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Cameron folds on demanding opt out from EU labour regulations

Seriously was anyone so credulous that they did not see this coming? To expect Cameron to stand his ground demanding the return of the opt out abandoned by Tony Blair, is like expecting a jellyfish to lift weights.

But at least the tech sector must be happy with Cameron, as he has promised to increase incentives for UK businesses to invest in more labour saving technologies, thereby increasing productivity and reducing total hours of employment needed, or to just automating certain jobs away entirely.

11 comments to Cameron folds on demanding opt out from EU labour regulations

  • 18 years and counting

    The headline and gist of the “living wage” article could be completely re-written:

    Cameron wages war on the low skilled.

    From April 2016 it will be illegal for over-25s whose skills are worth less than £7.20/hour to sell their labour.

  • bloke in spain

    “the tech sector must be happy with Cameron, as he has promised to increase incentives for UK businesses to invest in more labour saving technologies, thereby increasing productivity and reducing total hours of employment needed, or to just automating certain jobs away entirely.”

    Whenever I read a passage like that I’m always reminded the “incentives” governments are so happy to sling around usually are costing someone not benefiting from the “incentives”. Coz there ain’t much comes free in this world of ours. Now raising productivity, even to the level it gets rid of jobs altogether, is making us all wealthier. Nothing wrong in that. So I’m not a job protectionist. But it’s always worth trying to work out where the cost’s going. It might be on you.

  • MilGeek

    But it’s always worth trying to work out where the cost’s going. It might be on you.

    I’m pretty sure the bit you quoted used “incentives” sarcastically 😉 If you follow the link, its kinda clear he means the people who will get fucked over are the low skilled, low paid people this bozo is allegedly trying to help.

  • Nicholas (Rule Yourselves!) Gray

    The only hope for Britain is medical research and innovation. Will someone please grow a spine in a lab to be implanted into Mr Cameron? Do it for the country! Or the Children!!!

  • Julie near Chicago

    @ 18 years: It’s already been done, and not just for Over-25’s. It’s called The Minimum Wage.

    Still, even with that at least it’s not the labourers who are on the wrong side of the Lawr.

    Wait till you see what happened to workers who took an extra job to make ends meet, against the law requiring that nobody work more than the prescribed 3 days/week in Britain, in 1990.

    [ Link: UToob.com/playlist?list=PLuZiyj7NXf_91hyAOyJnsky4mTjTiKHCk — all 16 episodes. Made in 1977. A mite chilling. ]

  • Roue le Jour

    Slightly O/T but I notice that cave-in Cameron has quietly walked away from sorting out the comrades at the BBC as well.

  • Paul Marks

    Yet another reason to vote to leave the E.U.

  • Mr Ed

    Mr Cameron took one decision in his life, and has stuck to it like a limpet, very much like John Major.

    However, that decision was to do the worst thing possible at every turn.

  • bloke in spain

    @RleJ
    Not sure if there’s not a bit of shrewdness going on there. The BBC funding model is eventually going to collapse as consumers continue to move away from broadcast media towards self choice. Likely, it’ll happen within this charter period.
    If you really, really liked the Beeb you’d be weathering the short term political fallout, abolishing the license fee & replacing it with a viable revenue source for the leaner Beeb it could sustain.
    And if you really, really didn’t like it you’d go with business as usual.

  • Roue le Jour

    Bis
    Nah. I fully expect to watch the collapse of Western civilization on taxpayer funded BBC. They’ll just shift over to iPlayer.

  • Laird

    “stuck to it like a limpet”

    I love that phrase!