21st Century Slavery?

A committee of peers chaired by Lord Grenfell has said that the expansion of the European Union in 2004, that saw 10 eastern European countries join the EU, has boosted the UK economy. The UK’s ‘open door’ policy on immigration from these countries has put it in a strong position to cope with growing globalization.

The policy has lead to an influx of a skilled, low-cost workforce that enables the UK to compete with emerging low cost labour markets.

The arrival of cheap labour from within Europe and from outside of it, is certainly something the UK meetings and events industry has benefited from. Many of our venues employ a healthy variety of individuals from many different countries.

Whilst this approach is good for both business and the immigrants in the short term, it may have a negative affect in the longer term. The flow of immigrants cannot continue indefinitely, and those that are here already, will not work long hours for low wages forever. At some point we could find the cheap labour we have become so reliant on is no longer so cheap or in such abundance, with the knock on affect being that we are no longer so competitive.

What should we be doing to make sure we don’t take advantage of our immigrant workers and to ensure we build a mutually beneficial working environment so they don’t go elsewhere?

Jane Evans
Chief Executive, MIA

Future of the Net

On 30th October, the Internet Governance Forum, a body set up by the United Nations, met to discuss the future of the internet. It’s interesting to consider that as we all begin to take the web for granted, it is still quietly evolving and adapting. Discussions at the forum suggest the web will permeate our lives more and more through networked devices over the next decade.

The common form of the internet that we are all familiar with is currently just over 10 years old; it’s still in its infancy. Consider other world-changing technologies when they were in their infancy and look at them now, the telephone, television, motor car and airplane are shining examples. Clearly, there’s a lot more to come from the internet, experts believe we’ve barely scratched the service. The future of the net is predicted to be the convergence of mobile technology with the internet and virtual reality.

So what does this mean for meetings? What does it mean for our industry? Should we be thinking 5, 10 or even 20 years down the line? Many of us will still be working then (but that’s another issue).

In the shorter term there are changes in the way we communicate taking place everyday. The way we receive our news, entertainment and information is changing with trends like citizen journalism, blogs and online media. What does this mean for marketing our services, running our businesses and communicating with clients; are enough of us thinking beyond the now traditional company home page?

Jane Evans
Chief Executive MIA