ANNOUNCEMENT: POLICY BRIEF AND PUBLIC FORUM
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"Not only is the overtime premium ('time and a half') ineffective in
discouraging regularly scheduled overtime, it's now producing an effect
opposite to its intent."
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The full argument is at HTTP://MINDLINK.NET/KNOWWARE/TIMEWORK.HTM
How can the 'punishment' be blamed for the 'crime'? There are two aspects to
the argument. One is that hours of work legislation containing premium pay
provisions give a false sense that hours of work *are* regulated when, in
fact, the premium pay provisions provide a blanket exception to the law and
amount to little more than a bookkeeping complication. The second is that,
over a long period, employers have moved to offset any actual cost impact
from the overtime premium by incorporating a larger component of fixed-cost
benefits into employee compensation (salaries are the limit case of
fixed-cost compensation). The long term effect of such an avoidance strategy
is to make the overtime payroll no more costly to employers than
straight-time and *often cheaper*.
The policy brief at http://mindlink.net/knowware/timework.htm contains the
full text of a paper to be presented to the Vancouver Labour Research Forum
on February 24. It also contains a 650 word executive summary that has been
submitted as an opinion piece to the weekly paper, _Business in Vancouver_.
The analysis will form part of Tom Walker's presentation to a public forum,
with author/activist Bruce O'Hara, on "Better Times: Exploring the Idea of a
Shorter Work Week" at the University of British Columbia, March 8, 1997, 10
am - 2 pm. Call UBC Continuing Studies at 822-1450 for information and
registration.
IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, PLEASE
FORWARD!
Regards,
Tom Walker
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knoW Ware Communications |
Vancouver, B.C., CANADA | "Only in mediocre art
[EMAIL PROTECTED] | does life unfold as fate."
(604) 669-3286 |
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The TimeWork Web: http://mindlink.net/knowware/worksite.htm
