scholarly journals Domestic Workers, EU Working Time Law and Implementation Deficits in National Law - Change in Sight?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Scheiwe
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Working Time

The number of employed as a macroeconomic indicator of working time dynamics

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 935-945
Author(s):  
I.A. Zaikova
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Time Dynamics ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Macroeconomic Indicator

Subject. The working time of workers at any stage of economic development is a value reflecting the level of labor productivity. Any progress in productivity contributes to changes in the volume of labor costs and the number of employed. Depending on the relationship between the total volume of labor costs and the number of employed, the duration of working time per one worker may change (it may increase, decrease, or remain unchanged). Objectives. The study aims to confirm the importance of such a macroeconomic indicator as the number of employed in varying working hours. Methods. The study rests on the comparative analysis of countries with developed economies based on some indicators like dynamics of the working time fund, dynamics of the number of employed, average number of hours worked during the year per employee, etc. The analyzed timespan is 25 years (from 1991 to 2016). Results. The comparative analysis revealed that in the non-production sphere and the economy as a whole the macroeconomic determinants correlate so that the length of working time per worker reduces. When considering the analysis results for the manufacturing sector, no single trend was identified. Conclusions. One of the key factors affecting the change in working hours is the number of employed. The relationship between the working time fund and the number of employed directly determines the dynamics of working time per worker.

Domestic workers’ lived realities of empowerment and disempowerment within the South African labour legislative context: Two sides of the same “coin”

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-83
Author(s):  
Christel Marais ◽  
Christo Van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Phenomenological Research ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Employment Standards ◽  
Phenomenological Research Design ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
Elusive Concept

South Africa is heralded as a global ambassador for the rights of domestic workers. Empowerment, however, remains an elusive concept within the sector. Fear-based disempowerment still characterises the employment relationship, resulting in an absence of an employee voice. The dire need to survive renders this sector silent. This article explores the role that legislative awareness can play in the everyday lives of domestic workers. By means of a post-positive, forwardlooking positive psychological and phenomenological research design the researchers sought to access the voiced experiences of domestic workers within their employment context. Consequently, purposive, respondent-driven selfsampling knowledgeable participants were recruited. In-depth interviewing generated the data. The distinct voice of each participant was noted during an open inductive approach to data analysis. Findings indicated that empowerment was an unknown construct for all participants. They lacked the confidence to engage their employers on employment issues. Nevertheless, domestic workers should embrace ownership and endeavour to empower themselves. This would sanction their right to assert their expectations of employment standards with confidence and use the judicial system to bring about compliant actions. The article concludes with the notion that legislative awareness could result in empowered actions though informed employee voices.

“We cannot discriminate against someone without an eye or a leg … But I do look at obesity”: Statistical discrimination and employers’ recruitment strategies at housecleaning service companies in Johannesburg

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-41
Author(s):  
David Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Domestic Work ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Recruitment Strategies ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Recruitment Process ◽  
Demographic Profile ◽  
Job Seeking ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Personal Skills

The landscape of paid domestic work has changed considerably in recent years with the growth in the number of housecleaning service companies in South Africa and elsewhere. Housecleaning service companies transform domestic work into a service economy where trained domestic workers render a professional cleaning service to clients. In South Africa, little is known about the factors that employers at housecleaning service companies take into consideration during the selection and recruitment process. A key feature of paid domestic work is the gender, class and race constructions of domestic workers, the vast majority of whom are women, usually women of colour, from low socio-economic backgrounds. Whether we are seeing a change in the demographic profile of domestic workers with the growth of housecleaning service companies remains unclear. This paper therefore focuses on the recruitment strategies of employers at selected housecleaning service companies in Johannesburg in an attempt to shed light on the challenges that jobseeking domestic workers may face. Open-ended interviews with managers revealed that gender, race, age, long-term unemployment, and technical and personal skills of job-seeking domestic workers have a strong impact on the recruitment process, while immigration status plays a somewhat reduced role. This paper concludes that housecleaning service companies have not changed the demographic profile of domestic workers in South Africa yet, and that paid domestic work is still predominantly a black woman’s job.

Socio-Economic Analysis of the Proposal to Switch to a Four-Day Working Week in Russia

2019 ◽  
pp. 60-66
Author(s):  
R. A. Lugovskoy ◽  
E. V. Mikhaylov
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Labor Legislation ◽  
The Russian Federation

The presented study analyzes the proposal of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev to switch to a four-day working week. In the context of the topic, the experience of dealing with this issue is examined, including international practices. A similar proposal was discussed by I.V. Stalin as far back as Soviet times, although in the context of switching to five- or six-hour working days, but only in 2019 did this issue become the subject of debate. In light of the pension reform, which has led to an increase in the retirement age in Russia, a number of experts believe that such proposals may entail potential changes that could have a negative effect on the situation of workers. This study examines the mechanisms of public administration in coordination with enterprises relating to changes in the working hours.Aim. The authors aim to analyze potential directions for the improvement of public administration in the field of labor legislation, which has a significant impact on the development of the economy, business, and the situation of workers.Tasks. This study determines the historical background of Russia’s switch to a four-day working week; examines the legal mechanisms and specific features of labor legislation in Russia in the context of the planned switch to a four-day working week; explores international practices in the field of regulation of working hours; analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of switching to a four-day working week in Russia; develops proposals associated with Russia’s switch to a four-day working week.Methods. The methodological basis for the consideration of the problems includes general scientific methods, systems, structural, functional, and institutional analysis.Results. The ongoing processes in the field of improvement of labor legislation and its impact on the economy, business, and the situation of workers are comprehensively analyzed. The historical background of Russia’s switch to a four-day working week is determined; fundamentals of Russian labor legislation are examined; benefits and drawbacks of the potential innovations in the field of regulation of working hours are identified with allowance for international practices. The authors formulate proposals, the implementation of which will bring Russia closer to the switch to a four-day working week.Conclusions. The proposals of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation to switch to a four-day working week has raised a lot of questions. For instance, it is unclear whether the current wages will be maintained. It is also questionable whether it is a step towards artificially reducing unemployment, in which fields this idea is likely to manifest itself first, and so on. These questions need to be thoroughly discussed by the representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, trade unions, and the scientific community. It is necessary to conduct a sociological survey to determine and prevent concerns among citizens about the upcoming changes. That said, the authors believe that the idea itself is conceptually correct, but it still valid to doubt whether it can be successfully implemented at the time of capitalism, when entrepreneurs focus on profit and are not interested in reducing the working time of their employees. According to the authors, the plans of I.V. Stalin to reduce working time could faster come into fruition with the socialist economic model, which facilitated innovations in the machine tool industry that would boost GDP growth and significantly reduce production costs. Assessing the prospects of development of this idea at the present stage is difficult.

ANALYSIS OF WORK ON NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS IN ORTHOPEDIC DENTISTRY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF PROFESSOR E.S. KALIVRADZHIYAN

2020 ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Жанна Владимировна Вечеркина ◽  
Наталия Владимировна Чиркова ◽  
Михаил Анатольевич Крючков ◽  
Виктор Сергеевич Калиниченко
Keyword(s):  
Nanostructured Materials ◽  
Dental Materials ◽  
Physical And Mechanical Properties ◽  
High Strength ◽  
Barrier Properties ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Polymerization Process ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Acrylic Polymer ◽  
Removable Plate

Развитие технологий, основанных на использовании низкотоксичных материалов, позволит в скором будущем начать их применение в медицине. Применение наночастиц серебра, меди, кремния, цинка, титана, кобальта в качестве модифицирующей добавки позволит оказать активное влияние на структуру исходных материалов и изменение их свойств, а именно улучшение физико-механических, физико-химических и токсико-гигиенических свойств материалов. Наноразмерные частицы кремния, введенные в фиксирующие стоматологические материалы, приводят к улучшению физико-химических, физико-механических свойств кристаллизующихся материалов, а малая теплопроводность кремния может увеличить его рабочее время и снизить выделение тепла при реакции кристаллизации. Так как от этих характеристик зависит объем манипуляций, при фиксации ортопедических конструкций на опорных зубах целесообразно было бы привести рабочее время твердения к чистому времени твердения, что позволит увеличить объем манипуляций приготовленной массой без ухудшения ее свойств. Разработка высокопрочных, биосовместимых, высокотехнологичных нанопластмасс для базисов съемных пластиночных протезов является актуальной проблемой повышения качества жизни пациентов. Модификация наноразмерными частицами серебра, кремния акрилового полимера позволит улучшить такие физико-механические свойства, как ударную вязкость, прочность, температуростойкость, барьерные свойства, уменьшить усадку полимера на этапе полимеризации, в отличие от уже известных отечественных и дорогостоящих импортных полимеров. Наноразмерные частицы кремния, серебра являются сокатализаторами метилметакрилата, влияющими на уменьшение количества остаточного мономера после процесса полимеризации, тем самым повышая санитарно-химические и токсико-гигиенические характеристики полимера. Все вышеизложенное позволило сформулировать цель исследований по наноструктурированным материалам под руководством профессора …посвящается памяти профессора, д.м.н. Каливраджияна Э.С. The development of technologies based on the use of low-toxic materials will make it possible to begin their application in medicine in the near future. The use of nanoparticles of silver, copper, silicon, zinc, titanium, cobalt as a modifying additive will make it possible to actively influence the structure of the starting materials and change their properties, namely, improve the physicomechanical, physicochemical and toxicohygienic properties of materials. Nanosized silicon particles introduced into fixing dental materials lead to an improvement in the physicochemical, physicomechanical properties of crystallizing materials, and the low thermal conductivity of silicon can increase its working time and reduce heat generation during the crystallization reaction. Since the volume of manipulations depends on these characteristics, when fixing orthopedic structures on abutment teeth, it would be advisable to bring the working time of hardening to a pure hardening time, which will increase the volume of manipulations with the prepared mass without deteriorating its properties. The development of high-strength, biocompatible, high-tech nanoplastics for the bases of removable plate prostheses is an urgent problem to improve the quality of life of patients. Modification of acrylic polymer with nano-sized particles of silver and silicon will improve such physical and mechanical properties as impact strength, strength, temperature resistance, barrier properties, and reduce polymer shrinkage at the stage of polymerization, in contrast to the already known domestic and expensive imported polymers. Nanosized particles of silicon, silver are cocatalysts of methyl methacrylate, affecting the reduction of the amount of residual monomer after the polymerization process, thereby increasing the sanitary-chemical and toxic-hygienic characteristics of the polymer. All of the above made it possible to formulate the goal of research on nanostructured materials under the guidance of the professor …dedicated to the memory of the professor, d.m.s. Kalivrajiyan E.S.

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