Generous European Welfare State? Maybe not so much...& "the left" is doing the dirty work...

[Hannah Bell]

German court provides legal stamp for hard labour
By Dietmar Henning
20 December 2008

The highest German social court delivered a judgement on December 16 that exposes the real aim of the introduction of "one euro-jobs" by Germany's former Social Democratic Party (SPD)-Green Party government: to impose state-sponsored hard labour, break opposition to such measures by the unemployed, and thereby replace reasonably paid full-time jobs with a massive low-wage sector.

The 4th Senate of the Federal Social Court (BSG) in Kassel ruled on Tuesday that the unemployed must accept a one euro-job even if it involves a working week of up to 30 hours. The judgement overturns a number of regulations that until recently prevented such forms of cheap labour. Factors such as the qualifications of the unemployed person, the type of job offered, and the reimbursement involved no longer play a role.

...This judgement, which wipes out the rights of the unemployed, represents a fundamental attack on the entire working class. At the same time, the judgement is consistent with the new law governing unemployment benefits introduced in 2005 by the SPD-Green Party government headed by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD). The aim of the law was to force the unemployed to accept any and every form of work, irrespective of how low the pay, and thereby exert downward pressure on the wages of full-time workers...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/germ-d20.shtml

[babylonsister]

1. 1 Euro=$1.39...

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter?amt=1&from=EUR&to=USD&submit=Convert

This really, really sucks. Shades of forced labor imo.

[lonestarnot]

2. EEeek. Sucks to be a worker there. They should revolt!

[mikehiggins]

3. Well, actually, they just may

Labor, the Left and militancy have much different meanings across the big pond. Just look at Greece today, for example. Push too hard and the people DO take to the streets something we haven't seen here since the Depression.

Oh, wait. Did I say the D word?

[babylonsister]

4. It could happen here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x410056

"Pay close attention to Greece; at a time of world-wide economic upheaval, it might eerily presage disturbances elsewhere in 2009"

[Greyhound]

6. Fear not, they will. Europeans are, generally, far less tolerant of erosion of their

rights and privileges than we are.

[Karenina]

5. This may prompt a response.

[dipsydoodle]

7. UK for comparison

What are the current rates of the national minimum wage?

There are three levels of minimum wage, and the rates from 1 October 2008 are:

* £5.73 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older
* A development rate of £4.77 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive
* £3.53 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age


http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nmw/#b

That's law so its kinda cast in stone. Not much point in converting to US$s as the exchange rate is volatile.