Britain needs to man up
Sam Ashworth-Hayes
The Telegraph
Britain’s “intrusive state” increasingly functions like an HR department, with its concerns about staff retention and instructions to “just be kind”, says Sam Ashworth-Hayes. Take the dramatic post-Covid rise in incapacity claims for mental-health conditions. Is Britain actually sicker, or are we just more willing to describe ourselves as mentally unwell and the state more willing to accept the claim unquestioningly? In this HR state, attempts to shift people into jobs are seen as unkind (even though they can boost mental health), so taxpayers continue to fund the jobless, public services decline and taxes rise. This HR culture is ubiquitous. Everyday interactions are increasingly governed by rules about what can be said, with the HR state intervening to protect and recompense us for perceived offence. Demanding excellent performance is out, firing employees is too (in one case, a judge ruled in favour of an employee let go after 808 sick days). Nor are firms really free to set pay. Birmingham City Council has to find up to £1.8bn in payouts after a judge ruled that different jobs met a “nebulous definition of equal worth”. This is “nuts”. “Of course different jobs pay different wages!” “Britain might be better off with a little more ‘unfairness’.”
South Korea faces down the unions
Dae Sung Park
Nikkei Asia
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s showdown with striking doctors in South Korea is a sign of resolve, says Dae Sung Park. The country’s unions are some of the most militant in the world: “assaulting non-union workers, holding managers hostage and storming Parliament” are common tactics. Between 2009 and 2019, 38.7 days were lost to strikes for every 1,000 workers (the figure for Japan is 0.2). It is also “notoriously” hard to fire employees. In 2019, the country ranked 34th out of 36 OECD members in terms of labour flexibility. No wonder it struggles to attract foreign direct investment. At the same time, AI is beginning to reshape industry. Hence Yoon’s efforts to amend the Labor Standards Act so that, for example, employers can hire replacement workers during strikes. There is currently a standoff in the National Assembly, where the Democratic Party is in the majority, but the “legislative stalemate” could be broken next month when South Koreans elect a new National Assembly. In the meantime, Yoon’s “push to enforce laws already on the books” seems to be producing results. This is a good thing.
