Oi! Americans! Your country sucks!

[andrewducker]

Says so here.

U.S. workers are putting in longer hours on the job and taking fewer vacation days than any other industrialized countries," ms_sue_collins writes. "Labor statistics show that U.S. workers have even surpassed the Japanese in the number of days at work per year. Working Americans average a little over two weeks' vacation anually, but unlike all other industrialized countries, the U.S. has no legislative requirement guaranteeing a minimum number of days of paid leave. A national survey by Oxford Health plans found that one out of six Americans who receive paid vacation are unable to use it, nearly one-third of employees work through lunch and 19 percent reported feeling obligated to work even when sick or injured. Whether such numbers reflect workers' anxiety or a stronger work ethic, experts worry about the physical and psychological ramifications while policymakers argue over proposed solutions.

Comments

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

Of course, we have all sorts of lovely legislation in the UK which protects workers and allows them paid time off, but it doesn't always mean that workers can enforce their rights.

The maximum 48 hour week is a fine example. It's a European directive but our govt implemented it so that any worker can give up their right to restrict their working week to 48 hours if they want to. This was intended, so they said, to preserve the individual freedoms of high-flyers and consultants and the like to work long hours if they chose to do do.

Actually (and somewhat predictably) employers are forcing the issue by making their minimum wage staff give up the right as a condition of getting the job in the first place. The very people the legislation was supposed to protect are the ones that often don't benefit at all.

[andrewducker]

Fortunately we lose our exemption this year...