EU countries generally have rigid and strict labor policies, the "exensive to hire, difficult to fire" policy. I like somehow the "flexicurity" policy in Denmark, sort of "easy to hire, easy to fire"
labor policy, which actually works both for workers and employers.
Many European countries have those rigid "pro-labor" laws that make it difficult for employers to just fire
workers. What do the employers do? They hire as few people as possible. Instead of hiring 3
or 5 workers, they hire only one. Give that one worker high salary, lots of
trainings, travels, gadgets and car, nice housing and healthcare package, to keep his/her productivity high, and this worker will do the job of 3 or 5 people. He/she is lucky with all the high pay and
many benefits. The others aspiring to be hired, sorry na lang sila. They
can aspire to become start up entrepreneurs, hire themselves. But the business
bureaucracy and multiple taxes, fees and mandatory contributions in Europe is
not exactly something that many people would wish to experience.
And that largely explains why unemployment rate in France
and many EU countries is always high.
The labor unions, they can demand as much as they can, like shorter
than France's 35 hours work week, minimum wage of $50/hour, 4-5 months vacation
leave with pay, and so on, and all their demands can become laws. There are several
possibilities that can happen.
One, I mentioned above, employers will get as few workers as
possible and get more robots and computers to assist those few hired workers.
Two, some employers will simply shut down operation in Europe and move to Asia
or Africa or S. America.
The best workers' antidote to capitalism is for
them to become start up entrepreneurs and capitalists themselves. If their
former employers will not give them $50/hour pay, 34 hours/week or less work,
etc., they should give that to themselves, as entrepreneurs. Let us see if they
can walk their talk.
And one thing I notice, the more productive, more
ambitious, more hard working employees and staff are not interested in joining
"strong" labor unions. Why? Because they have zero intention to
become workers or employees forever. Rather, they intend to become start up
entrepreneurs soon. They endure "slave work" like 12-14 hours a day
(60-70 hours a week) because they learn more things, more details and more
tricks, how big and successful companies operate. Or if they remain as
employees, they move to multinational firms as mid-level managers and directors
and they travel the region, if not the world.
It is those who intend to become workers forever that
tend to gravitate to militant labor unionism.
-----------See also:
Labor Econ 11: Employees Forever vs. Entrepreneurship, April 27, 2013
Labor Econ 12: Wallace, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, May 02, 2013
Labor Econ 13: The Term 'Jobless Growth' is Wrong, April 15, 2014
Fat-Free Econ 38: Jobless Growth vs. Jobless Non-Growth, February 12, 2013
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