AltAusterity Digest #14 September 14-20, 2017

Chief OECD economist Catherine Mann has told the BBC that the rise in women’s employment since 2008 is part of the reason for holding back global wage growth, as women are paid less than men. Mann also blamed poor productivity and unions for placing more emphasis on job security than wages.

 A study by the UN has reached different conclusions than Catherine Mann. The study blamed austerity budgets for undermining job security for millions of workers. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report – “Beyond Austerity: Towards a Global New Deal” claimed that a lack of government investment and support for skills training has caused an upsurge in the use of AI and robotics, with a tendency for “good jobs” to go to men rather than women.

A coalition of Canadian labour organizations has come out in support of the Liberals’ proposed tax reforms. The Canadian Coalition for Tax Fairness has called for a tax strategy to boost the ability of government to pay for the necessary services and infrastructure. The tax reforms entail three main changes, including prevention of “income sprinkling” (which involves paying a salary to a family member to avoid taxes), limiting the tax benefits of sheltering investments, and stopping business owners from converting income to capital gains.

As contention heats up in France over President Macron’s proposed labour reforms, the latest OECD Economic Survey of France has taken a firm stance. The report claims labour laws need to give businesses and their workers more flexibility to negotiate working conditions and wages. The report has also called for public expenditure to be reduced to ensure debt sustainability and create room for further tax cuts.

That's it for this week's Digest! Check back next Friday morning for another edition, or subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly roundup. We'll also Tweet each time we add new content, so you can keep up with our work @AltAusterity and join the #altausterity conversation!