[LINK] Pass the Books. Hold the Oil.

David Boxall david.boxall at hunterlink.net.au
Tue Mar 13 21:21:38 AEDT 2012


On 13/03/2012 2:10 PM, Jan Whitaker wrote:
> At 10:50 AM 13/03/2012, jim birch wrote:
>>  From a pure economic point of view the problem with working longer
>> hours is that it is a one off gain, and anyway, people tend to revert
>> themselves to a more reasonable work/life balance.
>
> There are stories coming out of the US that employment is going up
> because they can't wring any more hours out of their employees. So
> the up side is that unemployment rates go down.
> ...
Coal mine employers in my area convinced their employees that 12-hour 
shifts are a good idea. I don't know what the advantage is for the 
employers, but the employees get an extra day per week when they don't 
have to go to work.

It's not unusual for miners to live quite some distance from their 
workplace. Many workers at Singleton mines live on the Central Coast, 
for example (about two hours' commuting time). The local news frequently 
reports miners dying in traffic accidents on the homeward commute. Coal 
mining is a hazardous occupation, so I imagine occupational safety 
suffers as well, along with health.

-- 
David Boxall                    |  Drink no longer water,
                                |  but use a little wine
http://david.boxall.id.au       |  for thy stomach's sake ...
                                |            King James Bible
                                |              1 Timothy 5:23



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