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On July 1, 2020, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force, replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The US government has taken several steps towards implementation through executive order and regulatory proposals, but the legal framework remains a work in progress.

One of the most closely watched arrangements is the Facility-Specific Rapid Response Mechanism (“Rapid Response Mechanism”) which will allow the United States, Mexico and Canada to take action against facilities with certain breaches of government standards. job. Unlike NAFTA, the USMCA includes labor standards in the basic text of the agreement (Chapter 23, Labor), with new features adding to the enforceability. The Rapid Response Mechanism will apply between the United States and Mexico (Annex 31-A) and between Canada and Mexico (Annex 31-B), but will not apply between the United States and Canada .

The potential impact on covered facilities in Mexico will be relevant to both Mexican businesses; American, European and Asian companies with subsidiaries in Mexico; and US and Canadian companies that rely on Mexico as part of their supply chain.

Scope of the rapid response mechanism

The rapid response mechanism applies when the governments of the United States or Mexico have a good faith belief that workers in a “covered establishment” are denied the right to free association and collective bargaining (“denial of rights” ). A “covered facility” is defined in the USMCA for the purposes of the United States and Mexico as a facility that:

• (1) produces a good or provides a service traded between countries; Where
• (2) produces a good or provides a service which competes in the territory of one Party with a good or a service of the other Party.

In addition, the covered establishment must be in a “priority sector”. Priority sectors are sectors that manufacture goods, provide services, or involve mining (agriculture is not included). Manufactured products include, but are not limited to, “aerospace products and components, automobiles and automotive parts, cosmetics, industrial bakery products, steel and aluminum, glass, pottery, plastics, forgings and cement ”.

The Rapid Response Mechanism has limitations for use in the United States that do not apply to Mexico. Specifically, a claim can only be made against a US facility if it is covered by an order of the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Triggering of the Rapid Response Mechanism in the United States

The Rapid Response Mechanism is distinguished by its accessibility to stakeholders in the US and Mexican economies, as well as its rapid process.

First of all: Any member of the public in the United States can submit a petition alleging a denial of rights at a covered facility in Mexico. The petition is submitted to an “interagency labor committee for oversight and enforcement” (“interagency labor committee”), which will be co-chaired by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Secretary of Labor.

Second: Within 30 days of receiving a petition, the Interagency Labor Committee will review the petition and determine whether there is “sufficient and credible evidence of a denial of rights.”

Third: If the Interagency Labor Committee finds that there has been a “denial of rights,” it should ask Mexico to conduct its own review and determine whether there has been a denial of rights. If Mexico agrees to conduct a review of the complaint, it has 45 days to make a determination.

If Mexico does not agree to conduct a review of the complaint, the United States may request a panel to conduct a separate verification and determination under the USMCA. If Mexico does conduct a review and determines that there has been no denial of duties, the United States may disagree and immediately request a panel verification and determination. However, if Mexico determines that there is a denial of rights, the two countries will enter into a 10-day consultation period to agree on a redress plan. If the consultations fail, then the United States may request a panel verification and determination.

USMCA implementing legislation allows the U.S. government to withhold liquidation of imports from a covered facility that is the subject of the complaint until:

• A panel of work under the rapid response mechanism determines that there is no denial of rights;
• A denial of rights remediation course has been agreed and completed within the agreed timeframe; Where
• The denial of rights has been otherwise remedied.

If a panel determines, in accordance with the Rapid Response Mechanism, that there has been a denial of duties at a Mexican covered facility, the United States may impose remedies, including (a) suspension of preferential treatment for them. products manufactured in the covered facility; (b) the imposition of “penalties” on covered facilities; and (c) denial of entry for such goods, which may be invoked if a covered establishment has received at least two prior denial of duty decisions.

Interim procedural guidelines for the presentation of petitions alleging a denial of rights

On June 30, 2020, the Inter-Agency Labor Committee issued interim procedural guidelines for submitting petitions under the Rapid Response Mechanism and invited the public to comment on the procedures outlined in the notice.

According to the notice, petitions must provide information that addresses, among other things:

• If the claimant has suffered prejudice;
• For complaints alleging failure to effectively enforce labor law, “whether there has been a sustained or recurring plan of action or inaction to not enforce labor law”; and
• If “the matter referred to in the petition occurred in a manner affecting trade or investment”.

It will be worth monitoring what kind of information the Committee considers meets the criteria for a case to occur in a “way that affects trade or investment”. Under the USMCA, the burden of proof to meet this standard has been transferred from the applicant to the institution referred to by the respondent.

Comments on these guidelines and procedures can be submitted to the Committee no later than August 15, 2020.

Takeaway 1 – Potential for early interest and invocation

US stakeholders would be interested in early use of the rapid response mechanism. This includes trade unions, competing companies and other parties. Thus, the early use of the Rapid Response Mechanism will be closely monitored by Mexican manufacturers, subsidiaries of international companies in Mexico, and any companies that may be affected by a disruption in their Mexican supply chain. It will be important for these parties to understand the triggering and application of the rapid response mechanism and how best to respond to it.

Take away 2 – Installations in the automotive, aerospace, steel and aluminum, and mining sectors are among the first that can be tested under the Quick response Mechanism.

While there are some differences in the “priority areas” described in the United States implementing legislation and the USMCA, there is significant overlap between the two. More specifically, these sectors include automotive, aerospace, steel and aluminum, mining and industrial bakeries. These sectors could be among the first to be tested under the rapid response mechanism.

Takeaway meals 3 – Different criteria for denial of rights claims in the United States and Mexico will likely mean more claims against Mexican covered facilities than against US facilities.

As noted above, in the United States, a claim can only be filed if the facility is covered by an enforceable order from the NLRB. Since 2016, approximately 164 facilities in the United States have been subject to an enforcement order from the NLRB. Of these 164 facilities, approximately five would fall under the competence / scope of “priority sectors”. Given the small number of cases involving companies in a “priority sector” covered by an enforceable order of the NLRB, the possibilities for denial of rights in the United States under the rapid response mechanism are less numerous.

There is no precondition for bringing a denial of rights action in Mexico. Without threshold limits on existing work orders and with the broad ability of the American public to request the use of the rapid response mechanism, claims against Mexican Covered Facilities are expected to be more extensive in nature and number.

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Srinagar: A unique COVID-19 response mechanism has been put in place in Srinagar to help those in distress during the extended lockdown fight the pandemic and provide a one-stop solution to issues ranging from real-time case tracking to availability essential products.

The Emergency Management and Response Center (ERMC), which may be the first such mechanism in the country, is the brainchild of Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary.

It was inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir GC Murmu on Friday evening at a distance from Jammu.

“After detecting the first case of COVID-19 in Srinagar on March 18 and observing the problems that health workers faced in monitoring, we thought about using the technology. We discussed this with the IT team and had an application ready, ”the 39-year-old officer told PTI here.

“Likewise, while enforcing the lockdown, we were inundated with appeals regarding various needs of people. While a large number of them were dealt with, many of them still went unnoticed due to the enormous workload.

“Half a dozen hotlines for specific sectors also complicated the response. Therefore, it was decided to have an ERMC where everything can be obtained, from essential services to emergency response, essential products to grievance, etc. “, did he declare.

Choudhary, an IAS officer in 2009, said that after taking office as Deputy Commissioner, his goal was to provide good governance and rapid, effective and efficient service delivery to citizens.

In the paradigm shift after the COVID-19 outbreak, he has honed his skills and made information and communications technology (ICT) a vital tool to enable service delivery in Srinagar.

“Now, when a COVID-19 patient is admitted, an app will be downloaded to their cell phone that provides a monitoring mechanism to ensure the person does not move around during their quarantine period. If there is movement, an SMS will be automatically generated to the control room inviting the Rapid Response Team (RRT) to take immediate action.

“It is necessary and with this application called ‘JKCoVID’ we will be able to effectively monitor isolated patients and ensure that there is no community infection,” he said.

The Srinagar control room, which it set up early last month, tracked 889 cases with unreported or hidden travel history using the “Talaash” app initially used by the administration here. The app also offered a self-report option and most of the patients being followed and quarantined tested positive for COVID-19.

“We had to use all the resources available at that time. Time was slipping away, ”said the officer, who won the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, the National Award for Best Electoral Conduct from the Election Commission and the National Award for Electronic Governance from the Election Commission. Ministry of Personnel and National Women’s Empowerment Award.

Choudhury, who holds a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science and animal husbandry and a diploma from the Indira Gandhi National Forestry Academy in Dehradun, believes this may ease an additional burden on medical staff who can focus on more cases. serious rather than watching people. in quarantine.

The app will also allow others to get a quick checkup after answering a few questions that have been designed based on questionnaires developed by medical experts dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Based on a score relating to their health obtained through the application, people are ranked according to their scores. People with low or moderate scores are informed accordingly via the app, while those with high scores are contacted by the medical teams in the control room and the necessary measures are taken, ”said the deputy commissioner.

Originally from a remote village of Budhal tehsil from Rajouri to Jammu near the Line of Control (LoC), Choudhary has the distinction of being the first IAS officer in the region.

“As I said earlier, you can get anything and everything that is required by an ordinary person in such a situation. Be it baby food, diapers, vegetables, food grains, medicines, hospitalization, car breakdown, the call center would provide them within a specified time, ”he said.

This can also be used to file a grievance in which a person can call a call center executive and after receiving the details about the caller and the nature of the grievance, the same is entered into the system which generates a number as well. than the estimated time of its repair.

“If not resolved, the grievance extends to the next officer and eventually comes to me, in case both levels fail,” Choudhary said.

The ERMC will also provide psychological and psychiatric counseling to people where the caller ID is kept secret.

He said that the call center and integrated real-time management system has been set up by the Srinagar district administration for full and transparent management of the COVID-19 situation in the district.

Choudhary believes the mechanism will help monitor all operations of the quarantine and isolation centers from the district control room, allowing officers to make quick decisions based on real-time data received from these centers.

He said the purpose of this initiative is to provide a one-stop solution to the issues surrounding the COVID-19 situation in the district.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission, on Thursday organized a half-day sensitization workshop on the creation of an early warning and response mechanism in ECOWAS Member States.

Early warning system is the science, technology and art of collecting, analyzing and disseminating information that could be used to prevent and / or mitigate threats to human security.

The workshop, which was officially opened by Mr. Charles Owiredu, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, aimed to present the ECOWAS early warning and response system to government officials and officials. relevant stakeholders with the aim of establishing the early warning system and mechanism office in Ghana.

In 1978, ECOWAS ratified the first non-aggression protocol on the regional early warning system followed by the signing of the mutual defense assistance protocol to promote peace and security in the sub-region.

However, by the 1990s it became evident that these instruments were clearly insufficient to deal with the burgeoning intrastate conflicts in the ECOWAS region.

In this context, the strategic framework for the establishment of a National Coordination Center of the Early Warning and Response Mechanism in each ECOWAS member state was adopted during the 45th Ordinary Session held in Accra, in July. 2014.

Mr. Owiredu said that the establishment of national early warning and response centers had become very crucial; adding that the concept of early warning signal was not a new phenomenon in the face of the varied challenges that ECOWAS member states faced, ranging from security and terrorism, the environment, crime and crime, governance and health.

He said that the innumerable benefits of establishing a national center for the coordination of early warning and response mechanisms were desirable by every member state; which include the prevention and reduction of loss of life, and the prevention and mitigation of environmental crises such as drought, farmer / pastoralist conflicts.

Mr. Owiredu said that with the establishment of national centers, ECOWAS member states could share information, implement conflict prevention and manage crises, while protecting human security at national and regional levels.

He stressed that the role of the Center was to warn the government of threats to human security, propose appropriate actions, coordinate and monitor the implementation of the response to the alert while optimizing the collection, quality and analysis of information through a participatory approach involving all relevant stakeholders.

“While anticipating the establishment of an early warning and response mechanism coordination center in Ghana for many of the benefits that we have to gain as a nation in regards to early warning signs and mechanisms for response, I fervently hope that the link between early warning signs and rapid response are further strengthened for optimal results, ”he said.

“In the days that follow, the ministry will form a working group with representatives of key ministries to draft the instrument for the establishment of early warning mechanisms in Ghana. I expect all of us to make an effort to ensure the success of this important endeavor. “

Madam Finda Koroma, Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, said that the vision of the ECOWAS early warning system was to have in one place, a fully integrated and functional early warning system, providing the office of the Chairperson of the Commission for timely reports and analyzes to enable effective responses in the prevention and mitigation of violent conflicts in the sub-region.

With Ghana’s elections slated for December, Ms. Koroma therefore called on the government to ensure that a national early warning center is established in the country by the end of June this year.

Source: GNA

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The Karachi police are reorganizing the emergency response mechanism to modern international standards. A dedicated Deputy Inspector General (DIG) is now in charge of operations in charge of Madadgar command control (MCC-15) and associated services.

Speaking to The News on Tuesday, DIG Maqsood Memon, chief of security units in Karachi Police, including MCC 15, said the Security and Emergency Division includes various police units working together to strengthen the MCC 15.

Revamped MCC 15 will ensure first responders on all calls, prosecution of criminals, street crime prevention, anti-social element monitoring, instant verification, information gathering, facilitation and public assistance , SOS alerts and coordination with emergency services.

DIG Memon said the MCC 15 now responds to any situation within nine minutes, up from the previous response time of 30 minutes. The force would be equipped with modern gadgets, including mobile tablets, security cameras, wireless communications and trackers.

The force will have access to Identity Verification System (IVS) to verify CNIC authenticity, Vehicle Verification System (VVS) to identify unregistered and stolen vehicles and motorcycles, Criminal Record Check (CRV ) to check a person’s history, incident tagging to capture details of any incident, monitoring of people released from prison, Tenant Information System (TIS) and traffic management, etc.

DIG Memon said an appropriate oversight mechanism would be in place by establishing a separate command office at the command and control center to monitor the force’s activities. The location and movement of each patrol vehicle would be recorded, live streaming of all response vehicles would be monitored and recorded, instant verification would be recorded and instructions would be communicated from the command office, he said. he adds.

Describing the improvements to MCC 15, he said they had made major improvements so far without incurring additional expense. After the establishment of the Security and Emergency Services Division in Karachi, he added, the following improvements were made to MCC 15: the emergency services staff increased from 1,100 police to 2,200 people ; previously 106 police cell phones were deployed for 15 emergency services, but now 40 and 30 additional SSU and Muhafiz Force vehicles respectively are used for emergency calls; additional SSU personnel had been deployed to the Madadgar call center; seven deployment centers have been established in each district of the Karachi chain, from where the entire fleet and ground personnel will be dispatched on duty to provide a rapid response; and two DSPs in two teams are deployed in each zone for the supervision and monitoring of the deployment centers.

He added that a biometric presence system has been installed in each deployment center for proper monitoring and supervision of the workforce, KOT is established in each deployment center, the third team has started for better performance, 15 emergency mobiles operate 24 hours a day and the strength of the emergency services is facilitated by accommodation at four locations (CTD Building PTC Saeedabad, Chowkandi Base, Headquarters Khawaja Ajmair Nagri and Garden Headquarters Karachi).

DIG security said IT staff numbers had been increased to seven, from one to 15. Only two PRI were operating in 15 emergency call centers, but now a new PRI had been added and there was now three PRI in operation, he added.

Dispatchers per district have grown from five to seven and now each district has a separate dispatcher, and the staff at telecommunication and wireless stations have also been increased. Chairs for appeals officers were insufficient; as a result, 80 new chairs were provided to 15 emergency call centers and the level of service increased by 98 percent.

DIG Memon said the MCC 15 redesign included call recording, a listening and feedback system was acquired for quality improvement, and the Madadgar 15 vehicle fuel limit was increased by 10. liters to 15 liters per day.

Apart from this, he said that in order to further improve the capacity of the staff of the new Sindh Police Division, he had requested the Sindh Police Inspector General for emergency response training.

He shared that the Sindh police had formed a new division, namely the Police Security and Emergency Services.

Division, headed by the Security and Emergency Services Division DIG, Karachi, and the main objective was to streamline the deployment of security and emergency response to ensure a safe and secure environment in the city.

The newly created division began to operate to meet emergency response needs with available resources. In order to further improve emergency response and police safety, it is essential to equip and train personnel in accordance with established international standards to respond quickly to emergencies, he added.

This new Sindh Police Division aims to train 400 staff of the Security and Emergency Services Division in emergency response services, emergency call operators, surveillance operators and tasks. dispatch agents of the emergency response services (Dolphin Force) by the Punjab police. and the authorities of the safe towns of Punjab in the first phase.

He added that it was requested that a focal person be appointed for the coordination and assistance to initiate the above training program in order to provide a safe and secure environment for the citizens of Karachi.

A team of researchers led by Elaine Wong at the University of Melbourne, Australia, has developed a method to improve haptic feedback experiences in human-machine applications typical of the tactile Internet. The researchers believe their method can be used to predict appropriate feedback in applications ranging from electronic healthcare to virtual reality games.

Wong and his colleagues will present their proposed module, which uses an artificial neural network to predict affected material, at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC), which will be held March 8-12, 2020 at the San Diego Convention Center, in California. , UNITED STATES

Depending on the dynamics of the interaction, an optimal human-machine application may require a network response time as short as a millisecond.

“These response times put a limit on the distance between humans and machines,” Wong said. “Therefore, solutions to decouple this distance from the response time of the network are essential to realize the tactile Internet.”

To achieve this goal, the team trained a reinforcement learning algorithm to guess the correct haptic feedback in a human-machine system before the correct feedback was known. The module, called Event-based HAptic SAmple Forecast (EHASAF), speeds up the process by providing a tactile response based on a probabilistic prediction of the hardware the user is interacting with.

“To facilitate human-machine applications over long-distance networks, we are relying on artificial intelligence to overcome the effects of long propagation latency,” said Sourav Mondal, author of the article.

Once the actual material is identified, the unit adapts and updates its probability distribution to help choose the correct feedback for the future.

The group tested the EHASAF module with a pair of virtual reality gloves used by a human to touch a virtual ball. The gloves contain sensors on the fingers and wrists to detect contact and track the movements, forces and orientation of the hand.

Depending on which material the user chooses to touch from the four virtual options provided, the return of the glove should vary. For example, a metal ball will be firmer than a foam ball. When a neural network determines that one of the fingers has touched the ball, the EHASAF module begins to cycle through the feedback options to generate until it resolves the actual material of the chosen ball.

Currently, with four materials, the modulus prediction accuracy is around 97%.

“We believe that it is possible to improve the accuracy of the predictions with a greater number of materials,” Mondal said. “However, more sophisticated models based on artificial intelligence are needed to achieve this.”

“More and more sophisticated models with improved performance can be developed based on the fundamental idea of ​​our proposed EHSAF module,” Mondal said.

These results and additional research will be presented on-site at OFC 2020.

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