1.

Earning money: working life

The one thing the English will never forgive the Germans for is working too
hard.( George Mikes)
-The statement above is, of course, not literally true. However, it does
encapsulate a certain lack of enthusiasm for work in general. At the upper
end of the social scale, this attitude to work exists because leisure has always
been the main outward sign of aristocracy. And because of Britain's class
system, it has had its effects throughout society. 
-Traditionally therefore, a major sign of being middle class (as opposed to
working class) has been that you do non-manual work. The fact that skilled
manual (or 'blue collar") workers have been paid more highly than the lower
grades of 'white-collar' worker for several decades now has only slightly
changed this social perception. 
-The effect of the 'anti-work' outlook among the working class has been,
traditionally, a relative lack of ambition or enthusiasm, in which pay is more
important than job satisfaction.

-Perhaps the traditional lack of enthusiasm for work is the reason why the
working day, in comparison to most European countries, starts rather late.
However, if measured by the number of hours worked in a week, the British
reputation for not working hard enough appears to be false. The normal
lunch break is an hour or less, and most people (unless they work part-time)
continue working until 5 o'clock or later. Many people often work several
hours overtime in a week. 
-In addition, a comparatively large proportion of British people stay in the
workforce for a comparatively large part of their lives. The normal retiring
age for most people is 65 and this is to be raised in 2024. Finally, annual
holidays in Britain are comparatively short.

-There are three main ways in which people look for work in Britain:
through newspapers, through the local job centre and through privately-run
employment agencies. Of course, all c these sources are now frequently
accessed on the internet. The overall trend in employment over the last 50
years has been basically the same as it is elsewhere in western Europe. The
level of unemployment has gradually risen and most new job opportunities
are in the service sector.
 -This trend has led to a period of readjustment with regard to work at the two
sexes. The decline of heavy industry has meant fewer jobs in stereotypical
'men's work', while the rise in service occupations has means an increase in
vacancies for stereotypical 'women's work'. 
2. Working organizations
-The organization which represents employers in private industry is called
the Cònederation of British Industry (CBI). Most employers belong to it and
so it is quite influential in the advice which it gives to trade unions and the
government.
-The main organization for groups of employees is the Trades Union
Congress (TUC). This is a voluntary association of the country’s various
trade unions. There are more than a hundred of these, some big, some small,
representing employees in all kinds of work.
-Most British unions are connected with particular occupations. Many
belong to the Labour party to which their members pay a “political levy”. That is,
they pay a small part of their union membership subscription to the party, although
they have the right to “contract out” if they want to.

-However, the unions themselves are not usually formed along party lines;
that is, there is usually only one union for each group of employees rather
than separate on for each political party within that group.
-Unions have local branches, some of which are called “chapels”, reflecting
a historical link to Nonconformism. At the work site, a union is represented
by a shop steward, who negotiates with the on-site management. His (very
rarely is it 'her") struggles with the foreman, the management-appointed
overseer, are part of twentieth century folklore. 

-Union membership has declined since 1979. Until then, the leader of the
TUC (its General Secretary) was one of the most powerful people in the
country and was regularly consulted by the Prime Minister and other
important government figures. At that time, the members of unions
belonging to the TUC made up more than half of all employed people in the
country.
- But a large section of the public became disillusioned with the power of the
unions and the government then passed laws to restrict these powers.
Perhaps this decline is inevitable in view of the history of British unions as
organizations for full-time male industrial workers. 
-To the increasing numbers of female and part-time workers in the
workforce, the traditional structure of British unionism has seemed less
relevant. In an effort to halt the decline, the TUC declared in 1994 that it was
loosening its contacts with the Labour party and was going to forge closer
contacts with other parties. 

-One other work organization needs special mention. This is the National
Farmers' Union (NFU). It does not belong to the TUC, being made up
mostly of agricultural employers and independent farmers.
- Considering the small number of people involved in agriculture in Britain
(the smallest proportion in the whole of the EU), it has a remarkably large
influence. This is perhaps because of the special fascination that 'the land'
holds for most British people , making it relatively easy for the NFU to
make its demands heard, and also because many of its members are rich!