging chocolate prices help international companies’ profits to soar.
Also in Aboude village, farmer Christian Kouassi describes such hardships.
As a member of the agriculture union in the locality, he is concerned about cacao farmers getting a fair deal for the work they put in to harvesting.
A worker in Agboville, Ivory Coast, carries a bag of cocoa [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]
Kouassi has been advocating for farmers to become a more proactive part of the sector’s value chain.
“We have absolutely no say in the price of the fruit that we produce. This has to change somehow. As a union, we’re concerned with making cacao more sustainable and producing it in a way that benefits the community,” he says.
“The government recently raised the price for a kilogramme of cacao, it’s a good step. But more needs to be done to help us and our livelihoods,” he adds.
On April 2, Ivory Coast unveiled the new price for the mid-crop season spanning from April to September 2024. The price per kilogramme of cocoa beans is now set at 1500 CFA francs ($2.48), marking a 50 percent increase.
This record-high price followed the surge in prices on the New York Stock Exchange in February. Cacao prices hit a record high of $5,874 per tonne on the New York commodities market.
Price stabilisation
In 2021, Ivory Coast and Ghana introduced a premium of $400 per tonne known as the “decent income differential”. The purpose was to guarantee farmers a minimum income irrespective of fluctuations in the price of exported cocoa beans.
However, Ivorian cacao producers are still hopeful for further increases in the upcoming season.
In the West African country, government authorities, along with several regulatory bodies and institutions, play a pivotal role in determining the price of cocoa.
The Coffee-Cocoa Council (Conseil du Cafe Cacao) is the key entity tasked with regulating cocoa prices and supervising the cocoa industry in the nation.
A man sorts cocoa beans in west Ivory Coast [File: Thierry Gouegnon FOR/CN/Reuters]
Typically, at the outset of each cocoa season, the government makes public announcements regarding cocoa prices, considering a range of factors including global market rates, production expenses, and feedback from cacao farmers and other stakeholders. The adoption of a stabilisation system effectively means that producers earn a set income per kilogramme sold, despite all of these external factors.
“There is a guaranteed threshold for cacao producers. Traders that deal with multinationals see their profit margins vary, which is not the case for farmers. It’s a system that makes sense when you consider the instability of commodity prices – including cacao – on the international market,” Souleymane Fofana explains.
Fofana started exporting cacao in 2017 when he created his company, Cote d’Ivoire Commodities. As an exporter and mill operator, he has a bird’s eye view of the sector and understands its complexities.
“There are a lot of moving parts. For example, the environment’s evolution … Over time cocoa orchards age and become less productive, which makes it hard for farmers to sustain their production. Not to mention, cacao is not a part of the average Ivorian person’s diet. Chocolate is a luxury delicacy that most people don’t purchase. Our market remains the Western market at the end of the day,” he tells Al Jazeera.
International companies vs local economies
According to a Grand View Research market analysis report, the global chocolate market value was estimated at $119.39bn in 2023 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1 percent from 2024 to 2030.
In 2023, United States-based Mars Wrigley Confectionery was the leading chocolate and cocoa manufacturer worldwide, with net sales of $22bn. Ferrero Group and Mondelez rounded out the top three companies, both exceeding $10bn in net sales.
Meanwhile, according to a new Oxfam analysis, the collective fortunes of the Ferrero and Mars families surged to $160.9bn in 2023. This is more than the combined gross domestic products (GDPs) of top cocoa producers Ivory Coast and Ghana. Ivory Coast specifically accounts for 45 percent of the global production of the “brown gold”.
Mars is one of the leading chocolate manufacturers whose profits have soared [File: Martin Meissner/AP]
“It’s a huge anomaly. And there needs to be a thorough reflection on the national level to fix these gaps and to increase profit for our country and all of the sector’s stakeholders,” Fofana says.
“We have a handful of local chocolatiers that make chocolate from our Ivorian cacao beans. It’s great and all, but we have to be realistic. We don’t have the capacities and industrial capabilities to compete with giant multinationals that have grown their brand through decades of efficient advertising and a lot of capital,” he tells Al Jazeera.
“What we can do, however, is expand our list of clients, open up to other markets that also want to process and transform cacao beans, like countries in the MENA region for instance,” he adds.
‘Who does cacao belong to?’
Fofana specifically questions the pertinence of the Federation of Commerce of Cacao, an entity that was created in 2002 to – as it describes its mission – “develop a unique and robust commercial framework for the cocoa market, enabling harmonisation of contracts and providing education services and programs”.
The cacao exporter believes that the FCC gatekeeps business opportunities from countries like Ivory Coast through its registration system.
“Companies have to register with the FCC which is headquartered in London. It makes you wonder ‘Who does the cacao actually belong to?’
“Most of our client companies are American and European. But the world is changing, and partnership horizons should expand with it. We should sell our cacao to any country that is keen on chocolate,” he concludes.
Farmers sit around cacao pods in Sinfra, Ivory Coast [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]
Back in Aboude, Akoua and his family rise faithfully every morning to farm the precious cacao, but they do not consume any chocolate.
The farmer cannot fathom going to a shop to spend his hard-earned income on a chocolate bar – which sells for about 1,500 CFA francs ($2.48) each, the same amount he would earn for a full kilogramme of cocoa beans.
“In the end, we can try and diversify our use of our land and produce other crops. We already try. But our leaders have to make sure that we – at the source – benefit from all the money these big multinationals make,” he says.
“Our cacao is clearly important to them and their consumers. We should be able to reap the benefits of that.”
Taipei, Taiwan – As Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te begins his four-year term, the democratic island’s legions of Southeast Asian migrant domestic workers are hoping he will push ahead with labour reforms that might improve their working lives.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Labour, there were more than 760,000 foreign workers on the island as of the end of March, most of them from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Many work in manufacturing and construction, but they also look after the elderly in healthcare facilities as well as in private homes – a key role considering Taiwan’s rapidly ageing society.
While Taiwan’s monthly minimum salary was increased to 27,470 New Taiwan dollars ($853) this year, migrant domestic workers, who also have to pay expenses related to their recruitment, were excluded.
William Lai officially took over as Taiwan’s new president on Monday [Taiwan Presidential Office via AFP]
Bonny Ling, the executive director of Work Better Innovations (WBI) – a social enterprise that advocates for decent working conditions, including for Southeast Asians in Taiwan – says the new government should take steps to address the fees workers pay. This includes fees before they leave – for things such as medical checks, visas, training and flights – and once they are on the island.
Ling says recruitment costs should be paid by employers in the same way as for high-wage workers. “We really need to be honest with ourselves and ask: why is this the case, are we saying that low-waged work is less valuable?” she told Al Jazeera.
“Are we saying that those who are the least able to bear the cost of recruitment should pay, sometimes several months of their work to years go back into paying these fees and costs – is this just?”
Taiwan, with a population of more than 23 million, is expected to become a “super-aged society” by 2025, according to its National Development Council.
Ratih Kabinawa, an adjunct research fellow at the University of Western Australia’s School of Social Sciences, said an increasing number of women were also having to go out to work to help boost family incomes.
“These Taiwanese families entrust their parents to the care of migrant workers,” she said.
Al Jazeera asked three Southeast Asian caregivers in Taiwan about their lives.
Anggi Sofiasyah Lacuba, 29
Anggi Sofiasyah Lacuba hopes to one day pursue a master’s degree in Taiwan [Randy Mulyanto/Al Jazeera]
Originally from Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, Anggi Sofiasyah Lacuba has worked for several Taiwanese families since moving to the island in 2020. Since mid-2023, the 29-year-old has been taking care of a grandmother, now in her 90s, in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County.
Anggi said she did not entirely support ending the role of recruitment agents in Taiwan because it could disadvantage people unable to speak Mandarin, but she felt that, on balance, it would be a “very good” move.
The mother of two paid about 30 million Indonesian rupiah ($1,881) to her agency in Indonesia to secure her job in Taiwan. The fees covered one month of training, language classes and meals in East Java before departure, as well as a flight ticket to the island. They were deducted from her wages during her first seven months of work. A fee for the recruitment agency’s Taiwanese office was also taken from her monthly pay.
With the fees paid off, Anggi now takes home some 20,000 New Taiwan dollars ($621) a month.
“If agencies are abolished, can employers allow it if we have things outside [work] – whether we arrange our health insurances, passport, visa or whatever?” she told Al Jazeera. These issues are currently handled by agents.
Anggi hopes to return home in the next year or two so she can apply for a student visa and go back to Taiwan to pursue a master’s degree on a scholarship.
She hopes Lai’s administration will help ease the visa application process.
Sandra Suril, 48
Sandra Suril would like the government to remove the monthly broker’s fee that workers need to pay [Randy Mulyanto/Al Jazeera]
Sandra Suril, a mother of three, has worked in New Taipei, near the Taiwanese capital, since 2017. She is from Baguio in the northern Philippine island of Luzon.
She takes care of a blind man, now in his 20s, accompanying him to university and making sure he takes his medication, among other responsibilities.
Suril says she hopes the government will “remove the brokers’ fee because we are always paying [1,500 New Taiwan dollars, or $47, monthly]” even though brokers are “sometimes useless” and fail to help when there is a problem with an employer. The 48-year-old says she could save more money if the payment was stopped since she has already paid off the other fees to her agency.
Suril has had only one job since arriving in Taiwan and says she expects to stay for about 12 years – enough time for her children to earn their university degrees.
That will be “my big achievement, if it will happen”, she said.
Miean Coilan, 58
Miean Coilan says one month’s salary in Taiwan is equivalent to four-months pay back home in the Philippines [Randy Mulyanto/Al Jazeera]
Miean Coilan started work in Taiwan the same year as Suril. Like her, she is from Baguio.
Coilan has been looking after a grandmother, now in her 90s, and doing household chores throughout her time on the island.
She says one month’s salary in Taiwan is equivalent to “four months” pay back home.
The 58-year-old said she would like to see the end of the limits on the length of time migrant workers are allowed to stay on the island. Like other migrant workers, those working in care can stay for a maximum of 12 years, but if they meet certain requirements on training and performance, they can remain for an additional two years.
“If I [have the chance to] talk to the president, I will say ‘no end contract’,” she told Al Jazeera. “Even [if] we are [over] 50 years old, 60 years old, we still can work in Taiwan because we like Taiwan. We love Taiwan.”
Half Moon Bay, California – Almost a year and a half after a mass shooting took the lives of seven farmworkers in the town of Half Moon Bay, California, a new project is seeking to address the poor living conditions experienced by many of the area’s agricultural workers.
On Tuesday, the city’s planning commission approved a proposal for a 40-unit building that will serve as lodging for elderly farmworkers, some of whom continue working into their 70s and 80s due to low wages and the sky-high cost of living.
The decision comes after the 2023 shooting prompted an outcry over the ramshackle housing available for Half Moon Bay’s farmworkers.
Politicians visiting after the bloodshed, including Governor Gavin Newsom, noted that some farmworkers were even living in shipping containers.
“After the shooting, everyone’s eyes were on Half Moon Bay, and politicians and the community were rallying around our farmworkers,” said Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, founder of the group Ayudando Latinos A Sonar (ALAS), which provides support and services for local farmworkers.
Advocates say farmworkers in California work in difficult conditions, often for low pay [File: Terry Chea/AP Photo]
But before passing this week, the plans for the five-story building faced backlash from city planners who raised concerns about whether the structure would fit with the style and character of the surrounding area.
That setback dimmed optimism that the shooting, carried out by a 67-year-old former agricultural employee, might result in much-needed assistance for the farmworker community.
Migrants make up the vast majority of California’s farmworkers, and they are often paid the minimum wage for arduous labour, despite the fact that the state leads the country in the value of crops sold.
According to the California government, agriculture is a $54bn industry in the state, with an extra $100bn in related commerce.
Faced with the possibility of rejection, the housing proposal moved forward only after media scrutiny and pressure from the governor’s office.
Governor Newsom, who has taken a tough stance against cities that stymie efforts to build lodging during the state’s housing crisis, hinted at potential legal action against Half Moon Bay over the delay.
In a press release last week, Newsom called the project’s delay “egregious” and said the state would take “all necessary steps” if it was not approved.
California Governor Gavin Newsom delivered remarks after a shooting in Half Moon Bay on January 24, 2023 [File: Aaron Kehoe/AP Photo]
Some local officials, however, chafed at what they saw as undue intervention in local planning decisions.
“It felt like an attack on our planning commission and our process of community development,” Joaquin Jimenez, the city’s mayor and a former farmworker advocate, told Al Jazeera, adding that the project had been moving through an approvals process with community input.
Jimenez also said he felt the issue has been unfairly portrayed in media coverage.
But affordable housing advocates say that the incident illustrates the numerous obstacles to constructing new residences in a state where homeowners and planning councils often quibble over concerns such as building height and parking.
“The fact that the governor had to get involved to push this over the line is shocking,” said Ned Resnikoff, policy director at the organisation California YIMBY.
His group’s name is an acronym for its mission: “Yes in my backyard” (YIMBY) is a popular rallying cry for housing advocates who reject a restrictive approach to building, sometimes called “not in my backyard” or NIMBY.
Resnikoff pointed to the stalled Half Moon Bay project — and Governor Newsom’s response — as indicative of a larger trend in the state. “It’s a perfect illustration of why the state has been getting more involved in local land-use decisions.”
Local farmworker advocates like Arriaga also welcomed the intervention.
“After the shooting, Governor Newsom met with farmworkers and told them he would advocate for them and work to address this issue,” she said. “He’s keeping his promise, not attacking the city.”
Essential workers
Over the last several years, farmworkers in Half Moon Bay and the surrounding area have faced a string of tragedies and challenges to their livelihood.
Many workers helped keep the state’s agricultural sector functioning during the onset of COVID-19, continuing to work while other industries shuttered. Since many were undocumented, they faced the pandemic’s economic fallout with less access to assistance programmes.
Wildfires and flooding in the area also caused disruptions to their work or the loss of housing.
“There were things like the fires and the flooding that were mentally and emotionally exhausting, and then there was this mass shooting,” said Arriaga. “There was a lot of trauma in the community.”
Farmworkers dig out a drainage ditch to keep floodwater from covering strawberry crops as the Salinas River overflows in Monterey County, California, on January 13, 2023 [File: Noah Berger/AP Photo]
The median hourly wage of a California agricultural worker is about $20 per hour, according to the state’s Employee Development Department.
In some counties, however, that figure is closer to $15 an hour, and advocates are quick to point out that the undocumented status of many workers leaves them vulnerable to wage theft, when employees compensate workers at a rate below their official wage.
A 2022 report (PDF) by the University of California at Merced (UC Merced) found that nearly one in five California farmworkers reported not being paid the wages they had earned.
California is also home to some of the most expensive housing markets in the US, with costs outstripping wages. According to California’s government, rent has increased by 20 percent or more in some parts of the state since 2020.
In order to cope with high rental costs, farmworkers often pack into cramped, dilapidated housing in an effort to save money.
“It’s extremely common for farmworkers to live with multiple people in an apartment, some sharing rooms and others finding spots in the living room,” said Lucas Zucker, co-executive director for the group Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), which works with farmworker communities in California’s Central Coast region.
He notes that the UC Merced study found that about 25 percent of the state’s farmworkers reported sleeping in a room with three or more people, and nearly 40 percent reported having trouble keeping their homes cool during periods of hot weather.
“Imagine spending your day doing this strenuous job in the fields and coming home, exhausted, to a home where you don’t have any space for yourself, or being a kid trying to study and do homework.”
Arriaga hopes that the 40-unit building, which will include an office to help connect residents to services such as medical care, can offer other cities a template for supporting farmworkers.
“We talked to one gentleman who has been working in the fields for 30 years and has never had a medical appointment,” she said. “We need to stop and consider this community who deserve dignified and humane housing that honours them.”
Rising income inequality is a hot topic dominating the national elections.
India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world. But, the benefits of India’s growth are not trickling down to poor people. The richest 1 percent of the population owns 40 percent of the country’s wealth.
The inequality gap has widened sharply under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade in power. It is now a flashpoint in the country’s national elections, with hot topics including inheritance taxes and wealth redistribution.
Also, how much does the United States spend on foreign aid and does the funding help boost global stability?
Plus, why has Zambia banned charcoal production permits?
The European Commission says it is concerned systems used by apps could ‘exploit weaknesses and inexperience’ of children and stimulate ‘addictive behaviour’.
European Union regulators have opened a formal investigation into Meta for potential breaches of online content rules relating to child safety in its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
The European Commission said on Thursday it was concerned the algorithmic systems used by the popular social media platforms to recommend videos and posts could “exploit the weaknesses and inexperience” of children and stimulate “addictive behaviour”.
Its investigators will also examine whether these systems are strengthening the so-called “rabbit hole” that leads users to increasingly disturbing content.
“In addition, the Commission is also concerned about age-assurance and verification methods put in place by Meta,” the bloc’s executive arm said in a statement.
The investigation is being conducted under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a law that compels the world’s largest tech firms to enhance their efforts in protecting European users online.
The DSA has strict rules to protect children and ensure their privacy and security online.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said on X the regulators were “not convinced that Meta has done enough to comply with the DSA obligations – to mitigate the risks of negative effects to the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its platforms Facebook and Instagram”.
🚨 Today we open formal #DSA investigation against #Meta.
We are not convinced that Meta has done enough to comply with the DSA obligations — to mitigate the risks of negative effects to the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its platforms Facebook and Instagram. pic.twitter.com/WxPwgE5Opc
In a statement, Meta said: “We want young people to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online and have spent a decade developing more than 50 tools and policies designed to protect them.”
The United States-based tech giant added: “This is a challenge the whole industry is facing, and we look forward to sharing details of our work with the European Commission.”
There is no deadline for the investigations to wrap up. Violations could result in fines that could reach as high as six percent of a platform’s global turnover or even a ban for serious and repeat violations.
Facebook and Instagram are among 23 “very large” online platforms that must comply with the DSA. Others include Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
The bloc has launched a wave of investigations, including another on Meta last month over fears that Facebook and Instagram were failing to counter disinformation ahead of EU elections in June.
In February, the commission began a probe into TikTok on suspicion that the popular video-sharing app may not be doing enough to address negative effects on young people.
The EU also forced TikTok to suspend its spinoff Lite app’s reward schemes in April after warning its “addictive” nature could risk users’ mental health.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
