Reform, in whatever context, freaks a lot of people out. We live in a top down society and when you advocate for people to act in a bottom up way, this threatens their security. I think a lot of people would rather be uncomfortably secure then face uncertainty, even though that uncertainty will most likely lead to a better way of life. This seems to be an aspect of the human condition. I mean, you can see this in every aspect of humanity, not just the workplace, but peoples personal lives as well (my own included). If we look back in history reform has mainly come from the bottom, in other words, people revolting. You make a lot of really good points. It's definitely causing me to look at this from a broader perspective.
Yeah there is that danger of appeasing though.....appeasing a bully because we fear for our security but in the long run this just enables the bully to get stronger
I think the way our society is structured....and i'll go back to the britain v's germany programme again here....in germany most people do not buy their own home they rent. In britain it is almost expected that people buy their own home.
The problem with this is that then people are under a lot of pressure to pay their monthly mortgage payments. Most people cannot afford to not be earning for very long before they would be defaulting. So if they are getting bullied by management they are less likely to make a stand because they are worried about their mortgage payments
I saw this in a union despute i was involved in. We had enough people to get legal 'recognition' so that we could block managements oppressive move but management were very sneaky. of course they are sneaky, they have little to do but sit around the office thinking of ways to control the workers...we meanwhile had to not only manage our resistance but work at the same time!
So anyway management started meeting with individuals amongst the workers that they thought they could manipulate and with a mixture of threats followed by incentives ie payrises and other offerings that were later deceitfully reneged on they managed to win back some of the workers and they broke the unity of the workers
It was an interesting experience to see how different people react. I didn't have a mortgage and in that sense had less to lose than some. Others had mortgages, car payments, and other liabilities which made them fearful
The more self sufficient a person is the less crap they have to take is the bottom line
The corrupted workers referred to as 'crawlers' by the union broke the resistance and it crumbled and with it the team as well. Most the workers left and the workers still there are planning their escape.
Even the corrupted workers ended up feeling betrayed by management and left....much like judas hanging himself despite his silver coin
The corrupted workers had reasoned that they were getting a pay rise so it was better to sidle up to management but due to rising inflation the extra thy got paid was eaten up with that and in return they had to then accept shittier work conditions.
The workers have all gone on to do their own things successfully but obviously having to undergo the stress/excitement of forging out on their own. Management on the other hand seems unfazed....they don't care if people leave because they just replace them and they know they can pay new people less. Also because of the high unemployment in europe at the moment there are a lot of migratory workers who are just desperate for the work and will put up with the shitty conditions and pay
Things worked out well in the end but i was dissapointed in some that they couldn't see the big picture.....all it needed was for the workers to stick together and we would have been invincible (many however pulled together and showed a lot of courage)
That's the difficult part....getting people to see the bigger picture and how if they stick together great things really can be achieved after a little struggle. in our capitalist dog eat dog society however people have been conditioned by the mainstream media to have a 'me, me, me' individualist mindset see for example the TV programme 'the apprentice' where workers are all turned on each other in a horrible display of selfish egotism
That was also mentioned in the german/british comparison programme....the germans are big joiners of clubs which promote a sense of community whislt in britain people have become atomised and out for themselves
The 'conservative' party sold off a large part of our social housing stock by making a 'right to buy law' enabling people to buy their own council house. Many people thought it was great to be able to own their own homes (albeit through a mortgage) but it has far reaching consequences because it pulls even more of the population into that frightened mindset where they are more afraid of losing what they have and as a result become more conservative and less likely to stand upto the government or oppressive employers
The current economic climate is great for business fat cats as there are tons of workers to choose from which means they can treat workers like shit and drive down wages. the 'conservative' party are passing new laws to make it easier for employers to sack people as well. This would mean that a boss could come on sexually to a worker and if the worker didn't reciprocate they could just be fired. The conservatives are also making the cost of legally representing yourself against an employer prohibitively expensive making it far less likely that a worker will stand up for themselves
Its funny we are often tied into a small number of corporations for products cutting down competition (eg people tied into longer and longer contracts for their phones) yet the investment class are allowed to make workers compete. Its one rule for them and another rule for us! A news story at the moment is that a conswervative politician who was jailed for perjury has now been given a high ranking job wih an energy company! The guys a criminal and yet he waltzes into a high paid corporate job as soon as he leaves prison when most regular criminals can't get jobs!
The conservatives are cutting welfare payments and yet they support the bailing out of the banks....they capitalise their gains and socialise their losses....total hippocrits!
Basically they are handing all the power to the investment class so that the workers will be nothing more than slaves that have no cards to play in their own defence
On a more positive note there is now grass roots protests all around the world....the workers are stirring!
When the central banks are no longer able to hold back the deflationary forces by manipulating the interest rates it might light a fire under some peoples asses
Have you ever seen those nature programmes where the predatory wolves are creeping up on the bison? Eventually the bison form a defensive ring and for as long as they work together the wolves can't get any of the herd. If the bison lose their nerve and break ranks then they are all at risk.
Its looking like the workers around the world are beginning to turn together to face the wolves eg In greece groups are reconnecting electricity to peoples homes who can no longer afford it despite threats from the police
