Re:Amazon warehouse workers stage first-ever strike in the UK
by Closi on Wednesday January 25, 2023 @10:57AM
(#34519829)
> That one is simple. The US for example has at-will employment, no mandatory paid time off...
I think they were more talking about the impact on strikes in terms of foreign direct investment - where there is definetly a link (albeit i'm not sure how strong).
If you are choosing where to locate an international manufacturing plant within Europe for instance, the strength of unions in each country is 100% a factor which will be considered in determining where to locate the factory (not the sole factor - but it's absolutely a consideration).
Re:Amazon warehouse workers stage first-ever strike in the UK
by mschuster91 on Wednesday January 25, 2023 @11:13AM
(#34520065)
Germany has the strongest unions there are (at least in automotive), and yet Tesla set up shop here. France has a sizable amount of industry as well, as does Italy. When setting up plants in Europe, unions aren't much of a factor - wage costs and infrastructure are more.
Re:Amazon warehouse workers stage first-ever strike in the UK
by Closi on Saturday January 28, 2023 @11:30AM
(#34558933)
Agree that it's not the strongest factor, but disagree that it can be discounted as much as you are saying.
I've personally worked on projects for two completely different companies (as a consulting role) where the client has discounted the option to locate in France outright because of industrial relations strength (my day job is supply chain & logistics consulting).
That one is simple. The US for example has at-will employment, no mandatory paid time off, not even a right for mothers for paid time off post-birth [1]. In contrast, the entire EU has minimum four weeks paid time off, mandatory minimum time advance before a firing (exceptions apply for cases of gross misconduct), and plans to have a mandatory minimum of six weeks PTO post-birth and 20 weeks in total for the parents.
Additionally, even in Europe one can clearly see the difference between riot-happy nations such as France, which has a pension age of 62, and Germany which has 65-67 (depending on how old you are). France's Macron is trying to reform this and raise the limit, he has already tried once and got burned by a massive strike and riot wave and right now is on his second attempt, and again massive strikes.
> On the other hand, some portion of inflation is caused by increased labour cost.
Only minimally. The worst contributor to inflation is simply corporate and CEO greed - wages in Europe have stagnated over the last decades [2].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave_in_the_United_S...
[2] https://www.boeckler.de/de/boeckler-impuls-die-wirtschaft-wa...