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European Edition
30th May 2023
 
THE HOT STORY
Young people in UK shun trade unions
Trade union membership rates among young people in the UK have reached a record low. Department for Business data shows that just 4% of employees aged 16 to 24 were in a union last year. This is down from 7% in 1995. For workers aged 25 to 34, the rate dropped five percentage points to 21%. A Trades Union Congress spokesman said: “Young workers tend to disproportionately feature in sectors and jobs which have traditionally been more difficult to organise, such as hospitality, accommodation and food, as well as be in low-paid, insecure work.” Manuela Galetto, associate professor of employment relations at Warwick Business School, said: “The decline reflects a steady increase in non-unionised occupations linked to the growth of e-commerce,” while also noting “an increase in the number of careers where there is a high concentration of precarious and short-term contracts, notoriously less likely to unionise.”
TECHNOLOGY
AI will turbocharge the end of working from home - Kevin Ellis
The chairman of PwC in the United Kingdom contends that the rise of artificial intelligence will prompt more people to return to the office as they strive to stand out from bots. Kevin Ellis said: "The latest wave of AI will likely bring people back to the office. People are going to want to learn from others face to face, and the best way a human can differentiate themselves from a robot is in person." Ellis told staff last week: "For professional services, where researching and summarising data is a key part of junior roles, AI has the potential to fast-track year one trainees to year three. You're freeing people up to do more." He added that the acceleration came with challenges: "This will in turn require more coaching to equip people for more responsibility sooner, and impart knowledge that would typically be acquired over a longer period."
EU, Google to develop voluntary AI pact
Google's parent company, Alphabet, and the European Commission aim to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) pact involving European and non-European companies before rules are established to govern the technology, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Wednesday. He also urged EU countries and EU lawmakers to finalise details of the Commission's proposed AI rules before the end of the year. Both groups have yet to start negotiations to iron out their differences. EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager underlined the need to act together. "We need the AI Act as soon as possible. But AI technology evolves at extreme speed. So we need voluntary agreement on universal rules for AI now," she said in a tweet.
LEGAL
Tesla faces possible data protection violations in Germany
German authorities are investigating possible data protection violations by Tesla, according to Handelsblatt newspaper. The carmaker has allegedly failed to protect data from customers, employees, and business partners. One hundred gigabytes of confidential data was leaked to the newspaper by a whistleblower. The breach would violate the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A lawyer for Tesla claims that a disgruntled former employee abused his access as a service technician to obtain information, and the company plans to take legal action against the suspected ex-employee. The whistleblower notified German authorities about the data protection breach in April. The Brandenburg data protection office has stated that the matter would become serious if the evidence becomes substantial. Tesla and the data protection office were not immediately available for comment.
EU court rules against Italian airline aid
A top EU court has ruled that the European Commission was wrong to approve millions of euros in aid to help Italian airlines cope with the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. The EU general court said the commission failed to provide a statement of reasons for its finding that the measure at issue was not contrary to EU law provisions other than those governing state aid. The case was brought by low-cost airline Ryanair, which was also struggling to survive at the time. This is the second judicial win in a month for the low-cost Irish carrier after the court annulled decisions by the commission approving massive bailouts designed to help Lufthansa and SAS.
Credit Suisse ordered to pay $926m to former prime minister of Georgia
Credit Suisse has been ordered to pay former Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili $926m in a case dating back to a dispute relating to Credit Suisse private banker Patrice Lescaudron, who defrauded some of the bank’s clients, including Ivanishvili. A Singapore court told Credit Suisse to pay the sum after failing in its duty to safeguard Ivanishvili’s assets from fraudulent transactions by his relationship manager.
HYBRID WORKING
Investec to increase office attendance requirement
Investment bank Investec is increasing its office attendance requirement to four days a week, up from its previous policy of three. The new policy will come into effect in July and will not apply to Investec's wealth management arm, which is being merged with rival Rathbones. Investec is dual-listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Other companies, including Lloyds Banking Group, JP Morgan, and BlackRock, are also requiring their employees to return to the workplace more frequently. Investec's CEO, Ruth Leas, said that the company believes its culture and people's career growth are best enabled face-to-face. The company's current policy of three days a week in the office has been in place since the end of 2021. Last month, JP Morgan told senior bankers to return to the workplace full-time, while Lloyds was accused of inflicting "unnecessary disruption" on employees after telling them to return to the office for just two days a week.
HEALTH & WELLBEING
What bosses think about the right to disconnect
The FT has spoken to several managers, including Aviva chief people officer Danny Harmer, about their own work practices and their views on legislation to protect workers’ time.
WORKFORCE
Record number of people in Portugal hold multiple jobs
255,000 people in Portugal held at least two jobs in Q1 2022, a 4.5% increase from the previous quarter, according to the National Institute of Statistics. The figure is the highest since 2011, with 90% of those holding multiple jobs working in the services sector. Of these, 210,000 had the services sector as their main activity. The remaining 10% of those holding multiple jobs worked in the industry and agriculture sectors.
INTERNATIONAL
Record-breaking summer travel prompts companies to rethink return-to-office rules
With over 42 million Americans expecting to travel this summer, US companies are adopting hybrid work schedules with "Work from Anywhere" (WFA) weeks to accommodate employees' desire for flexibility while maintaining return-to-office mandates. WFA weeks are still relatively uncommon, but big-name companies like American Express, Visa, Mastercard, and Google have adopted the policy. Employees typically have the option to use their WFA weeks when it's most convenient for them throughout the year. Offering a set number of WFA weeks may allow companies to accommodate the desire for flexibility without committing to a fully remote future. For Suzanne Rosnowski, founder and CEO of public relations firm Relevance International, two WFA weeks alongside a three-day-a-week hybrid schedule emerged as a logical compromise with her team on how to transition back into the office after the pandemic. "We demonstrated work-from-home can be productive, but we also demonstrated too much work-from-home can be counterproductive, at least for our agency," she said.
PwC suspends nine partners over Australian scandal
PwC has suspended nine partners in Australia over the scandal involving the leaking of confidential government information about changes to tax laws. Nine partners - including members of PwC’s executive and governance board - have been told to “go on leave effective immediately” pending the outcome of an investigation. PwC has pledged to publish the findings of an internal review later this year. Separately, Kristin Stubbins, acting chief executive of PwC Australia, has published an open letter in which she said the leak had highlighted a “failure of leadership and governance,” as well as a “culture of aggressive marketing in our tax business” in Australia. Meanwhile, senator Deborah O’Neill says that PwC must name all 53 partners involved in the tax advice scandal, arguing that a failure to do so would amount to a “continued obfuscation and cover-up.”
Alibaba set to add 15,000 new jobs this year
Alibaba has rejected speculation that it is planning mass lay-offs, and says  it will hire 15,000 new employees across its six units this year. “Each year we see newcomers joining and old colleagues leaving. The movement of talent is what all companies see. At Alibaba, talent is moving in and out normally", the company said. “In the face of new situations, new opportunities and new developments, we have never stopped innovating and upgrading ourselves, nor have we stopped recruiting and cultivating outstanding talent". Alibaba’s statement followed reports that its cloud computing division, which is seeking an IPO in the next 12 months, is laying off about 1,000 workers. 
OTHER
Boozt blocks 42,000 customers for returning too many items
Sweden-based online fashion and beauty products retailer Boozt says it has blocked 42,000 customers for returning too many items. Ask Kirkeskov Riis, a spokesman for the multi-brand e-commerce webstore, said customers who were indefinitely blocked had sent back items either because they didn’t fit or because they regretted the purchase. He said the individuals "repeatedly exploit the high service levels of free shipping and returns at the expense of our business, other customers and the environment,” adding ”By pausing these accounts and reducing unnecessary returns, Boozt saved approximately 791 tons of CO2 in 2022 which has eliminated the need for approximately 600 delivery trucks during one year.”
 


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