Chapter 1188: Arrival

Early in the morning, George, having just woken from his sleep, arrived outside the factory. Many others like him had already arrived.

They were all workers of this factory, but because the Wei De family had maliciously acquired it some time ago, they were now unemployed.

It might sound like there was no necessary connection between these two things, but in reality, there was.

George was already fifty-three years old, and he was not far from retirement. If nothing unexpected happened, he could have retired from this factory and completed his life's work.

Under the "Federal Basic Social Security Act" promoted by the Social Party, if a worker could retire smoothly, they would receive some social benefits after retirement.

This was a federal law pushed by the Social Party in 1003. Some said their purpose was to gain votes to ensure the Social Party's continued electoral success.

Others said they simply wanted to push the bill through.

But regardless, the passage of this bill brought great positive benefits to the public. At the very least, people could have a bite to eat after exceeding working age and being unable to work.

Even if they couldn't eat their fill, at least they wouldn't starve to death.

After the factory was acquired, some changes took place. First, the new factory owner laid off all workers nearing retirement, and then re-optimized the entire factory's management.

Over a hundred people suddenly lost their jobs. If George were still young, he might only feel he was unlucky and would find another place to continue working.

After all, he still had strength and could still work.

But for a fifty-three-year-old man, what kind of work could you expect him to find in this society?

He couldn't find any work!

No job position would need him, which meant it was highly probable he would be unable to complete his retirement, nor could he satisfy the requirements of the "Federal Basic Social Security Act" regarding the years of social insurance contributions needed to enjoy pension terms.

There were many people in the same situation as him. They were gathered together now, hoping the factory side could change its previous decision and let them return to their work posts.

Even if it meant adjusting to a different post, going to a... not-so-good, lower-income post would be fine. As long as they could muddle through these last two years, they would be satisfied if they could get their pension.

Yet, for such a small request, the new factory director actually refused.

Besides George, some workers who had already retired also came. These workers had, more or less, suffered some injuries in the past.

In factories of this era, various protective measures were inadequate, and there was a lack of a unified system, making work-related injuries very easy to occur.

If a worker retired without having suffered any injuries, then either they had a job that didn't require being on the assembly line, or they had been slacking off the whole time.

Any worker who worked seriously would always end up injuring themselves, or even losing a finger or two.

The reason federal capitalists could be capitalists, rather than the exploited and oppressed, lay in the fact that their brains worked very well.

According to the "Labor Relations Liability Act" currently being implemented in the federation, regarding the part about work-related injuries, if a worker becomes disabled during their employment, the factory is required to bear the responsibility for compensation and subsequent treatment.

By logic and legal regulation, the employer needs to pay various compensation and treatment costs, which is a large sum of money.

But the capitalists clearly didn't want to pay this money. To them, perhaps a human life was only worth that little, but they were unwilling to pay compensation exceeding that figure for someone's disability.

Earlier, twenty or thirty years ago, how much was a slave worth?

Workers might have only lost a finger, why should they ask them for so much compensation?

Under some maneuvers by these capitalists, they exploited legal loopholes. For example, they wouldn't pay the injured worker all the compensation at once, but instead adopted an installment method, paying a portion each month.

The benefit of doing this was first that the enterprise didn't need to bear an additional large expense—don't look at it as perhaps only a few hundred, one or two thousand, or two or three thousand.

Secondly, doing this could also save the enterprise quite a bit of money. After all, currency depreciates every year, though people might not feel it themselves.

Twenty years ago, two cents was enough to fill a person's stomach, but now, without seven or eight cents, or even ten cents, you simply couldn't achieve that.

As long as they dragged the time out long enough, the "value" they actually paid would be far lower than the value of a one-time payment.

Perhaps twenty years ago, the court ordered them to pay the worker, for example... fifty dollars. Fifty dollars at that time might have been able to buy a horse.

But now, fifty dollars couldn't even buy a bottle of wine. This was the money saved for the enterprise by delaying payment.

Now the factory had changed hands. The new factory owner seemed unwilling to continue fulfilling this part of the responsibility, believing this was a matter between the injured workers and the previous employer, and had no direct relationship with him.

These people's injuries were not caused during the time he owned the factory; he would not pay this money.

But the previous factory owner had already vanished without a trace, and also refused to continue paying this money. He sold the factory to the Wei De family at an extremely low price. The Wei De family, besides obtaining the factory's positive assets, also had to bear the factory's negative assets.

These workers had no other way. They couldn't find where the previous factory owner had gone, so they could only band together to come to the factory and make a scene.

The weather in January was already cold enough to make people feel miserable. George had just walked over when someone greeted him, "It's a bit colder today, didn't you wear anything thicker?"

The weather in the federation wouldn't be at its coldest until February; it wasn't there yet, but the temperature was still continuously dropping.

Jinzhou had already dropped below zero, and every breath would spray a large amount of hot air from the mouth and nose.

George also exchanged greetings with the person in front of him, "I added a wolf-skin vest inside."

As he spoke, he pulled open his zipper a little, revealing the leather vest inside.

The warmth-retaining ability of a wolf-skin vest was excellent, and its price was not high.

Because the fur color of animals like wolves wasn't good-looking—like some coyotes, much of the fur was mottled—it didn't conform to the aesthetic viewpoints of wealthy people purchasing goods.

Plus, wolf skin was easy to obtain, with many in the areas surrounding the city, so its price wasn't high; it was one of the main materials used by the poor to keep warm.

Almost every poor family would have some dog-skin or wolf-skin clothes, pants, and the like.

He zipped it back up. His hands had only been out for a moment, but he felt they were frozen to the point of pain. "How's the situation today?"

His friend shook his head, "You see, there's no difference from the past."

A large group of people stood outside the factory, with placards by their sides, gathered together, shouting slogans from time to time.

Reporters had come to interview them before, but with the full intervention of the Wei De family, now even the newspapers didn't report on it, as if they had been completely ignored by people.

What made them feel even more disheartened was that those colleagues who were still working turned a blind eye to their plight, entering and exiting the factory through the gate not far away every day, treating them like a plague, unwilling to even come over, let alone speak up for them.

Only when you reach this step do you know how terrible this society is.

George sighed, "I don't know what will happen next."

They continued to demonstrate at the gate. They had also contacted the union, but the effect wasn't very good.

Actually, when it comes down to it, to make workers go on a general strike, the interests of many workers must be damaged, and then these workers can coerce other workers to start a general strike.

Only a small portion of people in the factory had their interests damaged, while the interests of more people were actually still guaranteed. This small handful of people couldn't stir up trouble.

Although the union side had arranged for people to contact the Wei De family, it was heard that the effect wasn't very good, because the current governor's surname was Wei De.

Only at this moment could people feel a profound despair for life.

In the factory, a well-dressed gentleman stood by the window, looking at the group of troublemakers beside the gate. He held a five-dollar cigar in his hand, and the gloomy expression on his face made him look like someone not to be trifled with.

A staff member behind him was calculating how much money it would take to satisfy the demands of these troublemakers.

In the room, there was only the rustling sound of a pen tip moving across paper.

After about two or three minutes, the guy calculating the number stopped and rubbed his wrists, "Chairman, according to the demands they submitted, we would need to pay them an additional seven thousand seven hundred dollars per month."

"This includes the installment payments for work-related injuries, as well as the costs of rehiring these workers and helping them pay for social security and corresponding expenses."

The chairman standing before the window pursed his lips. His lips were thin, and his cheekbones were a bit high, giving him a mean look. "Seven thousand seven hundred dollars."

He turned his head and glanced, "You say, what's wrong with me having so much money, to take it out and give it to these people?"

The guy helping him calculate the cost smiled awkwardly. Although he also felt in his heart that this new president was too stingy and too abominable, after all, he still had to rely on the other party to live, so he just smiled and lowered his head, expressing nothing.

In reality, the money he earned was more than this; otherwise, he wouldn't have forced the original owner to sell the factory to him through some dirty means.

With the federation's current ability to export goods to the whole world, as long as he wasn't an idiot, he would definitely be able to make money—it was just a matter of how much.

If it were an ordinary merchant, they might encounter many problems: not receiving orders, or having the profit of goods squeezed very low.

But he was a member of the Wei De family. Governor Wei De's influence in Denuo State was continuously expanding, and there were people willing to sign supply contracts with him.

It could be said that from the moment he bought this factory, besides the portion of money he had to pay to the family fund every month, he could still make money.

It's just that the richer people are, the greedier and stingier they become. With these seven or eight thousand dollars, wouldn't it be better to put it in his own pocket?

Why give it to others?

But at the thought of what Governor Wei De said in the manor, there was a bit more dissatisfaction on his face.

"Sorry to trouble you, leave the results of your calculations, you can go back to work."

The person calculating the number left here quickly, and at the same time, breathed a sigh of relief.

The new chairman called the factory manager in, "Just now our accountant calculated for me, if I want to settle these people at the gate, I have to pay an extra eight thousand dollars per month."

"I already had a lawyer come before, and you should also know the lawyer's side of the story: let them sue me, I might not lose."

"But now... for some reasons, they need to be made to stop making trouble. I have an idea, you refer to it."

The manager wasn't the previous manager; he was a professional manager, also collected from the Wei De family's network of relationships.

"Go ahead."

The chairman organized his train of thought, "My idea is, those people want to come back to work, isn't their purpose just for this matter of paying into the social security fund?"

"We can agree to them, but we won't pay their wages, and this money for the social security fund isn't for us to pay either; they pay it themselves."

"If they can agree, then I can agree to let them come back and continue working."

"Regarding those people who want to take away money from me that doesn't belong to them, find them a lawyer and let them be quiet for a while."

The manager was a professional manager in the true sense. Although he was only thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, he had already served six factories and enterprises, among which were some quite well-known local enterprises.

He felt he could be considered someone who had seen the world and witnessed the ugly faces of capitalists, but at this moment, he felt he still underestimated these capitalists too much.

If the idea of spending one's own money to work were spoken out, ninety-nine percent of the capitalists in the federation would open their mouths wide and be unable to speak.

As for actively hiring lawyers for those debt collectors, it wasn't as eye-piercing as the previous point!

After several seconds, he seemed to have finally come back to his senses, "I will go notify them."

The chairman nodded slightly, stuffed the cigar into his mouth, and took a puff, "This way we not only have no additional expenses, but also solved the trouble in front of us."

"So, you should use your brains more when you encounter problems, don't have me solve everything!"

As he spoke, he returned to his desk and sat down, "Go solve this problem now."

The manager cursed a few swear words in his heart, then left the office. He knew very clearly what he would face next.

Angry workers!

Hopefully, they would be a bit lighter when they strike!

Ten-plus minutes later, an argument appeared at the factory gate and became intense. The manager brought factory security and had some friction and conflict with these workers.

The police arrived here quickly and only then controlled the situation.

Such things happened in many places throughout Denuo State. The Wei De family's ugly way of eating and their arrogance had created many social problems over the past year.

For these people, Governor Wei De himself clearly indicated that he wanted them to do this and was willing to help them clean up their mess, so they became unscrupulous in plundering all the resources that could be plundered within the state.

Together with those collaborators, they plundered crazily.

So some problems they simply didn't handle, just like the matter encountered outside this factory today.

If it weren't for Governor Wei De's instructions, this clever chairman wouldn't even have had the idea to use his brain.

The opposition of a small number of people couldn't change the fact that the majority of people were still enjoying the fruits brought by the economic upturn. If you don't consider the struggle between the two parties, Governor Wei De's base was still very stable.

At the same time, Lanse also arrived in Denuo State, but he didn't alert anyone else.

In the manor, Aierwen and Lanse hugged. He seemed a bit excited; after all, he hadn't seen Lanse for a long time.

Compared to presiding over the big picture here, he actually preferred the days with Lanse more; at least he didn't need to use his brain every day like he did now.

"You look good, I will give you more work in the future," Lanse said jokingly while walking inside.

Aierwen immediately raised both hands, "Spare me!"

"Just the matters here have already given me a headache. The local gangs aren't like in Likaile State; some aren't under our control, and crossfire and competition are everywhere."

Likaile State had already achieved unification of the underground world, but here, with Governor Wei De's support and hints, there were still quite a few disobedient gangs.

These gangs would compete for business with the Lanse family, and would also have gunfights with them and attack transport convoys.

You couldn't say there was trouble every day, but every three to five days, there would definitely be some matters reported up.

He couldn't not handle them, and he had to consider how to handle them so as not to have trouble. In short, this wasn't a simple matter.

The two entered the study. Lanse sat casually on the sofa and asked, "On my way here, I saw some workers gathered on the street. Is there a trend of strikes here?"

If there really were rumors of a strike, there was no reason for him not to know.

Any potential general strike would make the Jinzhou side very sensitive. It was impossible for workers to have already stopped working and gathered here without Jinzhou knowing, so he was a bit strange.

Aierwen brought him a cup of hot coffee, "This matter still has some relationship with Governor Wei De. You know, he is currently rapidly expanding his own strength, acquiring many enterprises through some dishonorable means."

"These enterprises themselves had some legacy historical problems. Although the Wei De family bought the companies, they were unwilling to accept them, so now these problems have exploded!"

Lanse understood roughly when he heard this. Such things had actually happened in many places, and Likaile State had also had them, but not so concentrated.

Previously, a factory in Likaile State encountered some problems in operation, and the factory owner had no money in his pocket, so he reached out to the workers to get some money, and promised that this money counted as their investment in the factory.

At the time, no agreement was signed. Later, after the factory got through the difficulties, the factory owner sold the factory and ran away. The person who took over fought a lawsuit with the workers in the factory for more than two years before finally reaching a settlement.

Any capital, in the process of seizing and plundering, will encounter these problems to a greater or lesser extent.

It's hard to say whether keeping these problems is right or wrong, but for the capital side, it's definitely not good.

This gave Lanse some ideas. ===== CHAPTER 1189 =====