The World Bank thinks that there are too many regulations that protect workers

The World Bank is concerned that there are too many protections for workers and that this is threatening the future growth of the business world. It is calling for lower minimum wages and stronger powers for employers in a shake-up of the current labour laws.

Greater powers for employers
The World Bank wants employers to be able to hire and fire people more easily and to have the minimum wage lowered. This is all in a drive to enable businesses to hire workers at a lower cost with the main target being developing countries.

Trade Unions are shocked at the suggestions, which would decrease the rights of workers and reduce salaries. Workers would be adversely affected by the new proposals by the shared prosperity agenda set out by the bank’s president, Jim Yong Kim.

These future proposals by the bank would mean employers would not need to contribute to social security and that they would be free to pay the lowest wages possible. The employer would also be able to fire people with ease and with little recourse for the worker. Unions would also have diminished powers.

Lower minimum wages
Workers would have very few rights in the new world envisioned by the World Bank as people could be fired quickly and paid low wages. The opt-out of minimum wages would apply if a company offered a profit-sharing scheme.

Critics point out that this would mean that people would be more easily exploited, forced to take poorly paid jobs and possibly unable to afford basic necessities. It would also mean prejudices and unfair dismissals could increase unchecked, as companies could hire and fire on a whim.

Protection against robots and AI
However, the World Bank says that its ideas are to make employees more competitive and thus more attractive to companies in the face of increasing technology use. If employees continue to be expensive to hire and to keep on with high wages and employment rights, companies would be more likely to favour robots and AI.

Another area of interest for the World Bank are zero-hour contracts, which have come under severe criticism in the UK over the past few years. The World Bank is keen to look at increasing the number of working relationships that are not traditional employee/employer relationships with the aim of decreasing the overall cost of labour to a business.

Zero-hour contracts
The World Bank’s hypothesis is that increasing numbers of zero-hour contracts would produce a more dynamic labour market as part of an overall programme of deregulation of the labour market. Although critics state that this would result in wide-spread lowering of workers’ incomes, the World Bank insists that this would be off-set by a basic level of social insurance that would be paid for by ‘regressive consumption taxes’.

Source
https://recruitingtimes.org/recruitment-and-hr-legal-updates/23470/the-world-bank-thinks-that-there-are-too-many-regulations-that-protect-workers/

Half of UK employers cant find skilled workers they need says REC

Despite the improvement in confidence in the UK economy this month, half (50%) of UK employers expressed concerns over the sufficient availability of candidates for permanent hire – up 8 points than in the same period last year, reported in this month’s Jobs Outlook report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

The sectors that were of particular concern to hirers were roles in the public service areas of health and social care and education. Those who recruit temporary workers, also shared this growing concern with two thirds (66%) of employers also worried about the availability of candidates – this was up from 32% in the same period last year.

The proportion of employers who believe economic conditions in the UK are getting better has continued to remain positive for the second consecutive rolling quarter. 32% of employers – up 2 points from last month are feeling more confident in the future prospects of the UK economy. Confident employers want to grow, but are held back from the lack of candidate availability.

REC director of policy, Tom Hadley, said, “It is great to see that employers are feeling more confident in making hiring decisions within their businesses. However there is a growing concern with the lack of candidates available for key roles, this is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK jobs market.

“With skills needs and candidate expectations continuing to evolve, employers are having to innovate to attract the right people, particularly when competition between businesses for candidates is intensifying. The government can help by ensuring the future UK workplace has the skills needed and put in place a balanced and evidence-based immigration system post-Brexit.

“It is encouraging to see employers continue to feel more optimistic about the UK economy which has translates in to having a positive impact on hiring intentions for both permanent and temporary staff. We want the UK jobs market to remain a success story but we must act now to address looming challenges that will impact on both demand and supply of staff.”

Source: https://www.recruitment-international.co.uk/blog/2018/06/half-of-uk-employers-cant-find-skilled-workers-they-need-says-rec

The Cathedrals Express 60103 also known as the Flying Scotsman passing Reading

60103 Flying Scotsman has been described as the most famous steam locomotive in the world.

Built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley, it was employed on long-distance express trains on the LNER and its successors, British Railways Eastern and North-Eastern Regions, notably on the London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman train service after which it was named.

The locomotive set two world records for steam traction, becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) on 30 November 1934, and then setting a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran 422 miles (679 km) on 8 August 1989 while in Australia.

Retired from regular service in 1963 after covering 2,076,000 miles (3,341,000 km), Flying Scotsman gained considerable fame in preservation under the ownership of Alan Pegler, William McAlpine, Tony Marchington and finally the National Railway Museum (NRM). As well as hauling enthusiast specials in the United Kingdom, the locomotive toured extensively in the United States and Canada (from 1969 to 1973) and Australia (from 1988 to 1989).

To find out more about Flying Scotsman trips with The Cathedrals Express,www.steamdreams.co.uk

To find out more about the Flying Scotsman, go to www.flyingscotsman.org.uk.

Whilst this locomotive is rostered for the steam hauled sections of the trip listed, it cannot be guaranteed and may be substituted for a different engine.