In Reply to: Whose side are you really on Nit Nurse? posted by Siamak on May 22, 1996 at 12:05:09:
:
: : : McD? working towards improving their workers lot? Who are you trying to kid?
: : Try to improve your reading interpretation skills,: I'll do my best. Thanks for the word of advice, mind you proper punctuation
: would have helped.I just checked. The puctuation was fine.
: Anyway, let me sum up my understanding of your position:
Fine
: 1. You think workers should consider themselves lucky if they are £3.20 an hour
: for doing a back-breaking job.No. Please point out where I said that.
: 2. You don't agree that McD workers are low paid.
No, I didn't say that either.
: 3. You consider demands for better pay and conditions of work for these workers as
: unnecessary and merely "soap box posturing".Nope. Didn't say that either. You aren't doing too well?
: 4. You think it's ok for McD to suppress the rights of its eployees to unionisation.
Didn't say that was 'ok' either. Incidently, care to point out
which part of employment legislation enshrines this 'right'?: 5. You think whoever tries to expose McD's exploitation of its workers is disingenuous.
No, I said those who saught to throw these people out of work while
pretending to care for their 'employment rights' are being disingenuous.: 6. You think it's ok for McD to force their crew members to carry out duties (eg.
: unblocking toilets or equipment maintenance) that is not even in their contract
: or they are not even trained for.Nope, didn't say that either, I believe it was your claim
: 7. You disagree that working conditions at McD are bad and in need drastic improved.
Well I don't consider closure and subsequent unemployment an improvement,
do you? But to answer your question, nope didn't say that either.: 8. You are totally silent about the fact that McD makes millions of profits each
: year on the back of their workers and believe that McD pays its crew members
: a fair wage,Nope. I never mentioned a 'fair wage' - I mentioned an 'average'
wage for the sector they work in.: 8. And then you want us to believe that you are genuinely concerned with the plight
: of the "real low paid" workers"! Oh well, what can I say?Well, you could say that your attempt to build a strawman argument
by forcing words into my mouth and ascribing false positions to me
by adopting a naive dichotomous view of all that I've said, has failed
miserably! DO you always assume that if someone doesn't agree with
you, they must hold a position diametrically opposed to that of your
own? Life's much more complex than that so, do me a favour and
discuss what I say, not what you would LIKE me to say.: I suppose you regard the working conditions at McD so reasonable that they
: should be the model for the "real low paid" to strive towards!I regard the working conditions in McDonalds compared with that of a number of
friends who are care assistants in the mental health sector to be a
bed of roses. Working 48 hour shifts in 'sleep-overs' with
the constant threat of real physical violence has a somewhat
higher stress factor than 'flipping burgers'. Oh, and their dear
trade union, you know, the same thing that you're hopping up and
down at wrt to McDs attitude towards them, have put in this years wage
claim. They are demanding 4 pounds an hour. Currently, some
care assistants are paid under 2 pounds an hour.: Your attitude towrds McD workers remind me of McD managers'
: when I worked there. One begins to wonder whose side you are really on.I am on the side of those who are genuinely doing difficult jobs for
little pay. McDonalds workers are not even close and, given that the
expressed goal of this campaign is to completely close McDs down, what
will you tell those unemployed former employees now earning zero
per hour?Finally. Some of the statements I have made here are provocative.
They are deliberately so to fire up some debate, otherwise the whole
thing degenerates into an 'old pals' club swapping anecdotes. Genuine
debate requires someone to take an opposing view. I'm quite happy to
do that, but do not assume anything on the basis of what I don't say.
Deal with what I write.