Unsurprisingly the move by employers to rein in extensive working from home, is not only breeding resentment among workers who have grown to like hybrid working but looks likely to lead to more cases centred on remote working going to employment tribunals.
As I've noted so often, universities have extensive knowledge & experience of the pros & cons of hybrid work (academics have done it for decades) yet no-one seems to want to learn from that experience?
Meanwhile in social care the exploitation of migrant workers continues, with some experiencing debt bondage & treatment that is looking like 'modern slavery'.
The underfunding & understaffing of social care have come together to produce a toxic environment for workers which the state seems to have little (real) interest in addressing.
Research by both Deloitte & the EIB (quoted by Pilita Clark, FT) suggests young entrants to the workforce are increasingly guided in their choice of prospective employers by employers' environmental stance.... with 20% saying they've changed jobs due to employers' green record.
As Clark concludes:
'Companies do not have to take climate action seriously. But if they don’t, they might find it increasingly hard to hire — and keep — all the younger workers they need'!
"Starbucks has resumed bargaining with union leaders amid a fresh wave of organized stores after the world’s largest coffee chain agreed to open talks over labor agreements.
Starbucks has consistently denied violating labor laws. But the sheer volume of charges, rulings against them by administrative law judges and the labor board, and accounts from workers themselves detailing their experiences, has bolstered its reputation as an aggressive union buster.
“It was also a lesson that you can’t rely on the law alone,” said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of Labor Education Research at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “All the unfair labor practices that were filed … the fact is that Starbucks came to the table because the union did a comprehensive campaign, talked to investors, held red-cup days and did much more than just file unfair labor practices.”"
The number of chefs coming into the UK on skilled worker visas has been rising quickly.... the bad news for the hospitality sector is once the new threshold for wage levels for visa applicants kicks in, the average wage of chefs means they will earn too little to get a visa...
Perhaps more interestingly if we compare chefs with software developers, we might suggest that the UK's strategy of more IT training seems to have worked... even if we seem unable to train chefs?
African AI workers, mostly from Kenya, released an open letter to Joe Biden this week asking him stop US tech companies from “systemically abusing and exploiting African workers” and to end the “modern day slavery” they’re subjected to.
While the Bank of England's sado-monetarists keep on talking about wage inflation, its clear that there has only been wage inflation in nominal terms... real average wages (which is to say inflation adjusted) are little higher (and have been a lot lower at times) than they were when the Tories came into power in 2010.
So lets be clear: for workers this has been for the most part a lost decade & a half in wage terms.... its more than trust Rishi Sunak should have been trying to earn.
Tien is head of policy & legal affairs at the #Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and director of the Institute for #Workers & Trade #Unions, the group said.
If employers have been unable to prosper due to a skills shortage then that AI may be enhance productivity looks like good news....
But, if employers are unable to find staff because they don't pay enough & offer rubbish working conditions, then a move to AI will confirm capitalists want to replace workers with technology, as they have done before, but now in the service sector(s).
If you're a Keynsian you'll now be wondering about 'effective demand'!
While we often appreciate the economic forces & structures that cause & reinforce poverty, this report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation focusses on how stigma is keeping the poor, poor.
Among its recommendations is to stop designating the disabled & unpaid carers as 'economically inactive' while also rejecting the characterisation of low-paid work as 'unskilled'.
We should/must reject the narrative of the wealthy about the rest of us!
'There's no such thing as a bad job; there are bad managers'!
While I might differ with her on the absolute statement - I think there are plenty of 'bad jobs' - her focus on managers as being the driving force behind workers dissatisfaction with their jobs & the need/desire to quite them, I think is right on the button.
So here's her guide to the reasons that 72% of people quitting leave due to a toxic work environment
The model of 'flexible' labour markets with few(er) protections for workers & curtailed unions was (mainstream economists predicted) going to delver innovation, spur entrepreneurship & lead to better-paid jobs... but we actually have got from it is an economy patterned by low-wage labour, inequality, falling real wages & labour exploitation (via precarious working).
As Larry Elliot suggests, its time to follow unions urging to try a different way!
#Migrant workers face disproportionate risk, compared to general population. According to Amy Liebman, chief program officer Migrant Clinicians Network, these workers make up the bulk of the agricultural and food processing industries. They also are more likely to lack affordable access to health care, and may hesitate to report symptoms if it means not working.
And so its starts (continues).... after the hints that the BoE might ease interest rates over the summer, Megan Greene (a member of the MPC that sets rates) is telling anyone who listens that:
'In considering for how long we must retain our restrictive stance before policy should be eased, I think the burden of proof therefore needs to lie in inflation persistence continuing to wane'.
As predicted the evidential hurdle is rising to keep workers under pressure a bit longer!
"Workers at the first Apple store in the US to have unionized, in Towson, Maryland, have voted to authorize a strike as progress in bargaining for a first contract has stagnated.
More evidence of greedflation & the maintenance & boosting of profits, as a driver of inflation.
But, the Q is whether the sado-monetarists care about such evidence or are happy to continue with the ideologically driven economic modelling that asserts greedy workers as the ket cause of inflation?
Oh we know the answer, the BoE will be quoting three month wage rise data not profits' trends across years, because that doesn't support disciplining the workforce.
Team Starmer & the unions have come away from their summit today all suggesting that they have reached a deal on the New Deal for Working People, which the unions assert has seen a recommitment to its original shape & goals.
From cynics corner this looks like both sides deciding this argument can wait until after the election & for now it will pay to be seen not to be squabbling...
So, if/once labour gain power, the debate on workers rights will quickly flare up (again)
So, Tesco's boss has just seen his wages for the year gone, nearly double to around £10m....
As you might get the unions are not pleased, especially when society wide wage growth is under 6% in nominal terms and essentially still flat-lining in real terms.
The Sado-monetarists of Threadneedle St. will be saying, 'aha but CEOs are a small group who work hard & don't impact inflation'; in other words: one (economic) law for us & our mates, another for you lot!
The BoE will be (I should think) suggesting interest rates should not go down yet, after ONS reported wage rises remained at 5.7% over the last 3 months.
But, a focus on nominal wages is misleading; it takes no account of inflation adjusted real wages, that continue to lag behind pre-austerity levels & so by only focussing on recent months underplays (obscures) that wages are catching up previous loses....
So prepare for a longer wait for interest rates to drop
The move back to the office is certainly underway, with working from home being de-normalised & back to an exception (if now more frequent).
But what is the impact on those who for health or mobility reasons are only able to work from home.
In many ways WFH was (accidentally?) a boon for 'disabled' employment, allowing many to access jobs that would have been difficult if attendance at office was required.
How will their opportunities fare in the move away from WFH?
One way of understanding the drifting apart of Europe & North America on hours worked is that the Europeans have made a choice to work less (even if it means overall less economic activity);
Or, that in America, due to private health care & inequality, workers cannot afford to work less (even if they want to)...
or, you can take the view that European economies are in decline due to a loss of incentives (so taxes must be reduced?)
take your pick... but of course it may be all three