| From: | Paul J. Adam Paul@********.demon.co.uk |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Industrial Action (was Re: Harrowing of Focus (sic)) |
| Date: | Thu, 26 Aug 1999 18:06:53 +0100 |
<moe@*******.com> writes
>People in this thread seem to think that a corporation employing staff
>at starvation-level wages in a third-world country would run into
>trouble with the government. Why? Look at any African country (with a
>few exceptions like Egypt and South Africa). Your average third world
>dictator is more likely to support the company that starves its
>employees than the one that pays well. A population whose biggest
>concern is how to fill the aching hollow in their bellies is easier to
>control than one which hs enough free time to actually sit back and
>realise how much their government is screwing them.
On the other hand, you're not going to get much in the way of skilled
labour. And, once you've trained them with useful skills... they represent
an investment, and saying "you're fired!" represents a cost.
Quality control could be something of an issue, too - "right first time" may
be hard to achieve with an unskilled, demoralised and highly transient
workforce.
And if they learn useful skills, they may decide not to come into work, but
to go into business for themselves...
>Once you have got enough money to lift you out of the daily struggle for
>survival, you start discovering things like leisure-time. You're able
>to take a few minutes out of your day to just sit back and relax, and
>then you start thinking. You start remembering just what Big Chief
>President Dick Tater told you would happen if you would aid his
>revolution. You remember the rhetoric about having a better life. And
>it is better. But you and your children are still dying from diseases
>that your new employers seem to shrug off with their magical medicines
>that come in plastic bottles. You begin to notice all kinds of things
>that aren't as they should be. Your eyes start opening to a better way
>of life.
Whereas when you get told "you're fired!" and get thrown off the factory,
and hear your children crying with hunger, then suddenly that recruiter
from the People's Revolutionary Army sounds like he's got a _hell_ of a deal
going. One great way to ensure stability - make sure people realise they
have something to lose.
Cheap way to mess with a competitor - get a nice little revolution going.
At the least, it'll shove their security costs through the roof.
>Besides, the corp is probably paying such huge bribes to the Arch
>Generalissimo Father Of His People that there isn't any money left for
>decent wages :-)
Nope, El Generalissimo knows his place and knows how fast he could be
replaced if he makes noise...
Thing is, do you see anyone relocating assembly lines from Detroit or
Birmingham down to Somalia? No matter _how_ cheap the labour is?
--
Paul J. Adam
