Friday, May 13, 2005
not enough hours in the week
The EU wants the British government to enforce a 48-hour week for its workforce. Previously, Britain had "opted out" of this particular rule but it's been denied the option now by the EU technocrats.
One hapless official who was roped in to comment seemed to grasp at straws in trying to defend this regulation: "People who overwork endanger not only themselves but their peers."
However he did make a point - that the proliferation of those dependent on overtime to survive highlights the increasingly unrealistic cost of living here. Perhaps, he said, employers would now improve basic pay to discourage "overtimers".
And maybe SAP monkeys will learn to code. Still, this Guardian piece shows that in the "normal" world (outside the reality-bending warp field of Brussels) people do work 60 hour weeks regularly. Nowadays I stick to the 40 I am scheduled to but back in P&G I sometimes worked 48 hours over a cutover weekend, with maybe 6 hour rest breaks for sleep.
Ah well. you gotta make a living, no?
One hapless official who was roped in to comment seemed to grasp at straws in trying to defend this regulation: "People who overwork endanger not only themselves but their peers."
However he did make a point - that the proliferation of those dependent on overtime to survive highlights the increasingly unrealistic cost of living here. Perhaps, he said, employers would now improve basic pay to discourage "overtimers".
And maybe SAP monkeys will learn to code. Still, this Guardian piece shows that in the "normal" world (outside the reality-bending warp field of Brussels) people do work 60 hour weeks regularly. Nowadays I stick to the 40 I am scheduled to but back in P&G I sometimes worked 48 hours over a cutover weekend, with maybe 6 hour rest breaks for sleep.
Ah well. you gotta make a living, no?
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