The International Workplace and its Limitations 0
We are so proud of the fact, that we are so international and the world is at our feet; the world has become so small, we can travel to anywhere in the world within 24 hours, live a few years in Asia, make a career in Europe, and then settle down perhaps in Brazil at the age of 55. Or are we?
A discussion I had with a friend of mine yesterday, actually demonstrates that we are proud of something that does not really exist. My friend comes from an Eastern European country, is well educated, and has worked for my company here in Germany for over a year as an intern. She has paid her taxes and her social security fees to the government. She is now almost graduated and looking for a full-time job, for which of course she would be more than happy to apply at the company I work for. However, the company is not showing the big enthousiasm to hire her.
The problem? She is not German. If the company has a vacancy, and a non-EU citizen applies for that position, the company has a legal obligation to keep the vacancy public for another 2 months, and then provide proof that no German candidate has applied for that position who could do the job (read: fulfills the absolute minimum requirements). As a result, corporations are very reluctant in hiring people, who would need a work permit, since the procedures are too long and too costly. This is not only a trend within the EU, but similairly it would just as well apply for a foreigner wanting to work in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, or any country aiming at protecting its domestic labour force.
With my friend, we had come up with a perfect expression that explains this phenomenon:
The reason for countries to limit the domestic labour market to nationals of that country is a desparate attempt of the government to save the existing working conditions, knowing that they are not competitive on the international market place.
I think we still have a long way to go until we truly live in an international, bounderless world. And why shouldn’t we? If a person can contribute to a country or government, in a way that it pays taxes and fulfills its obligations, what should be the problem for that person to start working in a foreign country? Opening boundaries would mean a free flow of labour, but addionally it would also mean that enormous gap between countries will start to narrow down. In the long-run, this is a great benefit, but I believe that it is the transition period that everyone is affraid of.
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