ISTANBUL: Shorter workdays and more flexible work schedules, like those utilized during the Covid-19 pandemic, can benefit economies, enterprises and workers as well as pave the way for a better and healthier work-life balance, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said Friday.   Analyzing different working-time arrangements and their effects on work-life balance, including shift work, on-call work, compressed hours and hours-averaging schemes, ILO’s Working Time and Work-Life Balance Around the World report found that these flexible schedules provide “better family life.”   “There is a substantial amount of evidence that work–life balance policies provide significant benefits to enterprises, supporting the

MANILA: Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo is pushing for the passage of new legislation that would grant a fully paid week-long bereavement leave benefit to all employees in the event of an immediate family member’s death.   As proposed by Rillo in House Bill No. 4340, private and public sector employees would be entitled to seven days of paid bereavement leave following the death of a spouse, biological or adoptive parent or child, or a full or half-blood brother or sister.   “The death of a loved one creates considerable physical, emotional and psychological burden on employees, who deserve a

MANILA: Malacañang said Saturday the business agreements secured by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. with Chinese firms would help reduce the prices of fertilizer, a vital part of the administration’s current bid to help farmers and ensure food security.   Two Chinese fertilizer-manufacturing companies have recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) to ensure a sustainable supply of much-needed fertilizers at reasonable prices.   “We look forward to a steady supply of fertilizer inputs needed by our farmers through these agreements,” Marcos said during a roundtable discussion with chief executive officers from the agribusiness sector

MANILA: Bay Area bucked the absence of Andrew Nicholson and held off Ginebra, 94-86, in Game 4 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals before 17,236 fans at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Friday night.   Kobey Lam caught fire for the Dragons as he led their fightback, where they held the Gin Kings to only 15 points in the third quarter and exploded for 34 in the final period.   “We learned from our mistakes from the last game,” said Lam, who finished with 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 8-of-14 on threes, nine rebounds and four