Sir. – One of the most powerful unions serving the German automotive industry is to initiate discussion on resorting to a four-day week to preserve jobs and minimise an employment crisis. Perhaps that initiative in Germany will open a long-overdue discussion here.
Covid-19 has stripped away the humbug and denial that kept future employment out of general debate. Preparation for this critical situation should have taken place over the last decade.
Ignoring obvious elimination of dependence on human labour has led to an immediate employment crisis, without any easy solutions, and where many are likely to suffer. There will be no solution without changing an economic and employment ideology which is unable to cope with unprecedented technological change. Creating jobs when many jobs are no longer needed is not an adequate answer to unemployment. The solution is much more demanding and complex.
Economists will not want to abandon a reassuring fallacy that technology still creates more jobs than it eliminates.
Politicians will not want to acknowledge an ignorance of technology that obscured recognition of an approaching crisis.
And saddest of all, media outlets, by not vigorously investigating and debating future employment trends and dangers, have seriously failed the democratic society they should have protected. – Yours, etc,
PADRAIC NEARY,
Tubbercurry,
Co Sligo.