首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
Britain’s flexible labor market was a boon during the economic recession, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recov
Britain’s flexible labor market was a boon during the economic recession, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recov
admin
2022-05-13
56
问题
Britain’s flexible labor market was a boon during the economic recession, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recovery began, allowing employment to rise. Yet one of its flexible bits is causing politicians to be worried. Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labor Party, has promised a crackdown on "zero-hours contracts" if he wins the next election. The government has launched a consultation.
Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need, with no prior notice. In theory, at least, people can refuse work. Fully 1. 4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014, according to the Office for National Statistics. That is just 4% of the total, but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.
The contracts are useful for firms with unstable patterns of demand, such as hotels and restaurants. They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery—allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff, who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong.
Flexibility suits some workers, too. According to one survey, 47% of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours. Many of these workers are in full-time education. The ability to turn down work is important to students, who want to revise at this time of year. Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.
Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions. Some of this is cyclical. During recessions, a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them. Underemployment is particularly prevalent among these workers, 35% of whom would like more hours compared with 12% in other jobs. As the economy recovers, many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.
But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero-hours contracts to disappear. Some workers will never have much negotiating power: they are constrained by geography, family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers. Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labor-market power. Some use them to avoid legal obligations such as sick and maternity pay. Workers are penalized for not being available when requested. And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additional jobs. These can harm other employers as well as workers, and actually reduce labor market flexibility. That, at least, is worth doing away with.
The text mainly focuses on zero-hours contracts’________.
选项
A、traits and effects
B、limits and defects
C、merits and impacts
D、features and problems
答案
D
解析
主旨题。本题涉及全文主旨。首段先引出zero-hours contracts“零时工合同”的话题;第二、三、四段讨论其具有灵活性和不稳定性等特点;最后两段讨论“零时工合同”的一些问题。故本文主旨为“零时工合同的特点和问题”。接着分析选项。A项traits and effects“特点和影响”;B项limits and defects“局限性和缺陷”;C项merits and impacts“优点和影响”;D项features and problems“特点和问题”。故本题答案为D项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/UHi4777K
0
考研英语二
相关试题推荐
Thingswentwellforhimduringhisearlylifebutinmiddleagehis______seemedtochange.
America’seconomicrecoveryremainsuncomfortablyweak.Thelatestdatashowindustrialproductionfallingwhilethetradedefic
Thelongestbullruninacenturyofart-markethistoryendedonadramaticnotewithasaleof56worksbyDamienHirst,Beauti
Thelongestbullruninacenturyofart-markethistoryendedonadramaticnotewithasaleof56worksbyDamienHirst,Beauti
Nameshavegainedincreasingimportanceinthecompetitiveworldofhighereducation.Ascollegesstriveformarketshare,they
Nameshavegainedincreasingimportanceinthecompetitiveworldofhighereducation.Ascollegesstriveformarketshare,they
Whateverhappenedtothedeathofnewspaper?Ayearagotheendseemednear.Therecessionthreatenedtoremovetheadvertising
Whateverhappenedtothedeathofnewspaper?Ayearagotheendseemednear.Therecessionthreatenedtoremovetheadvertising
随机试题
斜向沟通
有关新生儿破伤风的治疗原则,不正确的是
男,18岁,上前牙受伤,但未折断。半年后,该牙逐渐变色,变色的原因是()
甲为乙运送三十吨水泥,乙拒不付款,假定应付运输费用为一千元,每吨水泥250元,则()。
宏达公司2014年年初的资产总额为90000元,负债为50000元。2014年1月份发生的经济业务事项如下:(1)公司行政办公室职工因公出差,预借差旅费100元,以现金支付。(2)收到投资方投入银行存款5000元。(3)
根据《上海证券交易所债券交易实施细则》的规定,债券质押式回购交易实行企业债回购交易按()进行申报。
科学发展观的核心是()。
阅读下列材料回答后面的问题。中国古代饮茶之风始于唐,盛于宋。到宋代,茶叶已成为中原及周边各族人民“一日不可以无”的日常消费品,对宋代的社会生活产生了重大影响。材料一西戎茶马之市,自宋已然。盖土蕃潼酪腥膻,非茶不解其毒……(中原)藉之可
长时间以来,英国的医生认为戴墨镜的病人更易于消沉并患上忧郁症。对因诸如心脏疼痛和消化不良等身体不适而住院的病人进行的心理测试证实了这一联系。或许觉得周围的一切使得心理上痛苦的人选择这样的墨镜去减少视觉刺激,视觉刺激被认为是令人易发怒的。不管怎么说,人们可以
A、Inonlyonesemester.B、Injusttwosemesters.C、Inatmostthreesemesters.D、Inatleastfoursemesters.C选项中重复出现的semesters表
最新回复
(
0
)