---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 15:53:23 -0500 From: Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: In Bolivia >From an observer in Bolivia This morning I joined some union friends in a surprise visit to a local glass factory that employs 80 people. Until 3 years ago, all workers had contracts, benefits, etc. According to the managers, this was untenable. So they shut the factory, fired everyone, and rehired 80 people 2 weeks later. About 20 were given contracts, and of those 8 were charged with contracting another 7 people each of the line production. The 8 each have a work group that is paid by the piece. In the words of the owners, these 8 groups are are "micro-enterprises, "that is, small business "owned" by the group boss, which sell services to the plant. Now the plant it doing pretty well. Raw glass for melting is brought in by an informal army of people -- the bosses suggested 500 families "benefit" from the "ant work" of collecting and selling used and broken glass to the factory. Workers wear shorts and sandals as molten glass is hefted and shifted about. 4 people carry the semi finished glasses to a tempering oven on the ends of long steel forks, the tines wrapped in asbestos cord. The asbestos cord is wrapped by hand, and changed 2-3 times daily. Imagine: 4 people scurrying about, dodging other workers, machinery, pools of water and powerlines, as fast as they can with glass at 600 degrees celcius on the end of asbestos wrapped rods. Just watching scared the caca out of me. The sound of the oven is deafening; over it the company play loud cumbias to "entertain" the workers. One woman we spoke to was requried to work until 2 days prior to giving birth; the child lived for 6 days. About 30% of the production is bought by intermediaries who export it to Italy and Germany. The glasses are advertised as "ecological" (recycled glass!) and "hand made by craftsmen". Average monthly wages -- excuse me, remuneration for the sale of services by micro-enterprises -- are around 65-80 US dollars. Poverty AND poison. >From A writer in Bolivia
