经济学人:劳工VS资本 艰苦年代的正义(2)

 　　The authors argue that the fees prevent genuine claimants from enforcing their employment rights. 该书的作者认为费用阻止了真正的索赔人行使他们的就业权利。

　　In many cases the expected payoff is lower than the fee for starting the tribunal—which is not necessarily refunded¹ even if the claim is upheld. 在很多案例中期望的报酬比一次开庭的费用低—即使诉求被赞成，开庭费用也不会退还。

　　The authors calculate that abandoning even a claim guaranteed to succeed is the rational response for 35-50% of would-be claimants. 该书的作者推测，对于35-50%的潜在索赔人而言，放弃即使是一次势在必得的索赔是理性反应。

　　Worse, there is little evidence that the fees have deterred² only frivolous³ or mendacious⁴ claims. 更糟的是，几乎没有证据证明费用只制止了无用的或是虚伪的诉求。

　　If that were the case one would expect the success rate of claimants to have risen. 如果是这样的话，人们将期望索赔人成功率上升。

　　Instead, since 2012-13 the proportion of complaints that are struck out or dismissed has roughly doubled. 相反，自2012-2013年，被踢出局或驳回的投诉比重约已加倍了。

　　It may be that people with small but legitimate⁵ grievances⁶ have been deterred, whereas those who feel confident enough to game the system have gone ahead. 可能是那些有小量但合法不满的人们被制止了，而那些足够自信去玩弄体制的人已经走在前面了。

　　Even if convinced by such arguments, the Supreme⁷ Court may not recommend the abolition⁸ of fees entirely⁹. 即使被这种看法说服，最高法院可能也不会建议费用完全被废除。

　　A report last year from the Justice Committee of the House of Commons acknowledged that a contribution by users to the costs of operating courts was not objectionable in principle. 去年下议院司法委员会的一项报告承认使用者对运转法庭的费用的贡献原则上并不是令人反感的。

　　A recent government review made a similar argument. 最近一次政府评论也做了相似的看法。

　　Yet Ms Adams and Mr Prassl argue that the steepness of the fees makes them a “disproportionate restriction¹⁰ on litigants¹¹' right of access to the employment tribunals”. 但是Ms Adams 和Mr Prassl argue认为，费用的陡度使他们成了“对诉讼当事人通往就业法庭不成比例的限制”。

　　That is bad not just for litigants but for Britain's labour market generally. 这不仅对诉讼当事人不好，对英国的总体的劳动市场也不利。

1 refunded   

v.归还，退还( refund的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Postage costs will be refunded (to you). 邮费将退还（给你）。 来自辞典例句
• Yes, it will be refunded to you at the expiration of the lease. 是的，租约期满时，押金退回。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

2 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

3 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

4 mendacious   

adj.不真的，撒谎的

参考例句：

• The mendacious beggar told a different tale of woe at every house.这个撒谎的乞丐对于每一家都编了一个不同悲哀的故事。
• She gave us a mendacious report.她给了我们一个虚假的报告。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

11 litigants   

n.诉讼当事人( litigant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Litigants of the two parties may reconcile of their own accord. 双方当事人可以自行和解。 来自口语例句
• The litigants may appeal against a judgment or a ruling derived from the retrial. 当事人可就重审案件的判决或裁定进行上诉。 来自口语例句