Vacation time in North America?

[Ace]

It being the holidays and all, I was thinking exactly how Canada differs from European countries as far as a work/life balance is concerned.  What piqued my curiosity initially was when someone asked me if Boxing Day is a stat holiday here in B.C.  Boxing day is not a stat, btw...

Anyhow, it seems Canada is lagging behind compared to other Western countries in a few areas when it comes to a work/life balance.  Here, two weeks vacation is all employees are entitled to according to B.C. labour law...

Here's a quote, and compare our two weeks vacation with what France has to offer:

"Western Europe also leads the United States, and Japan, by an even wider margin in vacation time. In France, for example, workers by law receive at least five weeks and often six weeks of paid vacation."

[Lucky Strike]

I've got family in Germany, and those lucky bastards are entitled to 6 weeks paid vacation upon 1 year completed at the job.  Most of the european countries as well as most in north amaerica wouldn't know what f***ing boxing day was if it was shoved in their pipe.

[NSgirl]

Ever watch the movie called "sicko" that is an eye opener about other countries! Some have it way better then us!

[Ace]

I did a bit of reading up, and Canada is not so hot on the list when it comes to work/life balance.  In Europe, the labour organizations seem to have a bit of pull, and are demanding better working conditions for their slaves, while our slaves here are working more than ever just to make ends meet.  They are advancing, while we are not.

Union representation seems to be on a decline here, for whatever reason, and our Government couldn't care less if you have to work 24/7, with no life and hardly any time to enjoy the fruits of your labours...

I will do some more research later and try to compare our pension plans, and other benefits like that, to theirs...

[Lise]

Y'know, we really should be thankful we even get a couple of days off for Christmas and the New Year. Asian countries are lucky they even get more than 5 days off... some may not even get any holidays.

[Ace]

quote:Originally posted by Lise

Y'know, we really should be thankful we even get a couple of days off for Christmas and the New Year. Asian countries are lucky they even get more than 5 days off... some may not even get any holidays.

That's no good...  I like the European style of work/life balance better.    I think it's time that Canada smartens up and joins the rest of the civilized world!  Free the slaves!

Let's be realistic here though...  Two weeks off in a 52 week year isn't much.  It blows by in the blink of an eye...

[Lise]

Hear! Hear! I will vote for you should you decide to become Prime Minister. We should get at least 5 weeks off in a year.

BTW, googled the vacation days around the world just for fun. Came up with this.

Average Number of Vacation Days Around the World Per Year

Italy               42 days
France              37 days
Germany             35 days
Brazil              34 days
United Kingdom      28 days
Canada              26 days
Korea               25 days
Japan               25 days
U.S.                13 days

I want to live in Italy!!!!! []

[Lucky Strike]

We only live goddamn once, and it should be spent for the most part doing the things you love to do, not doing mindless bullsh- work for some snot nosed sonofabitch who wears suspenders and drinks goddamn starf***s coffee as if it was my f***ing bottle of rye.  We need to spend more time living, not more tiem preparing to die by working for the man just to overstuff your f***ing rsp's.

[mslewd]

quote:Originally posted by Lucky Strike

We only live goddamn once, and it should be spent for the most part doing the things you love to do, not doing mindless bullsh- work for some snot nosed sonofabitch who wears suspenders and drinks goddamn starf***s coffee as if it was my f***ing bottle of rye.  We need to spend more time living, not more time preparing to die by working for the man just to over stuff your f***ing rsp's.

Just think of how much longer you would live if you weren't damaging your liver and lungs???

[Ace]

quote:Originally posted by Lise

Hear! Hear! I will vote for you should you decide to become Prime Minister. We should get at least 5 weeks off in a year.

BTW, googled the vacation days around the world just for fun. Came up with this.

Average Number of Vacation Days Around the World Per Year

Italy               42 days
France              37 days
Germany             35 days
Brazil              34 days
United Kingdom      28 days
Canada              26 days
Korea               25 days
Japan               25 days
U.S.                13 days

I want to live in Italy!!!!! []

Italy seems like the place to be!  I think life is a bit more relaxed there...  I'm surprised the U.S. is that low on the list!

Another related matter that I should look into is average yearly hours worked.  This would give us a better idea of who's getting run ragged regardless of days off...

[Ace]

According to this chart, it looks like North Americans are getting the shaft compared to Western European countries when we compare average hours worked per year, as far as home time is concerned...

It looks like the Koreans are pretty busy guys...  Work and sleep, work and sleep =(

[NewHere]

I thought I was lucky when my job offered me 3 weeks paid vacation to start!

Guess not!

Mind you, I'm glad I don't live in Korea...

Interesting post Ace!

[sid]

It is interesting that Euro countries like Germany and France don't feel the need to compete with 3rd world countries by keeping wages and benefits low. Everytime a contract is broken and the work outsourced to people who will work for far less, it is supposedly because we have to compete. If people in Canada averaged $5-$8 per day, could we compete then? The race to the bottom is never to the benefit of the country, but it is always for the benefit of greedy CEO's that make far more in North America relative to their average employee than they do in Germany and France. Nobody does greed like the rich do it.

[Ace]

quote:Nobody does greed like the rich do it.

True.  I think Pattison is a good example of the mentality among the elite.  The guy is a multi billionaire, yet his mission seems to be to keep the wages and benefits of his employees at rock bottom levels.

I guess the guy was tired of his unionized employees making $9.50 (a joke in itself that any union would recommend a wage under $10/hour), so he'll just open up his new stores under a different name, without the union, so he can pay them $8/hour.  The catch is, the price of the product is the same, so you're not actually benefiting anyone but him by shopping at his new stores.
This is the mentality among the truly rich, and they do have pull.
The labour unions here are getting weaker and weaker, and the 'slaves' here in Canada are generally afraid to make certain demands of their employers.  I can't blame them though, because if your boss thinks you're a trouble maker, he'll just fire you.  There's really not that much protection in place as one thinks for employees.

I see it more and more too.  Contracting out to save a few bucks.  Contracting out generally leads to lower quality work, and instead of having to pay a guy $20/hour, you can now pay someone with 'questionable' skills $9 or $10/hour, with no benefits, to do the same job.  The thing is, this doesn't benefit anyone but the owner.  The extra profit goes straight into his all ready rich pockets.

In my opinion, the wages have not kept up with the cost of living...
A sh-hole house in Van will cost you a half million dollars now, but I don't see many new jobs being generated that will allow one to own a home such as this.  The middle class does seem to be slowly disappearing...

[yorkcountykid]

ace, i would like to know which jobs in that chart are being compared. it seems hard to believe that they could be giving a fully equal comparison across the board.

[Ace]

quote:Originally posted by yorkcountykid

ace, i would like to know which jobs in that chart are being compared. it seems hard to believe that they could be giving a fully equal comparison across the board.

I don't think they're comparing any specific jobs.  I think it's just an average figure...

[Spaz]

Canada is very lame and we know the Asian countries feel money is everything and nothing else matters:

Minimum vacation time around the world
Country   legally required
Argentina    14 calendar days (from 0 to 5 years seniority), 21 calendar days (from 5 to 10), 28 calendar days (from 10 to 20) and 35 calendar days (from 20)
Australia  As of 27 March 2006, 20 work days (4 weeks). 2 weeks can be "sold" to employer. Additional Long service leave is also payable. 10 public holidays as well are payable to employees.
Austria   5 weeks
The Bahamas  14 days after 1 year employment, 21 days after 5 years employment
Belgium  20 days, premium pay
Brazil   30 consecutive days, of which 10 can be sold back to the employer
Bulgaria    minimum 20 working days
Canada   Determined by provincial law. 10-15 working days depending on province. In addition, 10-12 public holidays depending on province.
Chile   15 working days
Colombia   15 working days for every year, vacations can be accumulated for up to 4 years (up to 60 working days of vacations)
Costa Rica   2 weeks after 1 year employment.
China    Not required - this is incorrect. while complicated by complex fluid laws there is a minumum of 20 days per year.
Croatia  18 working days. Saturdays can be incuded even if company offices are not open on Saturdays. This is left for employers and employees to agree.
Czech Republic    4 weeks
Colombia  14 days
Denmark   6 weeks, of which 5 days can be "sold" back to the employer - omsorgsdage (carers leave).
Dominican Republic    14 work days after one year employment, 20 work days after 5 years employment.
Estonia    28 calendar days
European Union  4 weeks, more in some countries
Ecuador   14 days
Finland   35 days
France    5 weeks[1] (+ 2 weeks of RTT (Reduction du Temps de Travail, in English : Reduction of Working Time) according to the contract)
Germany   29 days on average, depending on collective labor agreements for the industry or individual contracts. By law only 4 working weeks are required though. In addition 9 to 13 public holidays; plus sick, pregnancy, mothership and personal leave
Greece  20 working days or more depending of the years in the company
Hong Kong    7 days
Hungary    20 working days
Ireland    4 working weeks (20 days if working full time), plus 9 public holidays
India  60 Days
Israel    14 days
Italy  20-32 working days (exact amount depends on contract details) plus 12 public holidays
Japan  including sick leave: 18 days paid time off;
officially, five weeks (in reaction to the karoshi problem)
Korea, South   10 working days
Latvia  4 weeks
Malaysia  Starts at 8 days for first 2 years employment with an employer. Increases to 12 days for between 2 and 5 years employment and 16 days for 5 or more years. Plus about 14 public holidays (depends on state).
Mexico  7 days
Netherlands   4 weeks
New Zealand  4 weeks as of April 1, 2007
Norway  25 working days
Pakistan   15 working days
Paraguay   14 days
Peru   14 days
Poland    20 business days, 26 business days after 10 years of employment
Portugal   22 working days, up to 25 without work absences in previous year.
Puerto Rico    15 days
Romania   minimum 21 working days
Russia   28 calendar days[2]
Saudi Arabia    15 days
Serbia    20 working days minimum + 1 day extra for every 2 years of service (this extra is optional, employer can choose not to do that)
Singapore    14 days
Slovakia  20 days, 25 days after 15 years of employment
South Africa  21 consecutive days
Spain  30 calendar days
Sweden    25-32 working days, depending on age
Switzerland   28 calendar days (= 20 work days)
Taiwan  7 days
Turkey  12 work days
Tunisia    30 work days
Ukraine    24 calendar days
United Kingdom  4 working weeks, with no additional entitlement for bank holidays. Increases to 4.8 weeks from 1st October 2007, and to 5.6 weeks from 1st April 2009.[3]
United States    none[4]
Uruguay   14 days
Venezuela    15 paid days
Vietnam    10 working days.

[Mandy]

quote:Originally posted by Lise

Hear! Hear! I will vote for you should you decide to become Prime Minister. We should get at least 5 weeks off in a year.

BTW, googled the vacation days around the world just for fun. Came up with this.

Average Number of Vacation Days Around the World Per Year

Italy               42 days
France              37 days
Germany             35 days
Brazil              34 days
United Kingdom      28 days
Canada              26 days
Korea               25 days
Japan               25 days
U.S.                13 days

I want to live in Italy!!!!! []

I'll pack the bags you get the tickets... Meet you at the air port?!