It sounds as though we win hands down on holidays; we work a five day week, and the average job gives you 25 days additional holiday to take as and when you want. If you take illness, banks holidays, appointments and hangovers into account too, then you may well start to wonder how this nation functions at all.

But it does, mostly, and riots in the street aren't a part of my working week.

We are a unionised nation though, and becoming more so. Strikes are fairly common, or at least the threat of strikes and the subsequent contract negotiations are. However, they tend to be limited to some niche industry, like the people who make airline meals.

It's hard to mobilise a whole nation in unison over the plight of the people who make airline meals.