"For many people, flexibility at work can be a liberation."
September 3, 2017 9:30 PM   Subscribe

This post was deleted for the following reason: It's against guidelines to make posts featuring companies you have a business relationship with -- taz



 
Some of our trade unions create the impression that it’s all about industrial conflict, it’s all about left-wing politics. That alienates people. There’s a challenge to trade unions to demonstrate that they are there for ordinary people. It’s in everyone’s interest that a company is well run.”

Rest of the interview is nice to hear, but who is this guy? What's his background and what gives him the authority or expertise to make this sort of rhetorical claim?
posted by polymodus at 9:41 PM on September 3, 2017 [2 favorites]


polymodus, (1) he was commissioned by Theresa May to run a policy group on the topic, so he does have a say, (2), it's an opinion and I happen to agree with it - the unions seem always to push for higher wages, more benefits and less work hours, no matter what the situation, instead of focusing on the purpose of the corporation which I happen to believe is to benefit everyone and all, and (3), this may be a conservative method of weakening the workforce to the benefit of employers.

Judging by the situation in my country, self-employment is often not the choice of the employee, but a convenient arrangement for the employer whose labour costs decrease as do responsibilities towards these new "self-employed" employees.
posted by Laotic at 10:07 PM on September 3, 2017


A huge part of that has to be that if you're self employed in the UK, you don't have to worry about health insurance, which is killing self-employment in the US. I personally know several people who have taken jobs they usually wouldn't think about doing for the healthcare benefits. Moreso if you have kids.
posted by Sphinx at 10:13 PM on September 3, 2017 [3 favorites]


And, its interesting to find the OP from the Sitra PoV which in turn brings a very different set of assumptions (free edu, healthcare) to the assessment and the requirements, for such a societal transformation
posted by infini at 10:45 PM on September 3, 2017 [1 favorite]


A lot of that so-called self-employment is just unemployment, disguised. If you're unemployed, the DWP is harassing you with insultingly stupid course on how to interview when not cutting your jobseeker's allowance because you didn't show up at a jobcentre mandatory review because you were going for an interview, why not get your mate who has a hair salon to take you on as a self employed barber?

DWP happy because somebody is now employed, you lose the harassment and get a bit of money for being self employed and just maybe the horse will sing.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:59 PM on September 3, 2017 [5 favorites]


It should be noted that this place is now nine months old. Taylor published his report "Good Work" in the summer. Neither the trade union Congress not the Labour Party have chosen to support Taylor's conclusions, which were pretty mealymouthed.

The policy issues associated with the growth of self-employment mainly cluster around the fiscal hole for government which it creates insofaras no employees' class one national insurance contributions are paid, as they are in conventional employment arrangements.

Taylor's preoccupation with 'good work' is a cosmetic distraction intended to distract from the fact that the Class 1 NICs issue will not be addressed by the Chancellor Philip Hammond, not least because it would massively reduce the number of jobs available in Britain. Since 2007 a large proportion of the jobs created in the UK have been self-employment.
posted by dmt at 12:37 AM on September 4, 2017 [1 favorite]


Any evidence?

Not Martin, but here's one. Here's one about MLMs exploiting self employment schemes. There are tons of stories regarding companies falsely designating workers as self-employed so they can exploit them, such as in this case.

Its great that this guy knows so much about working in mines and call centres though. Oh, wait...
posted by threetwentytwo at 12:44 AM on September 4, 2017 [1 favorite]


« Older ding ding ding!   |   Shadowy figures Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments