Hvis du undrer dig over, hvor DA og regeringen med flere gerne vil hen, når de taler om at “forbedre konkurrenceevnen” og skære i arbejdsløshedsforsikringen:
Inside Amazon’s flagship factory in Rugeley, Staffordshire, a new way of working is evolving. There is a strong topnote of distrust, evinced by the full-body scanners that workers have to pass, every time they leave, to prove they haven’t stolen anything. The profound insecurity built into the employment model is dressed up as discipline – which is to say, Amazon expects huge seasonal fluctuations in the number of people it needs, yet likes to mask their dismissals behind a misdeameanour, so a lot of people get axed for crimes like being ill. There’s a lifesized blonde lady made of cardboard at the entrance, with a think bubble coming out of her head that says, “This is the best job I’ve ever had!” If that detail alone is enough to make your blood run cold, marry it to the testimony of the chairman of nearby Lea Hall Miners Welfare Centre and Social Club: “The feedback we’re getting is that it’s like being in a slave camp.”
Of all the details revealed by the Financial Times, the one that sank my spirits was the electronic tagging – workers have a handheld device directing them to goods. But these devices also measure their productivity in real time. If they lag behind, the machine bugs them. They are issued with constant warnings not to talk to one another or tarry for any reason. A lot of people find it quite stressful. Call them crazy.
Ja, Amazon.
Tesco, en af verdens største supermarkedskæder, kan også godt:
Meanwhile, in Tesco’s Donabate distribution centre in Dublin, workers wearing these tags are awarded percentages for their speediness (100% if they perform a task in the time estimated, 200% if they’re twice as fast, and so on), but claim they are docked if they take a loo break; afterwards, they find they have to work much faster – to get back up to their 100%. To put it in context, workers routinely scoring 110% are reported to be sweating quite hard for most of the day. So making up your targets is no walk in the park.
Så hvis du undrer dig over, hvorfor dagpengene partout skal forringes, de sociale ydelser skæres og mindstelønnen skæres ned, så er svaret her: De skal sættes ned og helst afskaffes, for at folk kan blive desperate – for at du kan blive desperat – efter at få lov til at tage sådan et job til 80 kroner i timen. Det er dét, som regeringen og DA mener, når de taler om “konkurrenceevne” og “de lande, vi normalt sammenligner os med”.