The new slave owners

Can you imagine going to work and feeling so stressed, so oppressed, so little that the only solution you can think of is to take your own life? I don’t know about you but I have always wondered about people who take that last irremediable step – is it courage or is it sheer cowardice? But besides this judgmental reflection, I wonder what must have gone through that person’s mind, how utterly hopeless he or she must have felt to think that things will never get better again. I shudder just thinking about this. Do you think the same thoughts occurred to the top people at France Telecom after the 23 rd suicide amongst FT’s employees? Judge for yourself – France Telecom’s head of human resources, Olivier Barberot, argued that the number of suicides was certainly not on the rise, saying that there were 28 suicides in 2000 and 29 in 2002. Oh what a relief! I guess we can all rejoice now. This kind of reaction goes a long way to show how multinationals work and what you, as an individual, as a human being mean to them. An employee is but a number and his or her worth is determined by what use the company has for that person. When they decide they don’t need you any more – because the fact that you depend on the income they give you to live and to feed other mouths is highly irrelevant – you are made to go. Tough if you can’t deal with it. That’s the name of the game, I am told. Companies survive only if they make profits and are viable and sometimes you, the employee, can be a hindrance to that viability. Or profitability. There is nothing wrong in this per se. It becomes a problem when the employee is no longer regarded as a human being. The chances of this happening are bigger in multinationals and that’s why multinationals are dangerous because human beings are not machines and they can’t function like this. Being ruled by productivity – an elusive concept as far as many people are concerned but gospel to CEOs – is insane and unnatural and recent suicides are all the proof we need of that. Multinationals, as you know, are enterprises that manage production or deliver services in more than one country. Very large multinationals have budgets that exceed many countries national GDPs. Knowing this, how much do you think the State can protect you from multinationals? Think of Mauritius Telecom and you’ll know the answer. Zilch. Historically, the State was supposed to look after the people, protect their rights and act like a watchdog so that private enterprises don’t emulate slave owners. Now, the State is the modern day slave owner’s partner with the multinationals having an upper hand because they are financially more influential and powerful. And don’t think for one second that you shouldn’t feel concerned because those suicides have been happening in France. Greed has no barrier; in fact it’s already breeding among us.