WAGE ISSUES

PAY HIKES MORE LIKELY AS ECONOMY IMPROVES As general economic conditions improve, employers may be slightly more generous about wage increases when contract talk time arrives, according to a survey of companies’ bargaining objectives. However, employers are still keen on achieving labor concessions when it comes to the pricey arena of health care and insurance benefits, with 69% saying they need to pursue savings in those areas. But almost that percentage, 59%, said better wages might be an option. And where would employers most like to cut or eliminate benefits? Prescription drug coverage led that group, with nearly 32% citing that cost. That was followed by doctor visits at 28%, hospital coverage at 26%, and surgical coverage at 26%. Almost a fourth of employers that have restrictions on outsourcing or subcontracting will be seeking to curtail or eliminate those provisions in 2005.

The results are from a survey of 100 American companies by Washington-based BNA Inc., which publishes financial reports and other analysis for business.

– Associated Press

EMPLOYER RELATIONS

SIX TIPS ON HOW TO BE ‘JOB SAVVY’ Are you new at your job, or flopping aimlessly in your current one? You might need to become a bit more savvy in dealing with your employer, according to Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., based at Warren, N.J. Janette La Vigne, a Chubb assistant vice president and member of Chubb’s Partnership of Women, an employee network group, offers a few tips:

* Avoid launching misdirected or misguided questions. Before you start asking willy-nilly, survey your work environment and observe how things operate.

* Don’t assume others are looking out for your career. They’re probably not.

* Empower yourself. Don’t wait for someone to ask you about your next promotion or move.

* Networking skills are every bit as important as professional or technical skills for your job.

* Who’s really in charge? The real power is not always sitting at the top of the organization’s flow chart. Learn who really runs the show and navigate the culture.

– Associated Press

WORKPLACE HEALTH

BEWARE OF VIRUS-LADEN OFFICES You probably clean vigorously at home, at least occasionally. But how often does this happen at work, the valiant efforts of the janitorial staff notwithstanding?

Maybe not as effectively as you might wish or suspect, according to a five-city study of germs found in office settings. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, collected samples from office buildings in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, and Tucson, Ariz., last fall to determine how much human Para influenza 1 virus was present. The virus is responsible for common respiratory infections, such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. The survey collected samples from common areas: telephone mouthpieces, computer mice, desktops, doorknobs and handles, conference rooms, light switches, and office cubicles.

New York – where half of all office surfaces contained the virus – was the most virus-laden city, followed by Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, and Tucson.

Conference rooms were found to have far fewer germs than cubicles, while desktops had the most of the tested surfaces. In all office buildings, the light switch was the least contaminated site. The study involved 328 surfaces and was conducted with a grant from Clorox Co., the Oakland, Calif.-based maker of cleaning products.

– Associated Press

AGRICULTURE

MORE THAI WORKERS UNDER FEDERAL PROGRAM YAKIMA, Wash. – The number of workers from Thailand expected to help harvest fruit in the Yakima Valley this year under a federal guest-worker program could increase by almost five times, officials said. Last season, 170 Thai workers were brought in under the program, which grew out of immigration reforms in 1986 and was designed to allow foreign workers into the country only for jobs that cannot be filled domestically. This year, growers and a company that contracts the workers expect at least 1,000 Thai laborers to help harvest the valley’s apples and cherries.

The federal program contains provisions intended to protect local workers and wages. But the program has come under criticism from unions and groups representing local laborers who predict the foreign workers will reduce the number of local hires. But some fruit growers argue that there is a shortage of local hires.

– Associated Press