Labour Day 2020: Celebrations Dulled As Millions Get Laid Off Work
Before I start talking about the sad stuff, let me first wish you all a happy workers day. Workers day is celebrated every year on May 1st to recognize the struggles of workers through the course of history. Women in particular have contributed a lot in making working conditions fair. Female labour activists have also fought to create equality in male and female wages and for that we are deeply thankful.
The economic condition of a country will unavoidably affect the working conditions and wages of its workers. This pandemic has come with very devastating consequences to World’s economic system. The price of oil dropped from about $32 to less than a cent in one week. Thirty million Americans have filed unemployment claims since mid-march. This number is excluding those that have not been able to file.
People are literally starving in their homes and agitating for a lift of the lockdown. Damning the consequences of their actions in the spirit of “if we stay at home, we will die of hunger anyway”. And to top it all, workers are being laid off from work by their various companies. These companies cannot be blamed for their actions. Production and demand has greatly reduced and most organizations can no longer afford to pay their staff.
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Some Companies That Have Laid And Will Lay Off Workers In The World
According to Forbes, Here are some companies around the world that plan to lay off their workers after the pandemic.
- Air Canada will lay off 5,100 members of its cabin crew, about half of its current roster, as its planned flights for April have been cut by nearly 80%.
- Air New Zealand will let 3,500 workers go, equaling about one-third of its workforce.
- Avis Car Rental Boston’s Logan International Airport reportedly laid off an undisclosed number of workers.
- Boeing will eliminate 10% of its workforce, reportedly through voluntary layoffs, natural turnover and involuntary layoffs.
- Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of car renters Enterprise, National and Alamo laid off 743 workers in North Carolina.
- Flight Centre, Australia’s largest travel agent, is laying off and putting on leave a third of its 20,000 employees.
- Norwegian Air said that it would temporarily lay off up to 50% of its workforce, meaning 7,300 workers, and suspend 4,000 flights due to the pandemic.
- Scandinavian Airlines said Sunday it will temporarily lay off 10,000 employees, equal to 90% of their staff.
- Canadian airline and travel company Transat AT let go of 3,600 workers, or about 70% of its workforce.
- Over 1,200 workers were laid off from OTG, which staffs restaurants and stores in New York City’s LaGuardia International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, along with New Jersey’s Newark International Airport.
- The Trump Organization laid off or furloughed more than 2,600 employees from President Trump’s hotels and golf courses in the U.S. and Canada.
- Landry’s Inc., the parent company of Del Frisco’s and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (along with the Golden Nugget casinos) had to temporarily lay off 40,000 workers.
- Access Bank in Nigeria to lay off 75% of their staff.
These numbers are depressing. When I look at them I imagine the number of children that will go unfed in the coming months. How many families will be thrown out of their homes. The cause of this disaster can be traced to capitalism. Let me tell you why.
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What is Capitalism?
According to Wikipedia, Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system and competitive markets. In a capitalist market economy, decision-making and investments are determined by every owner of wealth, property or production ability in financial and capital markets whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets.
How Is Capitalism Responsible For This Problem?
Capitalism involves hierarchy and this hierarchy means that things go from top to bottom. It is like a food chain in an ecosystem. In times of food shortage, the smaller animals either die or get eaten by the larger ones. That is what is happening in the world right now, when you’re at the bottom of the food chain you suffer a lot more than those at the top of the food chain.
For example, Access Bank will lay off 75% of its workers, most of them being security workers and cleaners. The managers are only getting a percentage of their salaries cut off. Why is this happening? It is because they are a lot more useful to the running of the firm than those security workers and cleaners.
With all the sadness, we all need a ray of hope, an assurance that things will be better. That is why I didn’t just write about companies laying off workers, I added something that could help you. If you will be laid off from work or have witnessed people being laid off from work. How do you prevent yourself from having such an experience again? Read and follow these suggestions.
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Own Your Own Business
It might seem like a long shot but do you know it is actually very possible for you to own your own business? When I say business, a lot of you might think department stores and huge warehouses but that’s not true. There is a thing like owning a small business that you can manage from the comfort of your home.
The great thing about small business is that they are easy to start up and manage and they generate additional income. A small business can also become a large business tomorrow with enough investment and quality time put into it.
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Save Money
I cannot overemphasize the importance of having money saved up somewhere for emergencies. Even though you barely earn enough to take care of your family you still have to save. The little money in your piggy bank could save you one day. You could also use your savings to start up your business.
Here are some simple ways to save money without stress
- Own a piggy bank
- Drop all change in a change bank
- Make a budget for savings
- Spend less and keep more
- Use saving tools like PiggyVest
Invest Money
Unlike saving, when you invest you create an avenue to make even more money. An investment should not however make you decide not to save anymore. Before investing, know how much you want to risk and ask yourself if you’ll be able to deal with it if everything goes south. Then choose what to invest in (stocks, businesses, real estate)
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Get Skilled
If you haven’t already, then this is the time to get skilled. Skilled puts you at an advantage in the work force and helps you plan your savings, investment and subsequently your business. Skills make you relevant to yourself and those around you. Relevant in the sense of, what can you do? What problem can you solve? What do you have that people want? A skill will also help you sharpen your natural talent.
Some of these skills are
- Creativity
- Flexibility
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Collaboration and a lot more.
Bonus Tip:
Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
Yes, I said it. Putting your eggs in one basket (again) is very dangerous. I say this because nothing is infallible, your business, your investment. When you are making long term goals or in this case a resolution to change your life, do it with the knowledge that sometimes bad things happen again and again. If you don’t want it to happen to you, then you have to branch out, put your fingers in a lot of pies! It will be worth it in the end, trust me.
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