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The New Slavery
By David Cox (about the author) Page 2 of 2 page(s)
"The rescued workers from the brick kiln of Caosheng Village will get back their wages in arrears," said Cheng Jinzhong, vice chairman of Hongtong County Association of Trade Unions.
Local authorities have decided that each migrant worker will be paid for 1,410 yuan (about 200 U.S. dollars) monthly, three times the minimum monthly salary standard in Hongtong.
Ten teams consisting of workers from different departments of Hongtong County government will leave for 12 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, where hometowns of the 31 migrant workers are located, on Saturday to deliver these migrant workers' wages, plus 1,000 yuan in compensation and a written apology to each worker."
An Apology! A written apology, can you imagine that? If Ken Lay wern't dead already this would have killed him. Of course in America the workers would hired lawyers and waited ten years to get a judgment and then watched it overturned. Then on appeal they would get a fraction of it maybe and then split that with their attorney. The Chinese workers will get 2,410 yuan right now this month, plus a written apology. You might say, we'll that's not that so much, but its 2,410 yuan more than the workers in Bhopal India got from Union Carbide plus an apology.
Can we in America look down our noses at anyone anymore? Don't we have migrant workers working 15 or 16 hours a day in this country? Don't they lock workers in the Wal-Mart stores at night and hold waitresses and lowest paid workers accountable for shortages? Don't we legally pay our workers slave wages without an apology? And if they rebel we out source what jobs we can and insource the rest.
Insourcing is the practice of hiring foreign labor at a price cheaper than Americans can afford to do it for. Americans can do carpentry and clean carpets and paint houses but they want to be paid for it and they want to be able live with their families while they do it. Unwilling to live six to a one-bedroom apartment the American worker is replaced.
These millions of illegal immigrants who come here do you suppose they crossed the sands of a burning desert for liberty or income? The affects of globalism have depressed Mexican wages 25% forcing a mass immigration not unlike Darfur.
Globalism creates a cycle of ever increasing poverty for the world's workers, a new feudalism of living at the pleasure of your liege lord the corporation. It encourages environmental degradation and spoilage of the earth's resources after all if our fellow man is no more than chattel what value does a tree or a forest hold?
Slavery has not gone away it's only changed it's clothes but the stakes are inestimably higher because we are not talking about a cotton patch or a rogue state anymore but the policy of whole world. The Chinese for their part deserve kudos' for airing a situation that could have so easily been covered up, would Fox or CNBC have been so forthcoming? The Chinese regardless of ideology have stood up for the dignity of mankind while we in this country debate and trade off a minimum wage increases for more war funding attempting to balance poverty verses death and poverty.
Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards?
Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit?
To fall like dry leaves to rot on my topsoil
And be called by no name except deportees?
(Woody Guthrie)
Police rescue further 220 slave workers in N China
www.chinaview.cn 2007-06-15 16:15:02
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