What Stoudemire never expected was that before he could implement his new plan in Cape Town, the Cape Town dock workers gave him a slap on the wrist.
On the day after Stoudemire was elected as Cape Governor, Cape Town dockworkers went on strike collectively, demanding reductions in working hours, increases in salary and paid holidays, and improvements in the working and living conditions of dockworkers.
The first few are understandable. The requirement to improve the working environment makes Xiaosi confused. The working place of dock workers must be the dock. How should this be improved? Do they all work in offices?
Don’t be ridiculous, Cape Town’s docks are still too early to be automated.
"The Workers' Federation has rejected the Cape Town City Council's negotiations and asked to meet you directly. Their demands include an eight-hour working day, one day off every week, and paid holidays of no less than three months per year. They also require
Single dormitory and free working meals, oh, the most important thing is salary, they require the same as Ford in the United States, at least $5 a day -" Cape Town Mayor Bresler is at a loss, this is the Cape Town dockworkers in two years
In the third strike, the Cape Town City Government met the demands of the Workers' Federation in the previous two strikes. This time the Workers' Federation went even harder. Bresler could only be thankful that the Workers' Federation went beyond Cape Town this time.
The city government wants to talk to Xiaosi directly.
"The legal currency in southern Africa is the rand, not the U.S. dollar." Stoudemire sneered. Ford workers are still not the same as Cape Town dock workers.
The most intuitive comparison is that the value created by Ford workers is completely different from that of dock workers in Cape Town. Ford produces cars, and a car can be sold for at least three hundred dollars. The value created is high, and the workers' wages are high.
Naturally high too.
The value created by dock workers is very low, and they are not irreplaceable. It may take several months or years for Ford to train a skilled worker, so it is understandable to give a higher salary.
Dock workers relied on selling their physical strength to make a living, and anyone could do the job, so the workers' federation had found the wrong target. They could not look to Ford's workers, but to look to New York's dock workers.
"In my impression, most of the dockworkers in Cape Town should be workers of African descent. What kind of workers' union is this and who are its members?" Stoudemire doesn't know much about the workers' union, but according to the information from Port Edward and Whale Bay,
The situation in Cape Town should not be much different.
It should be noted here that most manual labor industries in southern Africa are completed by hiring African-American workers from surrounding countries and regions.
The low cost brought by African-American workers is the core competitiveness of southern African products. The average salary of white workers or Chinese workers is more than five times higher than that of African-American workers. It is precisely because of the large number of African-American workers that Southern Africa
Only with high-quality products can the cost be reduced to an incredible level. This is the real reason why southern African products are so popular.
Once the wages of African-American workers increase accordingly, southern African goods will lose most of their competitiveness, and the consequences will be almost devastating.
But the leaders of those unions don't care about this. Whether the products are competitive is the main concern of enterprises. They consider their own interests and care about the influence of the union. As for the interests of enterprises, that's it.
For workers, even if the company goes bankrupt, it doesn't matter to them. They can just find another company and continue working.
"In the past, most of the members were white or Chinese. In the past two years, the Workers' Federation has also begun to try to include African-American workers in the coverage. It is for this reason that the city government rejected the Workers' Federation's request, so they went over
The city government requires direct dialogue with you." Bresler sneered. The leaders of the workers' federation probably made the wrong calculation. Based on Bresler's understanding of Stoudemire, Stoudemire would probably not be able to tolerate this situation.
"How many workers are participating in the strike in total?" Stoudemire said expressionlessly.
"About 6,000, including more than 5,000 African-American workers." Bresler was also helpless. There are only so many people in Cape Town now.
"Fire them all!" Xiaosi said decisively, this situation cannot last long.
"Fire them all?" Bresler never expected that Stoudemire would be so decisive.
"Yes, fire them all. Don't they want to go to work? Then find someone who is willing to work." Xiao Si is not subject to any threats. If the leader of the workers' federation is willing to sit down and have a good talk, then Xiao Si might give him some advice.
When they get a chance, they show off their power?
If this little guy doesn't show off his power, he really thinks the governor is a sick cat.
"Thousands of people -" Bresler still didn't know enough about Stoudemire.
"Haha, there are so many human resources companies in southern Africa, they must be happy to take over this business." Xiao Si didn't care, Rhodesia hired workers, and the number of workers they hired was only ten thousand people, and a few thousand people was really just a drop in the bucket.
"It's better to meet and listen to their requirements -" Dr. Starr Jameson, who had been silent for the whole time, now knew that there was a reason why the South African Company became glorious again after the death of old Cecil Rhodes.
Many people believe that the South African company's renewed success is due to the advantages of the general environment, and Stoudemire's role has definitely been ignored.
Xiaosi didn't say anything, just meet him when he met. Anyway, it would take time for the human resources company to organize the workers to come to Cape Town.
The next morning, three leaders of the Workers' Federation came to Stoudemire's official residence.
Xiaosi did not receive them immediately, but asked someone to take them to the lounge to wait.
The wait lasted three hours, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., before the three of them were brought into Stoudemire's office.
"Please hurry up, Mr. Governor is very busy at work, you only have half an hour." The charming secretary smiled brightly and generously, and did not treat the three of them differently because of their status. This is basic courtesy.
The three of them didn't say anything. They knew what Xiao Si meant. Regardless of whether they were busy or not, they just wanted to cool off the person first and then talk about the basic operation.
Stoudemire was indeed very busy. When the three people walked into Stoudemire's office, Stoudemire was signing a document. In addition to Stoudemire, Dr. Starr Jameson and Bresler were also in the office.
The three of them were all familiar with Dr. Starr Jameson and Bresler. The leader nodded and smiled at Dr. Starr Jameson and Bresler. Dr. Starr Jameson and Bresler
Ledu didn't respond, his face was expressionless.
"Please take a seat, why don't you introduce yourself?" Xiaosi was not wearing a suit. He wore a white shirt with a black vest, and the buttons on the collar of the shirt were unbuttoned.
The three of them all wore serious suits and expensive handmade suits.
Xiaosi smiled and looked at the three people with interest, without any trace of the decisiveness and ruthlessness he had when he wanted to expel all 6,000 people yesterday.
"Your Excellency, Governor, I am Ruf Eric, the president of the Workers' Federation, and these two are Smith and Kama. We are here to talk to you about the treatment of dock workers." Ruf Eric
His English has a bit of a London accent, and he is obviously highly educated, which is difficult to associate with his identity as a dock worker.
"I would like to ask, what kind of jobs do you all have?" Stoudemire took charge of the situation and was obviously more interested in the three people than the dock workers.
"Well, I'm the head of a law firm, I own a law firm in Cape Town -" Ruf Eric was clearly ill-prepared for this question.
"Then how can you, the head of a law firm, represent Cape Town dockworkers?" Stoudemire's question was pointed. Generally speaking, in this case, people are either seeking fame or profit. The social status of lawyers in southern Africa is far lower than that in the United Kingdom and the United States.
lawyer.
"The Dockers' Federation has invited me to serve as the federation's legal advisor and to be responsible for meeting with you on behalf of the Dockers' Federation." Ruf Eric said seriously.
"So, you receive salaries from the Dock Workers Union. How much does the Dock Workers Union pay you every year?" The question asked by Stoudemire has nothing to do with the demands of the dock workers, and he really does not want to know the workers' demands.
.
"Mr. Rhodes, this has nothing to do with what we are going to talk about this time." Ruf Eric did not want to disclose it.
"This time? That means we will meet again." The smile on Xiao Si's face was full of undisguised sarcasm.
"Definitely, if the state government cannot meet our demands, then we will not stop." Ruf Eric said seriously.
"Then tell me your requirements." Xiaosi leaned back on the chair and assumed a listening posture.
"We demand an increase in salary to five dollars a day -" Ruf Eric started, but was interrupted by Stoudemire.
"Wait, why do you think your work can be compared with the workers at Ford?" Stoudemire is not polite. The current exchange rate is about one rand for five dollars. In other words, the dock workers hope to get
How is this possible with a salary of R365.
Including African-American workers, the average annual salary of dockworkers in southern Africa is about R50.
Excluding African-American workers, white workers and Chinese-American workers can earn about R120 per year, which is basically in line with the normal salary level in southern Africa.
"Dockworkers are just as much workers as Ford workers, so why can't they get the same salary?" Ruf Eric said plausibly, and it sounded quite reasonable.
"Eric, you are a lawyer. Is the cost of litigating a lawsuit against you the same as that of the Queen's Counsel?" Xiao Si sneered. The annual income of the Queen's Counsel is probably Eric's annual income.
More than ten times.
"It is indeed different, but Mr. Governor, don't you hope that everyone in Cape Town under your rule can live a happy and beautiful life?" Ruf Eric's angle is strange, in the words of the 21st century.
Moral kidnapping.
Stoudemire laughed. Of course he hopes that everyone in Cape Town can live a happy and beautiful life, but certainly not in this way.
: I walked too much yesterday. When I woke up in the morning, my whole body was sore. My fingers couldn’t move when I was typing. I really need to exercise.——