Importance of a Labour Industry - Report Example

Name Course Tutor Date Labour Industry Introduction Free enterprise is any business undertaking controlled by both supply and demand laws, and not stifled by the regulations, interference from the government, or subsidies. It comes about as a result of free market economy, where the market force is determined by production as well as pricing. This is characterized by free market regulations rather than government regulations. In free economy the industries are privately owned and not government owned while the policies of free market are promoted and enhanced by free trade rather than the government’s protectionism. Transition from a closed to free economy is always not easy, with the countries having a poor economy finding it even harder. However, the reality is that free trade happens only in theory but not practical because the government expects some revenues. Complete freedom of access to markets doesn’t exist all over the world.reignforcing fiscal as well as monetary policies are some of the ways different nations use to improve their economies. America’s greatness can be attributed to the strong entrepreneurial spirit, but which currently is getting stifled by regulations, heavy taxes and government requirements, over-criminalization, poor immigration system and also failing public education. There are many areas of the economy that could perform magnificently incase they are left to the free enterprise system, as can be seen in the case of the labor industry (Richard 67-9). Labor industry This is one of the most mis-run industries as well as the most important industry in the American economy, entitled with the responsibilities of coordinating the production activities; labor could take the forms of skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled. It could be considered a taboo to ignore the fundamentals behind their operations as they are the basis of every success in an economy. The American law has in place certain restriction governing labor provision. Most of the labor laws are in place due to considerations for age, health factors, environmental factors, as well as human rights. The U.S government has had a considerably deteriorating performance in the industry due to some regulations, especially in the federal laws, that are discriminative and unfavorable to free enterprise .if free enterprise was allowed to take roots without the discriminative powers of the strict laws and allowed to operate at its optimum, the economic transformation could be visibly far much better. Free trade could be effective in transforming the following areas Regulation of wages Fair labor standards act of 1938 (FLSA) provides the minimum wage workers should get and the rights they have as workers, with variations in the applicability. It has managed to pass through a number of amendments to cater for the private employees and the public employees. Many countries including U.S have adopted the law that states minimum wages be higher, this is also applicable to all employers contracting with the local government to their employees. Both the federal and state governments’ requirement on employers on the prevailing wage payment on their employees is paramount and which should be up to the standard set. With the ambition of setting up good living standards for its people, the government is slowly turning away the potential investors who might not be ready for such conditions, as this proves costly in the long run. It also discourages employers to increase the employee numbers. Free trade could be the only solution to this catastrophe with overall determination of wages as per work quality and output, improvement in the overall work output and also the nature of work. This could provide a solid basis to decide the wages, hence a realistic approach. This would not only extend to encourage working hard among employees and increasing the investor base, but also improve the economy with a higher margin (Blank 89-91). Retirement benefits Employee retirement income security act is an act that provides for the standards to be used in funding and operating pension schemes as well as the plans of health care. The state regulates what type of health care is to be provided. The scope of this act is to provide the retired employees a continuous enjoyment of both financial and medical services even after retiring from their jobs. In the labor market, many people have retired and stripped a lot of economic resources from the economy due to deficits in the budget. The government has to provide for its retired employees despite the economic hardships. The government has had a lot of business going on that this is slowly becoming the last priority compared to other services, planning of this would have been better and effective if the government would have allowed the free enterprise to handle it(Ann 120-8). Working conditions The government has stipulated the working conditions that govern the safety of the people, although some of these stipulations tend to restrict the smooth flow of free trade due to inability of some demands to be met. The occupational safety and health act decides standards for the safety of the workplace. This is stirring arguments among employers and investors due to the high standards set for protection from exposure to environmental hazards and chemicals, hence over-protection of workers and reduced work output. This is an area that free trade would perform nicely if allowed to run. Free economy suggests that the standards although crucial, should be regulated in consideration of other factors relevant to the business .the only problem to the free trade is the high standards set by the government, which renders the employees become a burden to most employers. The situation could be turned around by the free trade due to the calculated risk- taking in different business ventures (Richard 78) Job security The conditions the government has placed on job security are a way of getting the American work force to be able to get protected from sudden lay-offs and problems related to the work place. This is important but the government has to a little extent exaggerated the whole course to discriminate on employers who, in their view, find these terms very unfavorable for competitiveness in business and the general growth of the economy, the role of the free trade is becoming more advantageous with its expansive reason of advocating for these factors to be controlled by market forces which improves work output and quality. The government uses the fair employment and housing act to protect the citizens from harassment as well as employment discriminations in age, medical leave denial, and disability among others. Work permits The controlling and restriction of the foreigners working permit is one problem that the U.S government faces due to the fact that majority would have been helping in improving the economy as they work. Controlling these permits is helpful in reducing the competition on the labor market between foreigners and the natives. If free trade could take effect then there will be improved economy with equal employment opportunities for all. Production would increase and also quality of service. This will also be fueled by innovations. Registration of farm contractors The law requires all farm contractors to register with the labor department first before employing, furnishing, and also transportation of both seasonal and migrant agricultural workers. This is done to ensure coordination in the agricultural activities .This law; however has some limits since it restricts mobility and flexibility of farm labor, which means time consumption, due to the processes involved. However if it could be left to the free enterprise it could be more efficient, elaborate and time saving due to the freedom to operate without hindrances. Free enterprise increases competitiveness in the sector and reduces the cost of production. The competitiveness in the sector would be as a result of investors gaining confidence and joining the sector so as to enjoy the opportunities available to them (Andrew 56). Child labor Any product that comes as a result of child labor is never solicited for. However it could be reasonable to argue that the younger population might constitute a larger percentage as has always been the case with the ageing Britain. Gifted children are able to do more than what is required of them and the only way of motivation would be to encourage their hard work as well as promote them. This could also act as a source of revenue for them. In America, the most valid way of making the economy turn around to a better stand is to encourage free trade which will self-regulate itself to provide for all the people involved (Arbor 90-3). Benefits American employees have a benefit scheme that helps not only to provide for the health needs but also give the employees some leave days which are unpaid for. The law requires that every employer provide the services for their employees. The prevalence of a law that requires employers to provide their workers with 14 days of unpaid medical leave and continuous medical services to cater for their employees or the relatives is increasing production cost hence the cost of goods and services which leads to incompetitiveness in the world market. It is an area that has to a smaller extent been managed efficiently by the government. If the free enterprise could be entrusted with this role, it would be more efficient and also compatible due to the decisions that would be made in consideration to the size of the business and the income generated. This is an area the government is facing challenges in managing due to deteriorating economic situation and the increasing number of retiring staff. The funds aren’t managed properly leading to continued deterioration. If the government could let this be controlled by the forces of their demand, competition would increase in the sectors to allure more people to join such schemes, and as evident, there would by a dramatic increase in the quality of services offered . Other restrictions In a developing country, one of the major indicators of development is high GDP and income level improvement among the employees, actually with any significant growth, there comes a lot of changes both politically, socially and financially. U.S is one of the most developed nations in the world and hence it has always acted as the standard of measuring development. This is characterized by the dollar performance, though recently the dollar’s performance has been dwindling and rendering the economic performance worse. This is due to the reduced trade and collapsing state of industries like the vehicle manufacturing. All these factors need the labor intensive approach in order to operate to their optimum capacity. The increases in wage and salary payments have required that a good number of companies should lay off workers so as to be able to operate within the budget. Free trade would greatly transform the performance of the businesses because the employers would be flexible (Arbor 23-7). Trade unions The trade unions are currently very weak due to being under protected with overprotection of employees. The unions therefore are not very effective in carrying out their effective roles .the labor laws are discriminative to the trade union, therefore if the free trade is allowed to take root the trade unions will be effective due to the great demand for their services. The government has been for long been a menace to different companies and individuals engaged in various businesses due to the regulations on the health factors, this hinders constant and sustainable labor due to the termination of contracts with belief that an individual or individuals are not fit for some jobs. This in effect renders these people unemployed. Free trade would let the individuals decide whether to carry on their business or to suspend that for some time, it could be the driving force towards hard work and better overall performance. Conclusion The government regulation in the labor industry are very crucial in the protection of workers and entitles them to more rights, although as can be seen, this has great impacts on the economy with many investors considering all these regulations before setting a foot forward to solicit for workers. Therefore with free enterprise the governing the labor operations, changes would be inevitable in the deteriorating labor industry. Works Cited Blank, R. Social Protection Versus Economic Flexibility: Is There a Trade-Off? Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Arbor, Ann. Why Individuals Pay Taxes: Tax observance and Enforcement, University of Michigan Press 1992. Stewart, Andrew. Labor Law, 4th edition, Sydney, The Federation Press, 2005. Richard, A. Forbidden Grounds: The Case against Employment Discrimination Laws. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992. Read More