6 ms·

We should admire the selfless relentlessness of French government trying to protect us from ourselves.

ciconia 10y ago
It's not the French government, rather French law, and arguably French values. I've been living in France for the last 3 years and have come to deeply appreciate their tenaciousness when it comes to labour relations and worker rights. As for the ruling, it's worth noting that the demand for material damage of the civil parties in the case, notably taxi driver unions, totalling some 114M€, have been rejected, while the court did accord the 5.2M€ in moral damage[0]. [0] http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/06/09/uberpop-800-000-euros-d-amende_4944820_3234.html http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/06/09/uberpop-80...
- LanceH 10y ago
  some worker's rights.
  - linkregister 10y ago
    Indeed, the workers who already have safe jobs have protection and 36 hour work weeks while the 10.3% of the population who are unemployed are locked out.
    - kuschku 10y ago
      And the alternative would be what? Like the US, everyone working 60h work weeks and still earning not more than unemployment benefits? (looking at Walmart, Uber, etc... yup)
      - JBReefer 10y ago
        "Everyone" is a giant stretch, there. Are you American? I promise that midtown-bound subway is not full of people going to work at McDonalds. The vast majority of people have white-collar, good benefit jobs. Probably more than the French when you count in the unemployed and the unwelcome in the banlieues.
        kuschku 10y ago
        > The vast majority of people have white-collar, good benefit jobs You’re saying over 50% of americans have a white-collar job, with free healthcare, good benefits, etc? The actual numbers look more like below 30% do. 43% of americans earn so little that they can’t even save up any money, or pay off their debts.
      - linkregister 10y ago
        What is France's unemployment benefit amount per month?
        ciconia 10y ago
        Depending on circumstances, you get about 65% of your last salary for up to 3 years. There are lots of other benefits for the unemployed such as housing support, child support, and aid for starting a business.
      - aianus 10y ago
        > everyone working 60h work weeks and still earning not more than unemployment benefits? More like earning 3x vs. their colleagues in France. My team at Twitter was filled with French engineers who had to leave France to get paid a fair wage for their skillset.
        TeMPOraL 10y ago
        You know that IT is a very unique industry and in US (especially in SV area) people get ridiculously high salaries? Please compare normal jobs in normal industries. GP's point is a good one.
        aianus 10y ago
        My point applies to any white-collar profession (although perhaps with a smaller multiplier). In exchange for long hours and a crappy safety net, US professional workers get paid a lot more than their peers anywhere else in the world, keep more of it at tax time, and have low-cost goods and services to spend it on.
        kuschku 10y ago
        The average american has it a lot worse than the average French, though, after you count healthcare costs, insurance costs, etc. Sure, the upper 25% live a lot better. But is that relevant for the other 75%? No.
    - ciconia 10y ago
      The 35 (not 36) hour work week is mostly a myth. Most people work at least 39 hours a week (that is they do a minimum of 4h overtime), and a lot of them do additional overtime, also in the public sector and the large corporations. The current government has been trying for months to pass labor reforms addressing overtime and employee dismissal. Those reforms are essential for lowering the unemployment rate, but are , as expected, met with very strong opposition from worker unions.
      - linkregister 10y ago
        Thanks for correcting the misconception and adding context. I'm glad to see the situation isn't as simple as I posited it was.

It's not the French government, rather French law, and arguably French values. I've been living in France for the last 3 years and have come to deeply appreciate their tenaciousness when it comes to labour relations and worker rights. As for the ruling, it's worth noting that the demand for material damage of the civil parties in the case, notably taxi driver unions, totalling some 114M€, have been rejected, while the court did accord the 5.2M€ in moral damage[0]. [0] http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/06/09/uberpop-800-000-euros-d-amende_4944820_3234.html http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/06/09/uberpop-80...

LanceH 10y ago
some worker's rights.
- linkregister 10y ago
  Indeed, the workers who already have safe jobs have protection and 36 hour work weeks while the 10.3% of the population who are unemployed are locked out.
  - kuschku 10y ago
    And the alternative would be what? Like the US, everyone working 60h work weeks and still earning not more than unemployment benefits? (looking at Walmart, Uber, etc... yup)
    - JBReefer 10y ago
      "Everyone" is a giant stretch, there. Are you American? I promise that midtown-bound subway is not full of people going to work at McDonalds. The vast majority of people have white-collar, good benefit jobs. Probably more than the French when you count in the unemployed and the unwelcome in the banlieues.
      - kuschku 10y ago
        > The vast majority of people have white-collar, good benefit jobs You’re saying over 50% of americans have a white-collar job, with free healthcare, good benefits, etc? The actual numbers look more like below 30% do. 43% of americans earn so little that they can’t even save up any money, or pay off their debts.
    - linkregister 10y ago
      What is France's unemployment benefit amount per month?
      - ciconia 10y ago
        Depending on circumstances, you get about 65% of your last salary for up to 3 years. There are lots of other benefits for the unemployed such as housing support, child support, and aid for starting a business.
    - aianus 10y ago
      > everyone working 60h work weeks and still earning not more than unemployment benefits? More like earning 3x vs. their colleagues in France. My team at Twitter was filled with French engineers who had to leave France to get paid a fair wage for their skillset.
      - TeMPOraL 10y ago
        You know that IT is a very unique industry and in US (especially in SV area) people get ridiculously high salaries? Please compare normal jobs in normal industries. GP's point is a good one.
        aianus 10y ago
        My point applies to any white-collar profession (although perhaps with a smaller multiplier). In exchange for long hours and a crappy safety net, US professional workers get paid a lot more than their peers anywhere else in the world, keep more of it at tax time, and have low-cost goods and services to spend it on.
        kuschku 10y ago
        The average american has it a lot worse than the average French, though, after you count healthcare costs, insurance costs, etc. Sure, the upper 25% live a lot better. But is that relevant for the other 75%? No.
  - ciconia 10y ago
    The 35 (not 36) hour work week is mostly a myth. Most people work at least 39 hours a week (that is they do a minimum of 4h overtime), and a lot of them do additional overtime, also in the public sector and the large corporations. The current government has been trying for months to pass labor reforms addressing overtime and employee dismissal. Those reforms are essential for lowering the unemployment rate, but are , as expected, met with very strong opposition from worker unions.
    - linkregister 10y ago
      Thanks for correcting the misconception and adding context. I'm glad to see the situation isn't as simple as I posited it was.