The decision by science charity Wellcome not to go ahead with its plan to trial a 4-day week for 800 head office staff because it would be too 'operationally complex', goes against the evidence ( including a major New Zealand study) that 4-day working, without a loss of pay improves productivity, staff motivation, not to … Continue reading Forward to the 4 day week?
Category: Economy
One in twelve jobs at ‘high risk’ from automation
Way back in the 1930s, the economist Keynes raised concerns about what he called ‘technological unemployment’ now referred to as ‘worker displacement’. According to Frey and Osborne’s 2013 Oxford study, as many as 47% of current US jobs are at risk of automation, while a 2016 OECD study estimated the figure at just 9%. The … Continue reading One in twelve jobs at ‘high risk’ from automation
Nissan: is it still the age of the car?
Nissan’s decision to move producing the X-Trail from its Sunderland plant to Japan has undoubtedly been caused by fears over Brexit. In particular, the recently negotiated free-trade deal between Japan and the EU might result in Nissan’s complete departure from the UK with a catastrophic effect on the Sunderland area. Nissan has been there since … Continue reading Nissan: is it still the age of the car?
White van economy?
Latest labour market figures (ONS Jan 2019) show continued growth in employment. There were 32.53 million people in work, 328,000 more than a year earlier. The number of self-employed people has increased by 81,000 to 4.85 million since this time last year and now represents 14.9% of all workers – up by around a million … Continue reading White van economy?
‘An Economy that Works for all’
Notes accompanying presentation to Ferndale branch, Vauxhall Labour Party (17/01/19). Labour’s policies for the economy not only represent a clear alternative to the Tories, but are also significantly different to those of the Blair/Brown years. Representing a return to the centre-left ‘interventionist’ social democracy of the post-war years, they will encounter (the usual) opposition … Continue reading ‘An Economy that Works for all’
Eastern European workers vote with their feet
The countdown to Brexit has seen a 15% fall in the number of Eastern European workers residing in the UK - in all 154,000 fewer than for July to September 2017 and 173,000 fewer than the record high of 1.05 million for July to September 2016. This decline comes at a time when vacancies, after … Continue reading Eastern European workers vote with their feet
Budgets and the ‘magic money tree’
Phillip Hammond’s budget remains firmly located within Neo-liberal economics. The principle aim is to reduce and finally eliminate the budget deficit and so lower the size of the National Debt. For the Neo-liberals public debt is a drag on the ‘real’ economy as it suffocates the private sector. But under pressure from Labour, some of … Continue reading Budgets and the ‘magic money tree’
