George Osborne's Productivity Challenge is just pie in the sky
Now unemployment isn't the hot topic it was, our reinstated Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is focussing on improving productivity. He has a disenfranchised workforce that he wants to motivate. Will he build his strategy on realistic methodologies, will it more political platitudes or will it lead towards the abolition of the working man's rights?
Frankie Howerd look-a-like George Osborne spent most of the election campaign in a high-vis jacket and hard-hat, touring the country's factories. It was a bid to build confidence among 'working people' so he can go back to Number 11 for another 5 years. After all, moving is such a ballache.
His newly announced Productivity Challenge failed to feature in the pre-election Tory manifesto, I'm hoping it's because he was busy talking to factory workers to collate information and build a picture of what needs to happen to boost productivity.
The UK's productivity is around 30% lower than Germany and America. These economic superpowers build their wealth around a workforce that works harder, faster, stronger and better than us. In short, we don't really care in the UK.
The reason for this is we have robust and stringent employment legislation. This doesn't exist in America, so people work harder to keep their jobs. Also in America, a lot of people who live on the breadline are forced in low paid jobs because there is no welfare state. And in America, they are money hungry and consumed by consumerism.
In Germany, they have strong secondary industries. They almost solely produce German products in Mercedes, BMW, VW, Bosch and Adidas, etc. It's natural that the German workforce will have national pride about working for homegrown and prestigious companies. So they're passionate and feel like they're working for a stronger Germany. Most of our companies have been sold off to the highest bidder. Santander (was Abbey National) and O2 (was Cellnet) are owned by the Spanish. And even our beloved Mini, Land Rover and Jaguar are owned by the Germans.
Not to mention that Germany holds on to its tax money. It's not sent abroad and there's barely any tax avoidance. So the money stays in Germany and its people reap the reward. The Germans also look after their people, they don't rip them off or create inequality.
In the UK, huge non-UK corporations, celebrities and the rich are avoiding tax. The rest of us work like dogs just to put food on the table, while the rich sip champagne on their yachts. The government makes policy after policy that make the poor poorer and the rich richer. Everything the government does is to extract our hard-earned money from us. We get none of the nice stuff, like more bank holidays or cheaper beer - just as a thank you. Our government works against us, not with or for us. No wonder we don't want to work. It's Karl Marx's proletarian revolution.
If you want to increase productivity in the UK, the government needs to stop being the Sheriff of Nottingham and be more like Richard the Lionheart. You need to encourage SMEs to expand, so people have more commitment and pride in working for a 'CEO' who they go down the pub with and feel loyalty towards. Perhaps ditching zero hours contracts, so people have more job security, together with defined and flexible career paths. And encourage companies to take on more part time workers so families with children can go back to work without having to sacrifice precious personal time or aspirational people are given the time to work towards goals outside of the 9 to 5.
We enjoy our non-work life. We aren't defined by our jobs. We're also a highly-educated workforce, so a lot us are disillusioned and unfulfilled, sitting behind a desk number crunching for monstrous corporations who don't give a shit about you and you, in turn, don't give a shit about them. We need to encourage British industry, which we'll fiercely hold onto, be proud of and get competitive about.
The way we work is stifling us, so we opt for living our lives in a way that is within our control and fruits of our labour can be seen and enjoyed. The UK was the home of the industrial revolution, so much progress, invention and creativity. The only way we can recapture that is to unplug ourselves from the Matrix and change our working ethos from the ground up.
First published 27/05/2015
Frankie Howerd look-a-like George Osborne spent most of the election campaign in a high-vis jacket and hard-hat, touring the country's factories. It was a bid to build confidence among 'working people' so he can go back to Number 11 for another 5 years. After all, moving is such a ballache.
His newly announced Productivity Challenge failed to feature in the pre-election Tory manifesto, I'm hoping it's because he was busy talking to factory workers to collate information and build a picture of what needs to happen to boost productivity.
The UK's productivity is around 30% lower than Germany and America. These economic superpowers build their wealth around a workforce that works harder, faster, stronger and better than us. In short, we don't really care in the UK.
The reason for this is we have robust and stringent employment legislation. This doesn't exist in America, so people work harder to keep their jobs. Also in America, a lot of people who live on the breadline are forced in low paid jobs because there is no welfare state. And in America, they are money hungry and consumed by consumerism.
In Germany, they have strong secondary industries. They almost solely produce German products in Mercedes, BMW, VW, Bosch and Adidas, etc. It's natural that the German workforce will have national pride about working for homegrown and prestigious companies. So they're passionate and feel like they're working for a stronger Germany. Most of our companies have been sold off to the highest bidder. Santander (was Abbey National) and O2 (was Cellnet) are owned by the Spanish. And even our beloved Mini, Land Rover and Jaguar are owned by the Germans.
Not to mention that Germany holds on to its tax money. It's not sent abroad and there's barely any tax avoidance. So the money stays in Germany and its people reap the reward. The Germans also look after their people, they don't rip them off or create inequality.
In the UK, huge non-UK corporations, celebrities and the rich are avoiding tax. The rest of us work like dogs just to put food on the table, while the rich sip champagne on their yachts. The government makes policy after policy that make the poor poorer and the rich richer. Everything the government does is to extract our hard-earned money from us. We get none of the nice stuff, like more bank holidays or cheaper beer - just as a thank you. Our government works against us, not with or for us. No wonder we don't want to work. It's Karl Marx's proletarian revolution.
If you want to increase productivity in the UK, the government needs to stop being the Sheriff of Nottingham and be more like Richard the Lionheart. You need to encourage SMEs to expand, so people have more commitment and pride in working for a 'CEO' who they go down the pub with and feel loyalty towards. Perhaps ditching zero hours contracts, so people have more job security, together with defined and flexible career paths. And encourage companies to take on more part time workers so families with children can go back to work without having to sacrifice precious personal time or aspirational people are given the time to work towards goals outside of the 9 to 5.
We enjoy our non-work life. We aren't defined by our jobs. We're also a highly-educated workforce, so a lot us are disillusioned and unfulfilled, sitting behind a desk number crunching for monstrous corporations who don't give a shit about you and you, in turn, don't give a shit about them. We need to encourage British industry, which we'll fiercely hold onto, be proud of and get competitive about.
The way we work is stifling us, so we opt for living our lives in a way that is within our control and fruits of our labour can be seen and enjoyed. The UK was the home of the industrial revolution, so much progress, invention and creativity. The only way we can recapture that is to unplug ourselves from the Matrix and change our working ethos from the ground up.
First published 27/05/2015
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