Labour movement is not over

 I have many vivid memories growing up in Sai Ying Poon, an older part of Hong Kong Island. One of those memories is of shopkeeps and their employees sitting down together for meals. I have always found that tradition to be oddly comforting. Even older is the tradition that workers were often guaranteed living quarters and food when they first started. The conditions weren't always ideal, and the labour is hard, but there was an unspoken understanding that one is expected to take care of the employees, in turn, the employees would take care of the rest. I respected that mentality. I don't know how much of that still holds true, and if that tradition still prevail with the gradual extinction of mom and pop shops.  

As for me, I have yet to work at a place where the boss and the employees sit together regularly for meals. Often, the line is drawn between management and frontline staff, and it gets awkward quick for either side to cross that line at lunch or even outside of work. There is a part of me that feels sad about that, and am curious will I ever be able to become a boss that resurrects that tradition.

The fact is with the advent of the industrial revolution and factories becoming the norm, the divide between the realities of employers and their employees grew. Decisions are increasingly being made from corner offices and board rooms, further and further away from the smokestacks. The push for productivity, volume and profits took precedence whilst consideration for the human factor and humane conditions took a backseat. The circumstances grew such that unions and the labour movement became a necessity. Today, we celebrate the fruits of that movement. Better pay, better safety overall. Yet, in my humble opinion, that movement is far from over, for the reality is the disparity remains. It is different, but it is there. This pandemic has shown us that frontline, essential workers remain ever so vulnerable. That corporate greed remains strong and prospering at the expense of keeping their workers safe.

There remains a lot to be done to ensure every one of us is guranteed better paid, better working conditions, better treatment. There remains the need to reduce the divide that separates the reality of frontline staff and management. Until we do, the labour movement is far from over. So rest today, for tomorrow we carry on the mission to ensure equity for future generations to come. Maybe someday, workers and their bosses get to share meals more often.