Jane Sitton

Mxsmanic wrote:

    > Richard writes:
    >
    >
    >>Surely there are laws against forcing people to do this?
    >
    >
    > There are some laws, but they aren't necessarily enforced or observed.

It depends upon whether one is salaried or hourly. There are stricter
laws for hourly work, but some changes went into effect this past August
making it easier to screw people out of overtime. An example is calling
someone a manager when he spends most of his time waiting tables or
ringing up sales. Here's a link for the website explaining the changes:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/

Odd to me that the website claims to strengthen overtime protections. I
guess it's all in how you spin it, eh?

--Jane

Ajc

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 17:30:11 +0000 (UTC), Juliana L Holm
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >In rec.travel.europe val189 <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> Jonathan <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<483un0lc2o3rmp3kju8enknp9h845l1v50@news>...
    >>> When an American friend told me people in the US only have two weeks
    >>> of paid leave PER YEAR I could scarcely believe it.
    >> Your friend only gave you part of the picture. In many companies, paid
    >> vacation increases with time served. Some jobs initially allow 3
    >> weeks paid vacation. Before I retired, I got 6 and a half weeks pd.
    >> vac., plus insurance for medical, vision, dental, for which I paid no
    >> premium....(gee, I wonder why I quit.....) and could also take unpaid
    >> leave at certain times of the year.
    >You were the exception, not the rule.
    >The rule for professional, white collar workers is 2 weeks per year to start,
    >with a third week after 5 to 10 years of service, and a fourth week in some
    >cases after 10 to 15 years.
    >Many places do allow you to take time without pay.


Do many new workers take unpaid leave? If not it is just incredible.
In much of Europe people are used to a 2 or 3 week summer holiday, a
week's wintersport, another week at home, and a few long weekends for
a city break or whatever.
--==++AJC++==--

Tom Peel

Informer wrote:
    > "Jane Sitton" <[email protected]> wrote
    >
    >
    >
    >>There are no set laws that I know of regarding how much vacation a
    >>company offers. Nowadays, many companies get around offering vacation
    >>altogether by hiring only part-time employees.
    >>--Jane
    >
    >
    > In the UK the absolote minimum the law allows is 4 weeks plus public
    > holidays. I would not work for a company that offered less than 5 weeks.
    >
    >
What about freelancers?
T.

Jane Sitton

AJC wrote:

    > On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 17:30:11 +0000 (UTC), Juliana L Holm
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >
    >>In rec.travel.europe val189 <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>>Jonathan <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<483un0lc2o3rmp3kju8enknp9h845l1v50@news>...
    >>>>When an American friend told me people in the US only have two weeks
    >>>>of paid leave PER YEAR I could scarcely believe it.
    >>>Your friend only gave you part of the picture. In many companies, paid
    >>>vacation increases with time served. Some jobs initially allow 3
    >>>weeks paid vacation. Before I retired, I got 6 and a half weeks pd.
    >>>vac., plus insurance for medical, vision, dental, for which I paid no
    >>>premium....(gee, I wonder why I quit.....) and could also take unpaid
    >>>leave at certain times of the year.
    >>You were the exception, not the rule.
    >>The rule for professional, white collar workers is 2 weeks per year to start,
    >>with a third week after 5 to 10 years of service, and a fourth week in some
    >>cases after 10 to 15 years.
    >>Many places do allow you to take time without pay.
    >
    >
    >
    > Do many new workers take unpaid leave? If not it is just incredible.
    > In much of Europe people are used to a 2 or 3 week summer holiday, a
    > week's wintersport, another week at home, and a few long weekends for
    > a city break or whatever.
    > --==++AJC++==--

Must be nice.

--Jane

Magda

On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 04:14:03 +1000, in rec.travel.europe, "Rod Speed"
<[email protected]> arranged some electrons, so they looked like this :


... Slaves dont get paid at all, stupid.

If you work as a slave, mercan, don't call *me* stupid.

Mxsmanic

The Reids writes:

    > There are only so many jobs like that, the majority are doing
    > jobs only because they have to. How many would go to work if they
    > didn't get pay at the end or if they had money from other
    > sources?

Most people are doing jobs that are at least moderately interesting to
them, according to studies I've seen (in developed countries).

There has been an increasing stratification of society in the U.S.,
reversing a trend towards equilibrium that apparently culminated in the
1950s and 1960s. Today most of the middle class is regressing to the
lower classes, while the most wealthy upper classes shrink and become
wealthier. Unconstrained capitalism and/or greed is probably the cause.

    > The US is very rich and very polluting, it needs to consume less
    > stuff and relax a bit.

I don't see the link between wealth and pollution.

Most developed countries are relatively non-polluting after controlling
for standard of living. In the future, the real pollution problems will
come from developing countries (to some extent they already are).

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Anonymouse

    >>When an American friend told me people in the US only have two weeks
    >
    > Thats bullshit.

it's actually very common for people with less than 2-5 years at a
company to only get 1 week's vacation, and that isn't necessarily paid
vacation.

    >>Other countries like France get 5 to 6 weeks plus public holidays.
    >
    >>Plus they only work 35 hours per week yet they are
    >>one of the most productive countries in the world.

as much as I like the motherland France is NOT one of the "most
productive countries in the world".

    >>how can the average American live under
    >>such a system and not lose their mind???

it's one of the reasons people drink to much, do to many hard drugs, etc.

    >>I wouldn't want to live like that no matter how much they paid me.

now -I- get 24 (work)days vacation, plus a week at christmas (this year
it's the week between christmas and new years), plus holidays, plus sick
leave....

and I've got good medical coverage, almost any doctor, 750$ deductible
for my family's medical coverage (300$/individual), prescriptions, etc.

now I could make more in my trade other places... but I wouldn't get the
benefits.

ttyl

akia



--


*Lienad .45/.410 Single Shot Derringer Parts KiT*
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7110249760

Mxsmanic

Icono Clast writes:

    > I have heard that there are still people in the USA who work 40-hour
    > weeks for 2-week vacations but I don't know any. Does anyone?

All of my U.S. jobs were like this.

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Ajc

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 18:45:48 GMT, Jane Sitton
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >AJC wrote:
    >> On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 17:30:11 +0000 (UTC), Juliana L Holm
    >> <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>
    >>
    >>>In rec.travel.europe val189 <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>>>Jonathan <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<483un0lc2o3rmp3kju8enknp9h845l1v50@news>...
    >>>>>When an American friend told me people in the US only have two weeks
    >>>>>of paid leave PER YEAR I could scarcely believe it.
    >>>>Your friend only gave you part of the picture. In many companies, paid
    >>>>vacation increases with time served. Some jobs initially allow 3
    >>>>weeks paid vacation. Before I retired, I got 6 and a half weeks pd.
    >>>>vac., plus insurance for medical, vision, dental, for which I paid no
    >>>>premium....(gee, I wonder why I quit.....) and could also take unpaid
    >>>>leave at certain times of the year.
    >>>You were the exception, not the rule.
    >>>The rule for professional, white collar workers is 2 weeks per year to start,
    >>>with a third week after 5 to 10 years of service, and a fourth week in some
    >>>cases after 10 to 15 years.
    >>>Many places do allow you to take time without pay.
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >> Do many new workers take unpaid leave? If not it is just incredible.
    >> In much of Europe people are used to a 2 or 3 week summer holiday, a
    >> week's wintersport, another week at home, and a few long weekends for
    >> a city break or whatever.
    >> --==++AJC++==--
    >Must be nice.
    >--Jane


Well it is 2004, we are all rich countries, the US and most of Europe,
so we can afford to make sure everyone has a decent amount of free
time for themselves, and their families, just like we can afford to
ensure everyone has access to health care.
--==++AJC++==--

Mxsmanic

"Ted Ng" <ted_ng@[nospam].com> writes:

    > It sucks, but I see in the news that business conditions are now forcing
    > Europe to cut back on the extensive social welfare system.

It will never regress to the American extreme.

    > The wrenching changes the US has gone through over the past decade,
    > western Europe will also have to experience.

Nobody imposed those changes on the U.S.; it made most of the changes
itself in search of ever-higher corporate profits.

    > Is it fair for American and European workers to compete against workers in other
    > countries who make 1/10 the salary and have no benefits or workplace safety
    > regulations?

It depends on whom you you ask.

    > All I know is whenever I go into the store, I struggle
    > to find anything that isn't manufactured in China, stuff that we used to
    > make. It makes me sad.

It makes shareholders glad. They don't care about anyone else or about
the future of the economy; they just want it all now.

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Mxsmanic

Ronald Hands writes:

    > Meanwhile, the European Union's $10.5 trillion GDP now eclipses that
    > of the United States, making it the largest economy in the world.

Except that it's not a single economy by any stretch of the imagination.

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Mxsmanic

Richard Cline writes:

    > It is interesting that many of the best and brightest people immigrate
    > to the US for their career betterment.

They used to. They don't necessarily do that anymore.

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Mxsmanic

Cindy hamilton writes:

    > There's nothing stopping me from taking my vacation days, except I don't
    > want to. I have plenty of time to do everything I want. I don't have any
    > children, so my time is pretty much my own.

Let's hope you continue to see it this way when you look back on your
life a few decades from now.

Cardiologists will tell you that no heart patient ever says "I wish I
had spent more time at the office."

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Yes

    > the best performing western economy for 5 years.

How is Australia considered a western economy?

Barbara Bomberger

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:25:47 +0100, "Mark Hewitt"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >"Yaofeng" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >news:[email protected] om...
    >> "Informer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >> news:<[email protected]>...
    >> That's why everything is so expensive in the UK. Isn't it? Gasoline
    >> prices 3 to 4 times those of the US, meals 1.5 to 2 times, groceries,
    >> etc... Because you produce to little...

Most prices are so high because of taxation. German, France and The
UK in overall produce on a scale fairly close to the US.

However, that taxation buys many things, not the least of which is
universal health care.