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Overnight working makes a comeback at Western carmakers
FOR decades, workers in rich countries have fretted about competition from Asians prepared to work ceaselessly for a pittance. But this week a South Korean carmaker, Kia, agreed not just to boost its workers' pay but to get rid of night shifts, as the metal workers' union has long demanded. The country's largest carmaker, Hyundai, agreed to do the same last month.
The abolition of overnight working in South Korean plants comes just as the opposite is happening in Europe and North America. In August Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced the return of night shifts at its plant near Liverpool, to help it...