February 13, 2005
I’M ALL RIGHT JACQUES
Europeans suffering more hours on the job (Doug Saunders, Globe and Mail, February 12th, 2005)
Five years ago, France joined Europe's largest nations in a radical experiment: to try to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and improve the quality of life by having existing employees work shorter hours.This week, that bold project began to derail: France's legislature voted to crack open the 35-hour workweek and allow people in the private sector to work as many as 48 hours a week.
At the same time, Germany lengthened the workweek for some public employees, while allowing the largest corporations to negotiate longer working hours.
What happened? Did the experiment fail? European governments, facing high unemployment and spiralling fiscal crises, effectively told their workers to follow the lead of countries such as Canada, where people work a lot more hours than they did a couple of decades ago — without making any more money, in real terms. This, they argue, is the only way to remain competitive in the global economy and to attract investment.
Lengthening the workweek is an unpopular move that governments say is necessary, and which they have promoted aggressively to foreign investors. It's an important symbol. Yet economists are quietly pointing out that Europe's short workweek, generous vacations and lavish maternity-leave packages have not had a major effect, positive or negative, on productivity or competitiveness. Across Europe, noses are being pressed to grindstones in a rapid conversion to the Anglo-American way of work, and people are far from happy about it.
Just look at the 256 full-time employees of Chausson Tools, a financially troubled auto-parts company in the French city of Rheims.
In a devil's bargain last week, they were forced to decide between time and security. In a shop-floor ballot, the company gave them two choices: They could increase their workweek from 35 hours to 37.5 hours, at the same salary. Or they could keep their leisurely working hours and 80 of them would have to be laid off. There was little doubt how the vote would turn out. Of the 207 employees who participated, 180 voted to risk their own jobs to avoid working an extra 90 minutes a week.
All together now...one, two three... “Solidarity forever...”.
Posted by Peter Burnet at February 13, 2005 8:20 AMHey, maybe they can compromise and agree to work 48 hours for three days a week. Or if they work a four-day week, they can have four months of vacation every year...
Posted by: John at February 13, 2005 9:01 AMThey are starting to remove the incentives NOT to work, some as draconian as the 35-hour maximum law. What they have to do know if increase the incetives TO work. Lower marginal taxes, build families, let people fend for themselves a little bit (including stop pretending that they do not have to produce enough to defend themselves in a dangerous world)...
Posted by: Moe from NC at February 13, 2005 9:12 AMThe purpose behind the passage of the 35 hour week was to increase the amount of hours available to the then unemployed.
The reality is that Europe, particularly Old Europe, makes it very difficult to start up a small business, much harder than even the most over-regulated states in the US like NJ or Hawaii. So, nobody starts a new business. And as we discovered in the Clinton recovery, small start-ups are the engine that creates the jobs.
The Euros never really got over feudalism so they still believe that all things wise and wonderful are the products of the Nanny State or Big Corporations. They need to change the mindset or they will be crushed by the economic tsunami of the next half century by nations like America which understand this reality.
Posted by: Bart at February 13, 2005 12:58 PMOh the unfairness of it all!
Posted by: Genecis at February 13, 2005 3:33 PM