Screw dem women['s paychecks]

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decurso

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #15 on: April 28, 2007, 06:51:06 PM »
I should clarify I mean volunteers,people who pay to come here and short timers who will take any ol job just for the thrill of being in China.

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Eagle

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #16 on: April 29, 2007, 07:30:18 PM »
What's a short timer?
 
I am short.  I am also not young so I don't have a lot of time to invest here in China.  I also don't have the ambition to rise to the vice-dean of the school of foreign languages in my uni ... more interested in hanging out eating noodles, drinking beer, taking photos, chatting with uni students and staff, chatting with little old men and ladies on the streets and the free-space market gardens ...
“… whatever reality may be, it will to some extent be shaped by the lens
through which we see it.” (James Hollis)

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decurso

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #17 on: April 30, 2007, 04:28:22 AM »
I consider a short timer a single contract teacher..a year or less.I should also add that that some of my best friends here have been short timers.They have come just for the experience and I admire that.

 What I don't admire is people coming here for 6 months and taking a 25 hour a week job in Shanghai for 5000 RMB just "for the experience".This is a career for some us...and people who basically give themselves away ruin it for the rest of us.

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Lotus Eater

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #18 on: April 30, 2007, 08:07:50 AM »
Unions would prevent that.

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Mr Nobody

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #19 on: April 30, 2007, 06:13:00 PM »
Unions WERE a good thing. The world would definitely be a lot worse without them. Unions still a good thing?

Mostly, I would agree with ND. Hence my previous tirade. But the truth is, it IS my money, if I hire people or whatever.

Obviously there should be full disclosure of risks, etc, but I should have the right to set pays, just as the person has the right not to accept it. If I am forced to pay more than what seems reasonable to enable an acceptable profit margin, then I will in no way invest in it. Then everyone loses.

Somewhere in the middle, between unionism (exploitation of the owner) and worker exploitation, there must be a method for enforcing/encouraging something like "enlightened self-interest". Contracts are a part of this solution. I feel that unions are NOT going to be part of that solution, simply because of it being useful as a powerbase. I do think that worker organized contractual advisors etc are going to be part of it. It works quite well for writers and has for many decades.
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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #20 on: May 06, 2007, 12:31:01 AM »
I am pro-union, but there's a problem.

In one of my favourite movies, Matewan, the title characters says it best:

"Unless you admit every worker, it ain't a union no more- it's a goddamn club."

In a global economy, that means including Bangladeshis in the union.  They're gonna (and are) bring down wages worldwide.

I'm all for this, since the number of desperately poor people is decreasing worldwide.

But it's happening at the expense of workers in the developed world, who find themselves working harder and longer hours for less money, and having to train themselves far more, and at their own expense, to get a skilled job.

I figure eventually we'll have more parity, and the working men and women of the world will organize and demand fair wages and working standards.  And this time the corporations and billionaires will finally run out of new poor countries to move to, and will have to deal fairly.

Add to the mix the broader environment problem, forcing everyone to curtail their appetites.

Unless one is highly skilled or possessed of investment capital, it's not a great time to be in the workforce.  But I think better times lie ahead.
And there is no liar like the indignant man... -Nietszche

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Lotus Eater

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #21 on: May 06, 2007, 02:12:23 AM »
Unionisation is desperately needed in developing countries - a fair days pay for a fair days work is a good mantra. 

Of course it pisses off every boss who ever lived and figured that they were the most munificent people for providing jobs - forgetting that it is actually a 2-way street.  Workers need employers, employers need workers - it's actually symbiotic!

Those bosses who sign up workers then at the first sign of trouble reneg on their contracts need to be tarred and feathered! 

Why would any worker in their right minds stay when their contractors are clearly doing them over?

A union provides a safety mechanism, a voice that is stronger than the individual.  FTs in China need a union to go to - the SAFEA contract provides some level of redress - at least at the threat level to the boss of a dodgy school - if SAFEA come down on them for not fulfulling their contract then they lose their right to hire FTs.  Otherwise FTs who are being done over need to go to the Education and Labour Bureau!  (Can you tell I am not only a unionist from a long time ago - but also an IR person??  Always been on the side of the worker!!)

PS - this is Labour Week!![/size]
« Last Edit: May 06, 2007, 02:14:08 AM by Lotus Eater »

Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #22 on: May 06, 2007, 04:07:25 PM »
In Canada (and USAnia), the unions have become about money for the union bosses first then helping the worker (maybe).  The unions collect money from the worker and the big bosses live the real good life.  The union protects the non-productive worker who has been a member for a long time.  Worked at GM, and saw the men reading papers instead of working, saw the sleep areas where they men went and slept the whole shift.  Saw the men break the wire feed to the auto-welding machines so they had to call maintenance - and not work until it was fixed.  Maintenance workers moved as slow as possible and cut corners.  New energetic employees had to slow down their work speed or they wouldn't pass probation and couldn't get into the union.

I am pro-union but a union that protects the WORKER!!  Not the western 'rice bowl' worker who doesn't want to work.  These people damage the work environment for the company and ultimately for themselves.  GM in the US had to pay full salary to a group of people whose jobs had been eliminated.  The way the union contract was written kept the people from being laid-off.  They reported to work, went to the cafeteria, and read, slept, whatever for the day - every day for 2-3 years.  It might have been longer than that but I was in the Canada branch and this was in Chicago.  We wonder why GM is losing money??? llllllllll llllllllll
Be kind to dragons for thou are crunchy when roasted and taste good with brie.

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Lotus Eater

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #23 on: May 06, 2007, 09:33:03 PM »
I agree that there were excesses in unionism - which is one reason why there is a decline in union memebership the west.  Many people also chose not to join the unions but still continued to rely on tehm to fight for wage rises and better conditions - happily accepting those benefits.

However, what ever excesses were commited in no way negates the need for genuine worker protection. With no curbs and restraints, bosses are going to continue to want to maintain/increase profit and in bad times, the workers are usually the ones who are hit first - either with lay-offs or fewer hours, or decreases in conditions etc.  And with MNCs - as easily noted in downturns, the CEO walks out with a million+ 'fee' and workers are lucky to be paid their leave entitlements.

Without unions with a strong vaid voice, workers are vulnerable.

Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #24 on: May 06, 2007, 11:08:06 PM »
I agree that the workers need protection from money hungry executives.  I also feel that the unions need to protect the workers who are working not the workers who want a free ride.  That was my concern.  I have worked in manufacturing and have seen very poor worker protection.  I have gone to management and demanded better safety equipment - and won!  I think that the unions have become reverse managers - looking out for the big buck not the true interests of the workers.  I am not sure how to get the unions back to being what they were in the beginning - a true saviour and protector of the worker.
Be kind to dragons for thou are crunchy when roasted and taste good with brie.

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George

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #25 on: May 06, 2007, 11:32:58 PM »
"Subway sacks NZ worker for sharing drink

May 6, 2007 - 5:54PM

The Subway chain is under fire in NZ for sacking an autistic worker who shared her free cup of Diet Coke with a friend who was upset.

An appeal has been launched to pay the legal fees for the Dunedin fast food worker who is also facing criminal charges.

Autonomous Workers Union organiser Bill Clark said the "paper cup" appeal for ex-Subway worker Jackie Lang had found great support among Dunedin's small businesses.

Ms Lang was fired from her fulltime job and faces theft charges in Dunedin District Court on May 21 after she shared a cup of Diet Coke while consoling an upset friend during a break.

Mr Clark said the Subway handbook allowed free soda and water while staff were working.

Ms Lang, who has taken a personal grievance action against Subway, said the company's actions were a shock, embarrassing and caused her financial hardship.

"I shared my drink with my friend. I was only trying to comfort her," she told the Sunday Star Times through an intermediary.

"I wasn't trying to do anything wrong. I did what I thought any person would do in the situation."

Mr Clark said he had never seen such an extreme example of corporate bullying.

"That a giant multinational like Subway would fire and then prosecute a vulnerable worker for sharing a cup of Diet Coke and think that was a fair response is just unbelievable.

"They've turned Jackie's life upside down for what seems to be no reason at all."

A spokesman for Subway confirmed to NZPA that Ms Lang was facing charges, but said employment issues were a "confidential matter between an employee and an employer, and I can't comment on those".

He also confirmed Ms Lang had brought a personal grievance action against Subway, and that mediation had been undertaken.

Ms Lang has Asperger's syndrome, which can sometimes make her interrelations with people a challenge, and Mr Clark said the condition made her even more susceptible to Subway's abuse of process.

"Management called her into a meeting without telling her it was a disciplinary, gave her no chance to have representation and then blind-sided her with accusations of theft. She never had a chance."

He said although Subway initially implied Ms Lang would face prosecution, none was brought until the union filed a case against them for unfair dismissal.

"As far as I can see the criminal charges are a clear attempt to keep her quiet about how she was treated by the company."
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Newbs

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Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #26 on: May 10, 2007, 09:54:12 AM »
This sucks!  I hope every Kiwi decides to totally boycott Subway, in perpetuity.

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Vegemite

Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #27 on: May 11, 2007, 03:10:08 AM »
The latest news is that they've dropped the criminal charges against her, so now it's just the PG. And, yes, there have been pickets outside some Subways, calling for people to express their displeasure at Subways handling of the case by boycotting the chain.

Re: Screw dem women['s paychecks]
« Reply #28 on: May 12, 2007, 12:41:44 AM »
GOOD  bfbfbfbfbf
Be kind to dragons for thou are crunchy when roasted and taste good with brie.