A few days ago the news came out that nearly 300 hundred Indonesian ballot workers had died form fatigue during the vote-count in the recent elections. The situation was particularly strenuous because the Presidential election was combined with Parliamentary ones in order to cut costs. When one thinks of dangerous jobs, ballot counting certainly doesn't spontaneously spring to mind. In fact, one could almost get away with thinking that it is a cushy office job. And yet, so many lives were lost in just a matter of days.
May Day does not celebrate a victory, but an ongoing battle...
I expect that there are many lessons to be learned here. An important one is this: whatever the job, without adequate safeguards, lives may be lost. Fatigue is just one of the many risks. There are many others, such as stress, inadequate safety regulations and bullying. We owe a great deal to the Unions that fought for workers' rights throughout our recent history. Today we celebrate all workers and those who struggled for their rights.
These Indonesian workers died in the line of duty, but they did not have too. The were not firefighters tackling a deadly blaze, or police officers confronting dangerous criminals. They were people who died because of lack of concern form those who had a duty of care while managing them. The battle for workers' rights is not over. Until there are people in this world who are willing to exploit those in a more vulnerable position, and a legal system that lets them, there will always be a place for the Unions. I prefer a good piece of legislation to a militant union worker, but until we have the former, let us not take the latter for granted!
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