More about workers' future

More about workers' future

I am writing regarding the letter of Mr. Roland Pertler (The Jakarta Post, March 26, 1995). There they come again. Five minutes out of the plane and they already know (and have the solution for) all the problems of the developing country they just arrive in. The last time a German told the workers to unite, a part of Europe was plunged into 70 years of grizzly dictatorship. Former Eastern Germany included. Just look to the former USSR to see the results.

I am from a developing country and have worked in several of them for the past twelve years. I have noticed some interesting developments. Every time the strong German unions Mr. Pertler writes about push hard in a negotiation with the employers and are granted higher benefits, German companies open construction sites for new factories in Brazil. Indonesia does not seem to be different. See, please, the ad on page 12 of the Post (March 26, 1995) where GMBI-Opel is hiring Indonesian personnel. By the way, Opel is Germany's General Motors subsidiary.

Although Mr. Pertler failed to inform your readers that German unions in fact work in close collaboration with the management, the so-called mitbestimmung, he has a point. The German workers' high standard of living is not in doubt. But their high living standard is not due to union militancy but rather a direct result of the productivity of the German work force. Only the productivity of a work force can guarantee higher income to its members.

Permit me, please, to give a hint to all Indonesians. For a start, make these Opels (or any product) as good as Germany's. Then, make them in a shorter time and cheaper than they do. Achieve that, and you will never have to use force to get a higher income.

OSVALDO COELHO

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