THE HOT STORY

UK employers are prioritising cost management over growth

A survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says employers in the UK are prioritising cost management over growth as indicators of employer confidence hold close to record lows. Meanwhile, workers are likely ‌to see inflation eat into their pay in the year ahead. Planned pay awards were mostly around 3% for the next 12 ⁠months - unchanged from levels over the past two years but below most forecasts for inflation growth. The CIPD ⁠survey of 2,049 employers was conducted between March 23 and April 23. James Cockett, senior labour market economist at the CIPD and author of the report, said: “With so much happening externally, organisations should focus on the areas they can directly influence. This means taking a proactive approach to workforce planning and ensuring investment in technologies such as AI is supported by the right mix of people, skills, and systems to deliver meaningful productivity gains.”

Personnel Today

Reuters

TECH & TOOLS

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LEGAL

Finnish shipyard subcontractor misled Ukrainian workers

The Southwest Finland district court has convicted a company at Meyer's Turku shipyard for misleading 18 Ukrainian workers by classifying them as light entrepreneurs from 2022 to 2023. The court found that these workers did not comprehend the implications of self-employment and had requested formal employment contracts, which were never provided. The company denied wrongdoing, but the court ruled that it deliberately used light entrepreneurship to evade employer obligations. The leading figure was sentenced to a suspended term and ordered to repay around €100,000 in unpaid wages and damages. The ruling may be appealed.

YLE Uutiset

Dutch Cabinet wants to raise legal sex work age to 21

The Dutch government is considering a "pimp ban" to protect vulnerable sex workers, and plans to raise the minimum age for sex work from 18 to 21. A new Municipal Supervision of Sex Businesses Act will empower municipalities to enforce regulations and manage sex workers' data. Justice Minister David van Weel said: "We want to address abuses without making sex work impossible." He described the sex work sector as a “very difficult industry.”

NL Times

WORKFORCE

German 'chemical town' fears impact of shifting focus to China

Germany's industrial decline is being felt especially painfully in places such as Ludwigshafen, a company town of chemical giant BASF, which has shed some 2,500 jobs since 2022 amid a shift in focus to China. "The mood is obviously not good," Sinischa Horvat, chairman of BASF's works council, which represents staff interests, told AFP. "The entire market is currently so weak. When you watch the news, you hardly hear any positive messages." Local disquiet has intensified following a recent decision to sell off thousands of company-owned apartments, many of which are occupied by current and former workers. "The sale of these apartments sends a signal to the city and to the people who live here and, in some cases, work at BASF - BASF is scaling back its operations," said Patrick Thiel, a BASF employee who lives in one of the apartments.

France 24

Weaker UK cities at risk from higher minimum wage, think-tank warns

The Centre for Cities think-tank says there are risks to weaker UK city economies if ministers seek to push the UK’s statutory wage floor up too far. The think-tank says the government should give the Low Pay Commission (LPC) an explicit remit to consider the local labour market impacts of the minimum wage from 2027, while the LPC should work to fill evidence gaps in future reports.

Centre for Cities

Financial Times

TAX

KLM warns It may cut European flights after summer

KLM is set to cancel some European routes after the summer season due to high fuel prices and a new flight tax starting January 1. CEO Marjan Rintel expressed concern that the higher levies will drive Dutch travellers to airports in neighbouring countries. “A family that flies to Morocco will soon be over €190 in taxes alone. Then the trip to Germany or Belgium is quickly made. That's what keeps me awake,” she said. “Everyone has trouble with the expensive kerosene, but we also need a level playing field on the flight tax.” Rintel emphasised the need for competitive tax rates and acknowledged potential job cuts in January 2025 as part of the carrier's cost-saving strategy.

NL Times

INTERNATIONAL

Meta staff protest against mouse-tracking tech

Meta employees have launched a protest against the recent installation of mouse-tracking technology at US offices. Flyers which have been seen in meeting rooms and elsewhere at the Facebook owner's offices encourage staffers to sign an online petition against the move. "Don't want to work at the Employee Data Extraction Factory?" the flyers ask, according to photographs seen by Reuters, which says it's the most visible sign to date of a nascent labour movement inside the company. A statement previously issued by Meta on the technology said: "If we're building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them - things like mouse movements, clicking buttons, and navigating dropdown menus." Reuters notes that, in the UK, a group of Meta employees has started organising a unionisation push with United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW).

Reuters

Korea's older adults are working longer and borrowing more

In South Korea, many older adults continue working past retirement age due to financial pressures. The OECD has reported that the effective age of labour market exit in Korea is 67.4 for men and 69.6 for women, significantly higher than the OECD average. Approximately 57% of Koreans aged 65 to 69 are employed, the highest rate in the OECD. However, many are in low-paying, temporary jobs and face increasing debt. The relative poverty rate for those aged 66 and older is 40%, the highest in the OECD, underscoring the urgent need for better support and job opportunities for older workers. "Jobs are the single most important factor in addressing poverty among older people," observes Chung Soon-dool, a professor at Ewha Womans University.

Korea Joongang Daily

India’s workers quit city life over impact of Iran war on gas prices

Indian factory workers are abandoning their jobs in industrial areas and returning to their home villages, where free accommodation and government food handouts compensate for a lack of work.

Financial Times

OTHER

North Korean women footballers arrive in South ahead of rare match

A North Korean women's football team, Naegohyang Women's FC, arrived in South Korea on Sunday, marking their first visit in eight years. The team, consisting of 39 players and staff, was welcomed at Incheon International Airport by supporters and civic groups. Choi Young-ok, a civic group member, expressed hope for improved relations between the two countries but cautioned that "a sports match is just a sports match." The North Korean team will compete against Suwon FC Women in the Women's Asian Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.

Deutsche Welle (EN)

France 24

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