#Labour Employment

[jobtrainingprograms]

Beyond Limits: Transformative Paths with Disability Employment Services in Beenleigh

Subtitle: Empowering Lives, Building Inclusive Futures

Welcome to our blog, where we delve into the empowering world of Disability Employment Services Beenleigh. We are not just breaking down barriers; we are building bridges to a future where every individual, regardless of ability, can thrive in the workforce. Join us on a journey through the impactful services we offer and the stories of resilience and success that define our community.

Unlocking Potential: The Crucial Role of Disability Employment Services

In the vibrant community of Beenleigh, the need for inclusive employment opportunities is more pressing than ever. Our blog explores the pivotal role Disability Employment Services play in unlocking the potential of individuals with diverse abilities. We delve into the societal impact of fostering inclusive workplaces and the transformative effect on the lives of those we serve.

Personalized Support for Diverse Journeys: Crafting Success Stories

Discover how it goes beyond conventional support systems, providing personalized assistance tailored to individual strengths and aspirations. Through real-life success stories like [Client Name], witness the impact of our services in overcoming barriers, fostering confidence, and propelling individuals towards fulfilling careers.

Meet Us: A Journey to Triumph

Include an in-depth success story or testimonial, showcasing the unique journey of a client. Highlight the challenges faced, the customized support provided, and the transformative outcomes leading to successful employment.

Forging Alliances with Local Businesses: Community-Driven Collaboration

Building bridges between job seekers and local businesses is at the heart of our mission. Explore our strategies for collaborating with employers to create inclusive work environments. Learn how businesses in Beenleigh benefit from a diverse workforce and how our services facilitate meaningful connections.

Skills for Success: Holistic Skill Development Programs

Embark on a journey of continuous improvement through our skill development programs. From honing technical skills to building confidence in professional settings, we provide comprehensive training. Our goal is not only to secure employment but to empower individuals with the tools they need for sustained success.

Beyond Placement: Ongoing Support and Community Integration

Securing employment is a milestone, but our commitment extends far beyond. Discover how we provides ongoing support, ensuring a seamless integration into the workplace. From mentorship programs to community engagement initiatives, we stand by our clients, fostering a sense of belonging and collective achievement.

Get Involved: Joining the Community

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer looking to enrich your workforce, We invites you to join our community. Together, let's create a vibrant, inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity and potential within Beenleigh.

Building Bridges with Local Businesses

A crucial aspect of our mission is forging strong connections with local businesses in Beenleigh. We believe in collaboration, working closely with employers to create inclusive workplaces that celebrate diversity. Discover how we match skilled individuals with employers who appreciate the unique contributions each person brings to the table.

Skill Development Programs: Crafting Futures

In our commitment to holistic empowerment, We, offers skill development programs designed to enhance your professional toolkit. From resume crafting to interview preparation, we provide the tools you need to confidently navigate the employment landscape.

Navigating the Journey Together: Ongoing Support

Securing employment is just the beginning. Our commitment extends beyond job placement, offering ongoing support to ensure a smooth integration into the workplace. We celebrate your successes and stand by your side to address any challenges that may arise.

How You Can Get Involved

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer eager to embrace diversity in your workforce, [Your Company Name] welcomes you to join our community. Together, we can create a more inclusive and vibrant workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of Beenleigh.

Conclusion: Your Journey of Empowerment Begins Here

We go beyond limits, offering more than just employment services – we provide transformative paths, unlock potential, and redefine success. If you're ready to navigate a journey towards meaningful and inclusive employment, contact us today.

Beyond limits, beyond expectations. Your transformative journey begins now.

[disabilityemploymentservices]

Beyond Limits: Transformative Paths with Disability Employment Services in Beenleigh

Subtitle: Empowering Lives, Building Inclusive Futures

Welcome to our blog, where we delve into the empowering world of Disability Employment Services Beenleigh. We are not just breaking down barriers; we are building bridges to a future where every individual, regardless of ability, can thrive in the workforce. Join us on a journey through the impactful services we offer and the stories of resilience and success that define our community.

Unlocking Potential: The Crucial Role of Disability Employment Services

In the vibrant community of Beenleigh, the need for inclusive employment opportunities is more pressing than ever. Our blog explores the pivotal role Disability Employment Services play in unlocking the potential of individuals with diverse abilities. We delve into the societal impact of fostering inclusive workplaces and the transformative effect on the lives of those we serve.

Personalized Support for Diverse Journeys: Crafting Success Stories

Discover how it goes beyond conventional support systems, providing personalized assistance tailored to individual strengths and aspirations. Through real-life success stories like [Client Name], witness the impact of our services in overcoming barriers, fostering confidence, and propelling individuals towards fulfilling careers.

Meet Us: A Journey to Triumph

Include an in-depth success story or testimonial, showcasing the unique journey of a client. Highlight the challenges faced, the customized support provided, and the transformative outcomes leading to successful employment.

Forging Alliances with Local Businesses: Community-Driven Collaboration

Building bridges between job seekers and local businesses is at the heart of our mission. Explore our strategies for collaborating with employers to create inclusive work environments. Learn how businesses in Beenleigh benefit from a diverse workforce and how our services facilitate meaningful connections.

Skills for Success: Holistic Skill Development Programs

Embark on a journey of continuous improvement through our skill development programs. From honing technical skills to building confidence in professional settings, we provide comprehensive training. Our goal is not only to secure employment but to empower individuals with the tools they need for sustained success.

Beyond Placement: Ongoing Support and Community Integration

Securing employment is a milestone, but our commitment extends far beyond. Discover how we provides ongoing support, ensuring a seamless integration into the workplace. From mentorship programs to community engagement initiatives, we stand by our clients, fostering a sense of belonging and collective achievement.

Get Involved: Joining the Community

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer looking to enrich your workforce, We invites you to join our community. Together, let's create a vibrant, inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity and potential within Beenleigh.

Building Bridges with Local Businesses

A crucial aspect of our mission is forging strong connections with local businesses in Beenleigh. We believe in collaboration, working closely with employers to create inclusive workplaces that celebrate diversity. Discover how we match skilled individuals with employers who appreciate the unique contributions each person brings to the table.

Skill Development Programs: Crafting Futures

In our commitment to holistic empowerment, We, offers skill development programs designed to enhance your professional toolkit. From resume crafting to interview preparation, we provide the tools you need to confidently navigate the employment landscape.

Navigating the Journey Together: Ongoing Support

Securing employment is just the beginning. Our commitment extends beyond job placement, offering ongoing support to ensure a smooth integration into the workplace. We celebrate your successes and stand by your side to address any challenges that may arise.

How You Can Get Involved

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer eager to embrace diversity in your workforce, [Your Company Name] welcomes you to join our community. Together, we can create a more inclusive and vibrant workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of Beenleigh.

Conclusion: Your Journey of Empowerment Begins Here

We go beyond limits, offering more than just employment services – we provide transformative paths, unlock potential, and redefine success. If you're ready to navigate a journey towards meaningful and inclusive employment, contact us today.

Beyond limits, beyond expectations. Your transformative journey begins now.

[t-e-training]

Beyond Limits: Transformative Paths with Disability Employment Services in Beenleigh

Subtitle: Empowering Lives, Building Inclusive Futures

Welcome to our blog, where we delve into the empowering world of Disability Employment Services Beenleigh. We are not just breaking down barriers; we are building bridges to a future where every individual, regardless of ability, can thrive in the workforce. Join us on a journey through the impactful services we offer and the stories of resilience and success that define our community.

Unlocking Potential: The Crucial Role of Disability Employment Services

In the vibrant community of Beenleigh, the need for inclusive employment opportunities is more pressing than ever. Our blog explores the pivotal role Disability Employment Services play in unlocking the potential of individuals with diverse abilities. We delve into the societal impact of fostering inclusive workplaces and the transformative effect on the lives of those we serve.

Personalized Support for Diverse Journeys: Crafting Success Stories

Discover how it goes beyond conventional support systems, providing personalized assistance tailored to individual strengths and aspirations. Through real-life success stories like [Client Name], witness the impact of our services in overcoming barriers, fostering confidence, and propelling individuals towards fulfilling careers.

Meet Us: A Journey to Triumph

Include an in-depth success story or testimonial, showcasing the unique journey of a client. Highlight the challenges faced, the customized support provided, and the transformative outcomes leading to successful employment.

Forging Alliances with Local Businesses: Community-Driven Collaboration

Building bridges between job seekers and local businesses is at the heart of our mission. Explore our strategies for collaborating with employers to create inclusive work environments. Learn how businesses in Beenleigh benefit from a diverse workforce and how our services facilitate meaningful connections.

Skills for Success: Holistic Skill Development Programs

Embark on a journey of continuous improvement through our skill development programs. From honing technical skills to building confidence in professional settings, we provide comprehensive training. Our goal is not only to secure employment but to empower individuals with the tools they need for sustained success.

Beyond Placement: Ongoing Support and Community Integration

Securing employment is a milestone, but our commitment extends far beyond. Discover how we provides ongoing support, ensuring a seamless integration into the workplace. From mentorship programs to community engagement initiatives, we stand by our clients, fostering a sense of belonging and collective achievement.

Get Involved: Joining the Community

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer looking to enrich your workforce, We invites you to join our community. Together, let's create a vibrant, inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity and potential within Beenleigh.

Building Bridges with Local Businesses

A crucial aspect of our mission is forging strong connections with local businesses in Beenleigh. We believe in collaboration, working closely with employers to create inclusive workplaces that celebrate diversity. Discover how we match skilled individuals with employers who appreciate the unique contributions each person brings to the table.

Skill Development Programs: Crafting Futures

In our commitment to holistic empowerment, We, offers skill development programs designed to enhance your professional toolkit. From resume crafting to interview preparation, we provide the tools you need to confidently navigate the employment landscape.

Navigating the Journey Together: Ongoing Support

Securing employment is just the beginning. Our commitment extends beyond job placement, offering ongoing support to ensure a smooth integration into the workplace. We celebrate your successes and stand by your side to address any challenges that may arise.

How You Can Get Involved

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer eager to embrace diversity in your workforce, [Your Company Name] welcomes you to join our community. Together, we can create a more inclusive and vibrant workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of Beenleigh.

Conclusion: Your Journey of Empowerment Begins Here

We go beyond limits, offering more than just employment services – we provide transformative paths, unlock potential, and redefine success. If you're ready to navigate a journey towards meaningful and inclusive employment, contact us today.

Beyond limits, beyond expectations. Your transformative journey begins now.

[disabilityemployment]

Beyond Limits: Transformative Paths with Disability Employment Services in Beenleigh

Subtitle: Empowering Lives, Building Inclusive Futures

Welcome to our blog, where we delve into the empowering world of Disability Employment Services Beenleigh. We are not just breaking down barriers; we are building bridges to a future where every individual, regardless of ability, can thrive in the workforce. Join us on a journey through the impactful services we offer and the stories of resilience and success that define our community.

Unlocking Potential: The Crucial Role of Disability Employment Services

In the vibrant community of Beenleigh, the need for inclusive employment opportunities is more pressing than ever. Our blog explores the pivotal role Disability Employment Services play in unlocking the potential of individuals with diverse abilities. We delve into the societal impact of fostering inclusive workplaces and the transformative effect on the lives of those we serve.

Personalized Support for Diverse Journeys: Crafting Success Stories

Discover how it goes beyond conventional support systems, providing personalized assistance tailored to individual strengths and aspirations. Through real-life success stories like [Client Name], witness the impact of our services in overcoming barriers, fostering confidence, and propelling individuals towards fulfilling careers.

Meet Us: A Journey to Triumph

Include an in-depth success story or testimonial, showcasing the unique journey of a client. Highlight the challenges faced, the customized support provided, and the transformative outcomes leading to successful employment.

Forging Alliances with Local Businesses: Community-Driven Collaboration

Building bridges between job seekers and local businesses is at the heart of our mission. Explore our strategies for collaborating with employers to create inclusive work environments. Learn how businesses in Beenleigh benefit from a diverse workforce and how our services facilitate meaningful connections.

Skills for Success: Holistic Skill Development Programs

Embark on a journey of continuous improvement through our skill development programs. From honing technical skills to building confidence in professional settings, we provide comprehensive training. Our goal is not only to secure employment but to empower individuals with the tools they need for sustained success.

Beyond Placement: Ongoing Support and Community Integration

Securing employment is a milestone, but our commitment extends far beyond. Discover how we provides ongoing support, ensuring a seamless integration into the workplace. From mentorship programs to community engagement initiatives, we stand by our clients, fostering a sense of belonging and collective achievement.

Get Involved: Joining the Community

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer looking to enrich your workforce, We invites you to join our community. Together, let's create a vibrant, inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity and potential within Beenleigh.

Building Bridges with Local Businesses

A crucial aspect of our mission is forging strong connections with local businesses in Beenleigh. We believe in collaboration, working closely with employers to create inclusive workplaces that celebrate diversity. Discover how we match skilled individuals with employers who appreciate the unique contributions each person brings to the table.

Skill Development Programs: Crafting Futures

In our commitment to holistic empowerment, We, offers skill development programs designed to enhance your professional toolkit. From resume crafting to interview preparation, we provide the tools you need to confidently navigate the employment landscape.

Navigating the Journey Together: Ongoing Support

Securing employment is just the beginning. Our commitment extends beyond job placement, offering ongoing support to ensure a smooth integration into the workplace. We celebrate your successes and stand by your side to address any challenges that may arise.

How You Can Get Involved

Whether you're an individual seeking employment support or an employer eager to embrace diversity in your workforce, [Your Company Name] welcomes you to join our community. Together, we can create a more inclusive and vibrant workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of Beenleigh.

Conclusion: Your Journey of Empowerment Begins Here

We go beyond limits, offering more than just employment services – we provide transformative paths, unlock potential, and redefine success. If you're ready to navigate a journey towards meaningful and inclusive employment, contact us today.

Beyond limits, beyond expectations. Your transformative journey begins now.

[spiltcandycoatedpunkblood]

thanks bro, nothing like an ultra rich racist colonialist parasite sitting on and dressed in stolen goods telling us they're gonna crack down on people trying to fucking survive and they say its because of "illicit gangs" doing this

literally sounds like when benefits fraud and food stamp fraud were cracked down on because an absolutely tiny fraction of people committing it, so now we have to punish them all instead of doing absolutely anything about the poverty and inequality created here in the first place

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The New Democratic Party and a group of labour unions are calling on the federal government to change Canada’s employment insurance rules so that new parents, especially new mothers, are not denied regular EI benefits if they get laid off. In a letter sent Thursday to Randy Boissonault, Canada’s employment minister, and NDP MP Daniel Blaikie, along with the Canadian Labour Congress, Unifor and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, are demanding an end to “gender discrimination” in the program. A copy of the letter shared with Global News stated: “Under the current EI Act, special and regular benefits can be combined up to a 50-week maximum. Using qualifying hours for regular benefits reduces what you can claim in maternity and parental benefits, and vice-versa. “This means that women who have a baby and access maternity benefits lose their protection in the event of a lay-off,” the letter to Boissonnault reads.

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[kagrenacs]

Look at this sweetie!!

[quotesfrommyreading]

It is August 1854, and London is a city of scavengers. Just the names alone read now like some kind of exotic zoological catalogue: bone-pickers, rag-gatherers, pure-finders, dredgermen, mud-larks, sewer-hunters, dustmen, night-soil men, bunters, toshers, shoremen. These were the London underclasses, at least a hundred thousand strong. So immense were their numbers that had the scavengers broken off and formed their own city, it would have been the fifth-largest in all of England. But the diversity and precision of their routines were more remarkable than their sheer number. Early risers strolling along the Thames would see the toshers wading through the muck of low tide, dressed almost comically in flowing velveteen coats, their oversized pockets filled with stray bits of copper recovered from the water's edge. The toshers walked with a lantern strapped to their chest to help them see in the predawn gloom, and carried an eight-foot-long pole that they used to test the ground in front of them, and to pull themselves out when they stumbled into a quagmire. The pole and the eerie glow of the lantern through the robes gave them the look of ragged wizards, scouring the foul river's edge for magic coins. Beside them fluttered the mud-larks, often children, dressed in tatters and content to scavenge all the waste that the toshers rejected as below their standards: lumps of coal, old wood, scraps of rope.

Above the river, in the streets of the city, the pure-finders eked out a living by collecting dog shit (colloquially called “pure”) while the bone-pickers foraged for carcasses of any stripe. Below ground, in the cramped but growing network of tunnels beneath London's streets, the sewer-hunters slogged through the flowing waste of the metropolis. Every few months, an unusually dense pocket of methane gas would be ignited by one of their kerosene lamps and the hapless soul would be incinerated twenty feet below ground, in a river of raw sewage.

The scavengers, in other words, lived in a world of excrement and death. Dickens began his last great novel, Our Mutual Friend, with a father-daughter team of toshers stumbling across a corpse floating in the Thames, whose coins they solemnly pocket. “What world does a dead man belong to?” the father asks rhetorically, when chided by a fellow tosher for stealing from a corpse. “'Tother world. What world does money belong to? This world.” Dickens' unspoken point is that the two worlds, the dead and the living, have begun to coexist in these marginal spaces. The bustling commerce of the great city has conjured up its opposite, a ghost class that somehow mimics the status markers and value calculations of the material world.  Consider the haunting precision of the bone-pickers' daily routine, as captured in Henry Mayhew's pioneering 1844 work, London Labour and the London Poor:

It usually takes the bone-picker from seven to nine hours to go over his rounds, during which time he travels from 20 to 30 miles with a quarter to a half hundredweight on his back. In the summer he usually reaches home about eleven of the day, and in the winter about one or two. On his return home he proceeds to sort the contents of his bag. He separates the rags from the bones, and these again from the old metal (if he be luckly enough to have found any). He divides the rags into various lots, according as they are white or coloured; and if he have picked up any pieces of canvas or sacking, he makes these also into a separate parcel. When he has finished the sorting he takes his several lots to the ragshop or the marine-store dealers, and realizes upon them whatever they may be worth. For the white rags he gets from 2d. to 3d. per pound, according as they are clean or soiled. The white rags are very difficult to be found; they are mostly very dirty, and are therefore sold with the coloured ones at the rate of about 5 lbs. for 2d.

The homeless continue to haunt today's postindustrial cities, but they rarely display the professional clarity of the bone-picker's impromptu trade, for two primary reasons. First, minimum wages and government assistance are now substantial enough that it no longer makes economic sense to eke out a living as a scavenger. (Where wages remain depressed, scavenging remains a vital occupation; witness the perpendadores of Mexico City). The bone collector's trade has also declined because most modern cities possess elaborate systems for managing the waste generated by their inhabitants. (In fact, the closest American equivalent to the Victorian scavengers – the aluminium-can collectors you sometimes see hovering outside supermarkets – rely on precisely those waste-management systems for their paycheck.) But London in 1854 was a Victorian metropolis trying to make do with an Elizabethan public infrastructure. The city was vast even by today's standards, with two and a half million people crammed inside a thirty-mile circumference. But most of the techniques for managing that kind of population density that we now take for granted – recycling centers, public-health departments, safe sewage removal – hadn't been invented yet.

And so the city itself improvised a response – an unplanned, organic response, to be sure, but at the same time a response that was precisely contoured to the community's waste-removal needs. As the garbage and excrement grew, an underground market for refuse developed, with hooks into established trades. Specialists emerged, each dutifully carting goods to the appropriate site in the official market: the bone collectors selling their goods to the bone-boilers, the pure-finders selling their dog shit to tanners, who used the “pure” to rid their leather goods of the lime they had soaked in for weeks to remove animal hair. (A process widely considered to be, as one tanner put it, “the most disagreeable in the whole range of manufacture.”)

We're naturally inclined to consider these scavengers tragic figures, and to fulminate against a system that allowed so many thousands to eke out a living by foraging through human waste. In many ways, this is the correct response. (It was, to be sure, the response of the great crusaders of the age, among them Dickens and Mayhew.) But such social outrage should be accompanied by a measure of wonder and respect: without any central planner coordinating their actions, without any education at all, this itinerant underclass managed to conjure up an entire system for processing and sorting the waste generated by two million people. The great contribution usually ascribed to Mayhew's London Labour is simply his willingness to see and record the details of these impoverished lives. But just as valuable was the insight that came out of that bookkeeping, once he had run the numbers: far from being unproductive vagabonds, Mayhew discovered, these people were actually performing an essential function for their community. “The removal of the refuse of a large town,” he wrote, “is, perhaps, one of the most important of social operations.” And the scavengers of Victorian London weren't just getting rid of that refuse – they were recycling it.

  —  The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World (Steven Johnson)

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill Monday that would have eliminated work permits for the state's youngest employees, which he said would prevent children from being "taken advantage of."

Evers vetoed the bill at the Wisconsin State Council of Machinists Conference on Monday at a Capitol Square hotel alongside members of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.

"Growing up, it shouldn't be worrying about getting injured on the job, or receiving a fair wage for their work, or being taken advantage of," Evers said shortly before the signing. "It's time that Republicans get real about the real pressing challenges, and I've put them on notice."

The bill would effectively eliminate work permits for 14- and 15-year olds in Wisconsin, as state law changed in 2017 to remove the requirement for 16- and 17-year-olds. That law also replaced references of "child labor" in state statutes to the "employment of minors."

"Parents should have the right to deal with this issue," Evers said as he vetoed the legislation. "(The bill) sends a message that 14- and 15-year-olds can do anything, they can go into the most dangerous places without any OK. And that is just absolutely wrong."

Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie and Rep. Amy Binsfeld, R-Sheboygan, who introduced the bill last year, said that it would remove needless administrative barriers that slow down the hiring process.

Currently, work permits are required for 14- and 15-year-olds, unless they work in the agriculture or domestic service sectors. Parents or guardians must apply for their child's work permit, and the $10 fee is reimbursed by employers.

The bill would have also eliminated street trade permits for the age group, which are needed to deliver newspapers or sell products door-to-door, for example. Those permits don't apply when fundraising for nonprofits or schools.

DWD issues about 35,000 work permits for minors each year.

Opponents of the bill argued that removing the permit system would take away the method of informing employers about child labor laws and the Department of Workforce Development's system for collecting data to guide efforts to reduce violations, which would be suspended without funding to cover the agency's $169,000 increase in costs.

"The bill is anticipated to reduce education and outreach interactions with employers, employees and their guardians, which would increase the number of (Equal Rights Division) investigations," the department wrote in testimony during a hearing on the bill late last year.

Child labor violations tracked by the federal government have spiked nationally, including investigations tied to Wisconsin.

A federal investigation into a 16-year-old boy's death at a Florence sawmill this summer found the company employed children as young as 14 to illegally operate machinery and work outside of permitted hours. Three children, ages 15 to 16, were injured at the mill in the last two years. The company paid about $191,000 in fines.

And a Wisconsin-based food safety sanitation company paid $1.5 million in fines earlier this year for illegally employing more than 100 children in eight states, following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Evers has vetoed similar bills before.

Labor groups like the Wisconsin AFL-CIO opposed that effort, arguing permits protect young workers from exploitation and give parents a say in their child's employment.

[sublimeobservationarcade]

The Problems With Work

We face a number of challenges for the concept we know of as ‘work’. Some of these challenges are relatively new, such as the AI revolution happening now, and some are more long term, like increasing specialisation and the failure of many jobs to provide any real meaning or purpose for the worker doing them. The problems with work are multifaceted and many. Indeed, the very idea of work may be outdated and irrelevant in our rapidly changing economic landscape. You may be surprised at the number of us who now garner most of their contentment in life from other sources outside of their main income generating occupation.

Work Fast Becoming An Obsolete Idea

The excitement in the global economy at the moment, represented by the share price of the tech stocks in the US, is all about AI. The continuing replacement of technical and middle management jobs with AI programs will see work fast becoming an obsolete idea for many previously employed within these sectors of the economy. There has been a disconnect between the kind of jobs many have been performing and the level of satisfaction which can come from a job well done, as that experience is becoming rarer all the time. The loss of manufacturing jobs in Western economies, as they were moved offshore to developing countries where wages were much lower, directly contributed to the demise of job satisfaction levels for many having to make do with jobs in the gig economy. Being involved in making something can offer the participant a purpose, even if they only play a part in the overall process. Mechanisation and automation have been reducing human involvement in manufacturing for some time now. Capitalism and businesses focus on the bottom line, seeing the labour input as just numbers in the overall profit and loss equation. The trend toward greater concentration within industries has seen companies merge and swallow up their smaller rivals. This has resulted in greater investment in technologies which replace humans with machines. AI is another leap in this direction to include white collar jobs upstairs and not just on the factory floor.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Work Dominated By Corporate Concentration

Globally we see markets dominated by duopolies and oligopolies in every sector. Huge corporations with massive market power that belittles consumers and their ability to influence prices. We have witnessed the rise of these corporate behemoths, which have way more power, an imbalance of power, in relation to their customers and their workers. Governments have been complicit in allowing these companies to merge and thus remove competitive forces from their markets. Corporate lobbyists have bought the ears of elected representatives to have their way with oversight committees. Government agencies have been neutered by companies poaching their staff in return for better wages and other more shady means. The end result is that human beings are treated as secondary to company profits and shareholder dividends. If you really think about this for a second it is totally crazy, we are sacrificing our brothers and sisters within workforces for a select few who benefit financially from the success of these corporate entities. We are further sacrificing, many more of us who are the consumers of, in lots of instances, these essential services or products in terms of the higher prices we are paying at the checkout. Millions of human beings are being shafted for a minority. This goes on in the AI revolution, where these same few are overseeing the uptake of a technology designed to directly replace human beings. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot as a species. We value making greater profits at the expense of creating a world where humans are bereft of having the dignity of work. The craziness of this is there for all to see. More alarmed experts among us are warning about the very real dangers of AI terminating our existence in the foreseeable future as a matter of course. If we continue to value machines over humans, this is a very real and present danger. The recent Microsoft CrowdStrike blue screen of death IT outage is an example of our overreliance on one company providing computer servers for networks and essential services like airline travel, government administrative services, and businesses everywhere. We are putting too many eggs in the one basket because of the over-concentration of corporate power in the IT sector.

Photo by Pranavsinh suratia on Pexels.com Capitalism Cannibalising Us For More Profits You can see this happening with our current set up because capitalism overrides all other concerns in its endless desire for ever greater levels of profitability. Governments are becoming smaller and weaker in comparison to these giant corporate entities. Most multinational corporations pay very little tax, as they move their profits around to tax free shelters. Governments have been decidedly unsuccessful in reversing this trend through new legislation. Big business and their accountancy firms always seem to have the ear of our politicians. Government services are dependent upon taxation revenue to provide the necessary levels demanded by their citizens. Health, education, national security, and social services are still largely dependent upon governments for their revenue to operate effectively. It is the poorer workers who carry the greatest load via income tax, whilst the big end of town engages enough accountants to legally avoid and minimise their tax requirements. The privatisation of many government services over the last 40 years, since Reagan, has seen a whole host of sectors now serviced by private equity run firms. Some have been effective, but many have not. Health is not a sector best served by ‘for profit’ concerns, as there are real problems when corners are cut, and costs screwed down to the detriment of people’s lives. Hospitals, private hospitals, are run like billion-dollar corporations where the pharmaceutical giants retain massive influence over how things are run. Medical insurance is another factor which has made America the most expensive place in the world to get treatment in a private hospital. More Americans are pushed into bankruptcy on the back of their outrageous medical bills than for any other single reason. Workers Run Second To Shareholders & Investors The problems with work can be manifold. The demise of union power in most Western economies has coincided with stagnant wage growth over the last three decades. The power has shifted to and resides with the corporations over the workers. The current cost of living crisis borne on high inflation post pandemic has seen the wages of most workers fall further behind in its buying power. The housing crisis, which is happening globally in Europe, Australia, the UK, Canada, and the States, has seen rents go through the roof, rising by 30% in many instances. This is highly inflationary. Food, energy, insurance, and housing costs have been rising for the last 3 years making the lives of workers much harder. So, not only has the satisfaction levels at the kind of jobs we do dramatically dropped but the return on our labour has also gone down. Governments and central banks value shareholders far more than workers within their equations. This has been going for more than 3 decades now. Even labour sided governments have been operating under the neoliberal economic model for the last 30 years. Clinton in the US, Blair in Britain, and the Labor governments in Australia have put their faith in the privatisation of government services paradigm to the detriment of many of their citizens. Workers have been classed as second-class concerns for too long in the shadow of the glorification of corporatisation and privatisation. Banks have become massively wealthy via their corporate concentration and market share. Banks no longer trumpet the absolute security of their depositor’s funds, instead they primarily provide the convenience of digital transactional exchange for a fee. User pays is the name of the game in the 21C – the rentier economy where subscriptions, fees and charges have replaced the need to increase productivity to be highly profitable. Every sector operates in this manner now – renting out IP, access, mining rights, and such like to customers and other businesses. Labour does not rate highly within this economic model and the future for workers does not look rosy on this score. Those in power at the big end of town do not value human beings and are actively investing in technologies to further reduce their reliance on the human factor. It is insane when viewed from a holistic perspective and when regarding the health and wellbeing of humanity. We are all being overtly betrayed by a cohort of CEOs, economists, accountants, investors, and billionaire entrepreneurs. The stupidity is next level, and the likely demise of humanity is on the cards.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com The Mania For Machines & AI There is no one capable of arresting this momentum. The President of the United States is not positioned to do so, even if there was a candidate intelligent enough to wish to do so. Capitalism is a system driven by money managers of huge hedge funds, pension funds, merchant banks, investors, currency dealers, and central bankers. Politics and governments bow down to the money and share markets when push comes to shove and the next cyclical crisis is always just around the corner. The markets love technology, and the tech stocks are driving the growth in investment. There is no one person or group sane enough and with enough kudos to sway the surge toward AI. We are hurtling headlong toward our own likely demise. You may have heard of the tulip fever that infected Holland in the 17C, where an investment mania for tulips threatened their economy. Markets and investors can lose their heads, which is how we end up with crashes and economic disasters of epic proportions. Bullshit Jobs & Finding Solace In Recreation The problems with work may include it becoming largely unnecessary for the functioning of the modern economy. Let’s say AI takes over all the jobs in a futuristic world and does everything better. What are we all going to do? What are our children going to fill their lives with? What will become of the dignity of work? Will we find our purpose and meaning in recreation? Many of us already source greater meaning from our recreational interests than from our meaningless jobs. The late David Graeber wrote a book about the prevalence of Bullshit Jobs. That many jobs we do are largely unnecessary and serve little real purpose. Will the consumption of video games and the streaming of entertainments provide us with contentment within our lives? How will AI view all these parasitic human beings lolling about on the sidelines? Will we find ourselves being evaluated as surplus to requirements by the machines running the show?

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com Billionaires Shaping Our Working Lives Many of us are being herded out of work by billionaires hell bent on maximising their profits. The Elon Musk’s. The Mark Zuckerberg’s.  Jeff Bezos. Charles Koch. Bill Gates. Peter Thiel.  The power and wealth of these super wealthy individuals and their corporations are changing our worlds according to their profit motives. Democracy has been weakened and damaged by the proliferation of oligarchs. Bad billionaire’s like Putin and his ilk are involved in authoritarian regimes and organised crime on a massive scale. Our working lives are being shaped by the greed and machinations of these modern-day Lords and Princes. Soulless Jobs I know for me that my work must have some meaning, or I struggle with staying the course. Yes, economic necessities may drive me to find income generating work, but I cannot stay in a job merely for the money. If I am confronted with stupidity, meaninglessness, an absence of integrity, or nepotism in my work I rarely hang around for long in that job. Most of the positions I have left, have been, according to me, fucked up by those supposed to be driving the bus. Life is too short to stay in jobs that depress or bedevil. Devaluing Our Work The problems with work include central banks that operate on a 5% unemployment rate as their definition of full employment within their economies. This is millions of people out of work and the misery that entails factored into the spreadsheets of economists and bankers. How can that be in the 21C? Have we come such a miniscule way from the bad old days? Economics rules the roost, as we have seen via the reaction of all the central banks to the high inflation post pandemic and their quantitative easing. Raising interest rates to dampen spending and demand within the economy. This has exacerbated the housing crisis and pushed rents up even higher prolonging sticky inflation. The working poor pay the steepest price for our reliance on monetary policy over all other means of managing the health of the economy. Those who can least afford it cop it in the neck. Investors and the wealthy can ride out the tight times without undue economic pain. Working has always been a poorly performing activity in comparison to other forms of wealth creation. Labour has traditionally offered a fairly meagre return on investment. When you think about the history of chattel slavery and peonage slavery, we humans have had a pretty rotten attitude toward the labour of our fellow and sister human beings. In contrast to this, we are endlessly enamoured of technology and value this far more than our own working efforts. We are a strange lot when you think about it. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.

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[namjoohyuk]

kpop idols need to unionize

[feckcops]

Labour turns its back on workers’ rights

“Labour has undermined the principle of universality that underpins its entire programme for employment rights. This means a tiered system of rights and entitlements will remain in place and makes the pledge to give all workers the same rights from day one impossible.

“When the New Deal was originally developed, the Labour leader, his cabinet and the party’s affiliated trade unions shared a vision. They sought to build a dignified workplace in which workers – from the moment they took up employment – would have the ability to take time away after the birth of a child or a bereavement, to enjoy a decent work-life balance and not to be arbitrarily dismissed.

“The document was a recognition of the fact that the tiered system is one of the key drivers of low pay and insecurity, responsible for 3.7 million being trapped in ‘insecure work’ who do not know when their next shift will be or if they will be able to pay their bills ... The New Deal was designed to end the most exploitative practices in the gig economy – where workers are often paid below the minimum wage, made to work in dangerous conditions and denied rest breaks. One such example is Amazon delivery drivers, who have been forced to drive through exhaustion and urinate in bottles ...

“The lack of rights and protections is not just a problem for those in insecure forms of work. It is a problem for workers and the economy as a whole. These practices put a downward pressure on wages and terms across the board, making us all poorer and facilitating a race to the bottom that is partly responsible for Britain’s poor growth and productivity. 

“The expansion of the gig economy in particular demonstrates how exploitative employment practices threaten once-secure jobs. The assault by Royal Mail against the terms and conditions of posties, for example, is a response to gig economy parcel delivery companies undercutting the postal service.”

[havegaysex]

Gen Zers are now ‘polyworking’ because holding down just one job doesn’t pay enough or give them the flexibility they want

Maybe if employers actually paid enough and gave a f*** about people we wouldn't have to be doing this

[britishraptor]

*has health issues and anxiety, looking for low stress job*

Job descriptions advertised: FAST-paced, under pressure, are you a star player, giving 110%?!? Looking for efficient super go-getter, every day is different from the last!! Never be bored, challenging position available!

[cloudeling]

one of my irls told me that his boss is like. literally breaking labour laws and having her work later & for longer than youre legally allowed to make a minor work for and i like. told him like oh thats not good you should rlly talk 2 your boss abt that. and hes just like oh its not a big deal. and like. her boss is a family friend so i understand being like. easy on her but also it is very much a big deal. and im just. hm.

[notayesmanseconomics]

The UK Labour Market looks pretty strong

The UK labour market has produced a set of figures this morning that are in line with the present weather which is rather sunny. We have even achieved something which it feels like we were on the cusp of almost forever!  In the latest quarter, total actual weekly hours worked increased by 15.8 million to a record high of 1.06 billion hours. This is 6.3 million hours above pre-coronavirus pandemic…