Indentured Employertude
Per the BBC News:
More than 160 people were arrested after clashes erupted
in eastern Paris following a day of largely peaceful demonstrations
across France.Vehicles were set on fire and stores were damaged as masked youths clashed with police.
Twenty-four people, including seven police officers, were injured in the violence, which lasted about six hours.
So what is the provocation? Are youth being drafted to go to war? Are fundamental civil rights being taken away? No, the reason for millions of people on the street and outbreaks of violence is...
Protesters are bitterly opposed to the new law, which
allows employers to end job contracts for under-26s at any time during
a two-year trial period without having to offer an explanation or give
prior warning.The government says it will encourage employers to hire
young people but students fear it will erode job stability in a country
where more than 20% of 18 to 25-year-olds are unemployed - more than
twice the national average.
Oh my god, its, its....at-will employment. Head to the barricades!
In reality, what has happened is that Europe has invented a new type of indentured servitude that works in reverse. If you remember you history, poor Europeans bought their passage to America in the 16th and 17th century by essentially enslaving themselves for a fixed but finite (as opposed to African slavery) period of time. They got to come to America, but were forced to work for the same employer without the ability to quit for seven years.
The French have taken this same concept, and flipped it on its head. If an employer hires someone, the employer is prevented by law from ever firing that person. In effect, an employer enslaves himself to every employee he hires. Which might just explain why unemployment is so high over there. I call it indentured employertude.
These recent riots also turn history on its head. In the past, many countries with legalized slavery have faced devastating slave riots and uprisings. In this case, though, it is not the slaves (employers) doing the rioting to be freed, it is the slave holders (ie the employees) rioting to keep the employers captive.
Is France a total loss?
