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 labour market was a boon during the economic slump, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recovery
Britain’s flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recovery
admin
2019-06-06
32
问题
Britain’s flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recovery began, allowing employment to rise. Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret. Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour 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 a snapshot taken by 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 erratic 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 (or sit in the sun) 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 (the government has just said that unemployed people who refuse to accept zero-hours contracts could be cut off from benefits). 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 labour-market power. Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay. Workers are penalised 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 labour market flexibility. That, at least, is worth doing away with.
Which of the following is the best title of this text?
选项
A、Zero-hours Contract—Lack of Flexibility
B、Zero-hours Contract—an Out-of-date Policy
C、Zero-hours Contract—an Illegal Policy
D、Zero-hours Contract—a Challenging Way Against Permanent Job
答案
A
解析
主旨大意题。解决该题目的关键是,通过做完前四道题大体知道文章的中心,再次通读各段首句,验证中心。整个文章都是在围绕着零时工合同的影响来说,在结尾处明确地说明了零时工合同并不灵活,而与这个信息相对应的选项为A项Zero-hours Contract—Lack of Flexibility(零时工合同——缺乏灵活性),所以A项为正确选项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/JLb7FFFM
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
WiththepopularityoftheInternet,moreandmorepeopledoshoppingonline.Serialreturnerreferstosomeonewhoregularlyor
TheeconomistGeorgeAkerloffoundhimselffacedwithasimpletask:mailingaboxofclothesfromIndia,wherehewasliving,t
Clothesplayacriticalpartintheconclusionswereachbyprovidingcluestowhopeopleare,whotheyarenot,andwhotheywo
Clothesplayacriticalpartintheconclusionswereachbyprovidingcluestowhopeopleare,whotheyarenot,andwhotheywo
Supposeyourfriend,Anne,hasbeenpromotedtothemonitor.Andsheaskedforyouradviceonhowtoserveasanexcellentclass
RobertF.Kennedyoncesaidthatacountry’sGDPmeasures"everythingexceptthatwhichmakeslifeworthwhile."WithBritainvot
RobertF.Kennedyoncesaidthatacountry’sGDPmeasures"everythingexceptthatwhichmakeslifeworthwhile."WithBritainvot
Duringthepastgeneration,theAmericanmiddle-classfamilythatoncecouldcountonhardworkandfairplaytokeepitselffin
ArecentBBCdocumentary,"TheTownThatNeverRetired",soughttoshowtheeffectsof【C1】______thestatepensionagebyputting
随机试题
当使用强心苷中毒引起窦性心动过缓时,除停止用强心苷及排钾药外,最好选用
患儿,男,6个月10天,体重6kg,以“发育落后5月余”之代主诉入院,临床诊断为“精神运动发育迟滞、亚临床甲状腺功能低下、原发性肾上腺皮质功能不全”。入院查体:T36.8℃,P130bpm,R22bpm,发育评估结果言语能、应人能均较正常落后,膝腱反射及
有关胶囊剂的质量检查项目不正确的是()。
关于双合诊检查,下列错误的是()。
项目环境影响评价的原则包括( )。
相对而言,下列类型的文件中,不易感染病毒的是()。
(2016.河南)从根本上解决班级管理中存在的问题必须做到()
统计表根据下面表格,回答第91~95题:2002年,广东高技术产业专利授权数占全国的百分之几?()
Thepersonwhocanseeashipwithoutsomefeelingofexcitementmusthaveverylittleimagination.Eventheideaofleavingthe
对新信息系统进行评价的目的是:①检查信息系统的目标、功能和各项指标是否达到了设计要求;②检查信息系统中【】;③根据评审和分析的结果,找出系统的薄弱环节并提出改进意见。
最新回复
(
0
)