Could a 4-day work week boost B.C.'s COVID-plagued economy? - CBC.ca

Economy

Could a 4-day work week boost B.C.'s COVID-plagued economy? – CBC.ca

Published

4 years ago

May 22, 2020

Harry Miller

As provinces, countries and the world as a whole struggle to re-start economies, some policymakers are pitching a four-day work week as a way to help generate tourism spending.

New Zealand’s prime minister is recommending a compressed work week as a way to encourage more weekend travel within the country, where about 60 per cent of tourism is domestic.

The theory is that more flexible working arrangements will help promote more staycations that are generally conducive to long-weekend travel. And it’s being welcomed by some politicians in B.C., too.

“It’s a very interesting idea that should be considered,” said Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau. “It’s one example of the kind of nimbleness that we need to think about when we approach this COVID-19 recovery.”

She has long been a supporter of a shorter work week, even highlighting it in her campaign platform to become the next leader of the B.C. Green Party.

In the past, she has praised the benefits of productivity and work-life balance, and says the current pandemic could be the impetus to trigger healthier long-term habits.

A mandatory four-day work week…would increase costs and add regulatory complexity for employers in every sector.– Jock Finlayson, Business Council of British Columbia

“In a suite of possible approaches, this seems to be one that would be well-suited to British Columbia — particularly given our domestic tourism as an important part of our local recovery,” she told CBC News.

Furstenau believes it’s not a policy that should be mandatory, and therefore would not require legislative changes, but rather suggests it be led by employers. Still, she believes government can play a role.

“You don’t want to impose a top-down approach to this, but rather encourage businesses to consider it,” she said. “There could be incentives provided by federal or provincial governments.”

So is a four-day work week something the current NDP government would endorse for British Columbians?

“I think I will leave that up to the entrepreneurial spirit of British Columbian businesses and the workers,” said Labour Minister Harry Bains when asked about it a news conference Thursday.

“Many already have different work schedules; some work four days on, four days off; others have staggered hours,” he said. “At the end of the day, we as a government want to make sure we support those businesses and their initiatives.”

‘B.C. is not New Zealand’

Some in the province’s business community are not welcoming the idea so warmly — especially if a compressed work week was required, rather than simply encouraged.

“In the current pandemic-driven economic crisis, business does not support government-imposed measures that would further increase operating and labour costs, and thus make it harder for companies to hire back employees,” said Jock Finlayson, chief policy officer of the Business Council of British Columbia.

He said the approach makes no sense for firms that have seen revenues drop significantly or collapse altogether, adding there is no need at this point for the province to consider ‘drastic steps.’

“B.C. is not New Zealand… A mandatory four-day work week, especially if not accompanied by proportionate pay reductions, would increases costs and add regulatory complexity for employers in every sector,” Finlayson said in a statement.

The B.C. Business Council believes there is currently no need for the province to take ‘drastic steps’ to generate local demand for tourism. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

‘A number of ideas — and that’s a good one’

B.C.’s tourism industry has all but come to a halt since the pandemic hit in March and is looking at its options.

“There’s a number of ideas — and that’s a good one,” said Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C., who calls it a novel concept.

He believes extending weekends would encourage people to hop in their car and go further afield than a two-day weekend, so it could benefit some communities as people travel between regions.

“Any initiatives like this we would certainly want to look at to see if it is, in fact, a motivation for people to travel. We’d like to think it is, but on the other hand people may still choose to stay closer to home,” he said in an interview Thursday.

The Tourism Industry Association of B.C. says the bulk of tourism dollars generated in this province are from residents of British Columbia, but hitting the peak summer season is critical. (Roshini Nair/CBC)

However, even if B.C. does benefit from a bump in domestic travellers, many of the most popular outdoor activities in the province are free.

“Having people travel to other jurisdictions is great, but if they’re only on a hiking trail and not spending money at a restaurant or going to an attraction or staying at a hotel — that doesn’t help businesses that are desperate for visitors.”

Judas also wonders whether tourist facilities will be ready to accept an influx in visitors in time to cash in on the peak summer tourism season from May-September.

“It’s the nearby, short-haul travel market that is your bread and butter,” he said, adding the bulk of tourism dollars in the province are generated from residents of British Columbia.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

Economy

China Wants Everyone to Trade In Their Old Cars, Fridges to Help Save Its Economy – Bloomberg

Published

7 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

China’s world-beating electric vehicle industry, at the heart of growing trade tensions with the US and Europe, is set to receive a big boost from the government’s latest effort to accelerate growth.

That’s one takeaway from what Beijing has revealed about its plan for incentives that will encourage Chinese businesses and households to adopt cleaner technologies. It’s widely expected to be one of this year’s main stimulus programs, though question-marks remain — including how much the government will spend.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Economy

German Business Outlook Hits One-Year High as Economy Heals – BNN Bloomberg

Published

8 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

(Bloomberg) — German business sentiment improved to its highest level in a year — reinforcing recent signs that Europe’s largest economy is exiting two years of struggles.

An expectations gauge by the Ifo institute rose to 89.9. in April from a revised 87.7 the previous month. That exceeds the 88.9 median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. A measure of current conditions also advanced.

“Sentiment has improved at companies in Germany,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said. “Companies were more satisfied with their current business. Their expectations also brightened. The economy is stabilizing, especially thanks to service providers.”

A stronger global economy and the prospect of looser monetary policy in the euro zone are helping drag Germany out of the malaise that set in following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said last week that the country may have “turned the corner,” while Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also expressed optimism, citing record employment and retreating inflation.

There’s been a particular shift in the data in recent weeks, with the Bundesbank now estimating that output rose in the first quarter, having only a month ago foreseen a contraction that would have ushered in a first recession since the pandemic.

Even so, the start of the year “didn’t go great,” according to Fuest.

“What we’re seeing at the moment confirms the forecasts, which are saying that growth will be weak in Germany, but at least it won’t be negative,” he told Bloomberg Television. “So this is the stabilization we expected. It’s not a complete recovery. But at least it’s a start.”

Monthly purchasing managers’ surveys for April brought more cheer this week as Germany returned to expansion for the first time since June 2023. Weak spots remain, however — notably in industry, which is still mired in a slump that’s being offset by a surge in services activity.

“We see an improving worldwide economy,” Fuest said. “But this doesn’t seem to reach German manufacturing, which is puzzling in a way.”

Germany, which was the only Group of Seven economy to shrink last year and has been weighing on the wider region, helped private-sector output in the 20-nation euro area strengthen this month, S&P Global said.

–With assistance from Joel Rinneby, Kristian Siedenburg and Francine Lacqua.

(Updates with more comments from Fuest starting in sixth paragraph.)

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Economy

Parallel economy: How Russia is defying the West’s boycott

Published

14 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Harry Miller

When Moscow resident Zoya, 62, was planning a trip to Italy to visit her daughter last August, she saw the perfect opportunity to buy the Apple Watch she had long dreamed of owning.

Officially, Apple does not sell its products in Russia.

The California-based tech giant was one of the first companies to announce it would exit the country in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

But the week before her trip, Zoya made a surprise discovery while browsing Yandex.Market, one of several Russian answers to Amazon, where she regularly shops.

Not only was the Apple Watch available for sale on the website, it was cheaper than in Italy.

Zoya bought the watch without a moment’s delay.

The serial code on the watch that was delivered to her home confirmed that it was manufactured by Apple in 2022 and intended for sale in the United States.

“In the store, they explained to me that these are genuine Apple products entering Russia through parallel imports,” Zoya, who asked to be only referred to by her first name, told Al Jazeera.

“I thought it was much easier to buy online than searching for a store in an unfamiliar country.”

Nearly 1,400 companies, including many of the most internationally recognisable brands, have since February 2022 announced that they would cease or dial back their operations in Russia in protest of Moscow’s military aggression against Ukraine.

But two years after the invasion, many of these companies’ products are still widely sold in Russia, in many cases in violation of Western-led sanctions, a months-long investigation by Al Jazeera has found.

Aided by the Russian government’s legalisation of parallel imports, Russian businesses have established a network of alternative supply chains to import restricted goods through third countries.

The companies that make the products have been either unwilling or unable to clamp down on these unofficial distribution networks.

Source link