A quarter of an hour later, people from both sides of the negotiation gathered in the largest shack in the shantytown to officially start the first negotiation. The Pagoda side was represented by Gower and Philip, and the workers' side were the three founders of the Relief Society.
Although this shack has been specially tidied up, due to the lack of hard objects such as beams and columns to support it, the surroundings are mainly made of wooden boards. Therefore, the height is only about half of that of a normal house. When entering the house, you have to lower your head to avoid touching it. ceiling. Coupled with extremely poor ventilation and the muddy ground underfoot being soaked in sewage all year round, there is always a lingering sour smell in the house.
Gore frowned, his face full of disgust, and he couldn't find a place to sit down for a long time after entering the house.
"What, aren't you used to it? This is the house where the hired workers live for a long time." Momola said sarcastically, and then asked someone outside to find two pieces of slightly cleaner linen cloth to use as cushions for the other party.
"I don't have to." Philip sat across from the three of them with a natural expression, as if he didn't care that his gray gentleman's uniform was stained with mud. "This kind of environment is just a common occurrence for me."
Humph, bluff.
Momola and Horns came up with this idea at the same time.
It was Mrs. Karan who said, "The steward is joking. You have a nice house in the uptown area and your salary is enviably high. How can you be accustomed to our residence?"
"The present does not represent the past." Philip took off his leather gloves and put them in his pocket, then spread his palms to the three of them, "If I say that I once lived on the edge of the bottom, worrying every day whether I would be alive to see the sun tomorrow, Will you believe it?"
Momola couldn't help but frowned.
I saw that the hands were covered with all kinds of scars, including knife wounds, burns, and even a trace of corrosion. To some extent, it has experienced more ups and downs than the workers in the Pagoda Orchard.
"Were you also a hired worker before?" Horn asked.
"That's not true, but it is a more dangerous job than hired labor. If you are not careful, your body will be wiped out." The steward sighed lightly, "Later, I was fortunate enough to be promoted by a noble person, and the situation improved."
"If that's the case, then why do you have to enact such harsh rules to help Achie oppress us?" Momola asked.
"Experience is experience, and responsibilities are responsibilities." Philip replied calmly, "Of course, I also understand your situation and suffering, so I explained the situation to the boss as soon as possible. Now, if you have any requests, you can put them forward ”
This person... doesn't seem that difficult
Momola thought to herself, she originally thought that the steward was a more dangerous and vicious opponent than Gower, but she didn't expect that he had his own principles
Having said that, she found that she did not know much about Phyllis. He was mainly responsible for receiving guests and negotiating business, and rarely dealt with employees directly.
"Momola, tell me." Both Horns and Mrs. Karan turned their attention to Catwoman.
The latter nodded and took a deep breath before speaking, "First of all, the factory must withdraw the penalty order to fire Russ, Mollier and others, and compensate them with the corresponding number of days' wages. The root cause of this matter is that the factory first defaulted on wages and then It will cause them to be hungry and steal fruits. It is the factory that is at fault, not them."
"I can agree to this." Philip responded readily, "But one thing I must explain is that the arrears of wages are not because of Gower's deliberate intention. The turnover of funds takes time, and sometimes Mr. Achie cannot guarantee that he will have enough life in his hands. Money, so next time the same situation occurs, employees in need can ask us and we will distribute accounting food as appropriate. As for the fruit used to make jam, it is best not to touch it. "
"..." Momola blinked, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.
The other party's attitude can be said to be sincere, and things are considered very thoughtfully. It is not at all like the feeling given by a factory on weekdays.
"What, is there something wrong?" Philip asked.
"Uh... If you can do this, it would be great."
"You don't need to worry about this. I have already communicated with Mr. Achie. As long as I can make a final decision, it can be regarded as a formal agreement." He paused, "Do you have anything else to mention?"
"Of course." Momola coughed twice, put aside unnecessary distractions, and relisted everyone's demands in her mind. "The second is to abolish the supervisory system, and no longer beat or whip workers innocently. Supervisors are not superior to everyone. We are human beings, not animals in a cage.”
"This is impossible!" Gower retorted on the spot, "If there is no supervisor, who will guarantee that you will not be lazy? Do you rely on your own consciousness? Brother, if we agree to this, the whole factory will probably be in chaos!"
"You can let the workers manage the workers themselves." Horns said, "Exercise torture has no benefit to production except to create panic and pain. You are just using this regulation to deliberately satisfy your own fun!"
"Okay." Philip interrupted the dispute between the two parties. "I already understand this, but the factory system has been in place for a long time, and it is inappropriate to cancel it all suddenly. How about a compromise? The supervisor is not allowed to attack the employees for the time being. , employees can also participate in production management. If the production efficiency does not decline for a period of time, it will not be too late to convert it into formal regulations. So you have no objection, right?"
"How long does a period of time mean?" Mrs. Callan asked carefully, "We need an exact answer."
"Two months, how about it?"
The three of them looked at each other and confirmed each other's thoughts before Momola finally replied, "I hope it can be written into the document."
"No problem, it's a matter of course."
"We have a third and final request." After seeing the steward agree, Catwoman continued, "Employees usually can only work until they are about thirty years old, but they can't save much salary. This kind of treatment is unfair. It can be said that the factory must increase daily wages before we are willing to resume full operations."
Phillip asked calmly, "How high do you plan to increase it?"
Momola wanted to say 50%, but Li's words suddenly came back to her mind. After a moment of silence, she stretched out three fingers and said, "Thirty pieces of platinum per day."
A sweet bun happens to be the same price.
"Are you kidding!?" Gore stood up suddenly, but his head hit the wooden board. He took a breath of cold air in pain. After a while, he grinned and said, "Thirty copper coins a day, this is too much." This is at the level of a supervisor. There is no way Your Excellency Achie will accept such a ridiculous salary—"
"Okay, I agree to the bid." Phillip said without hesitation.
"Brother?" Gao Er looked at his brother in astonishment, "That's thirty coppers a day. There are only a dozen supervisors, but there are as many as 600 employees in the factory!"
"You don't need to say anything, my opinion represents Pagoda Factory." Philip raised his hand to signal the other party to be quiet, "But if you want to increase the salary to this level, I also have a request."
Momola nodded, "Tell me about it."
"Before tonight, the factory must resume full operation. The factory will run all night at night to make up for the delay during the day." His tone seemed to be unreasonable. "You are protesting, but production must not stop. All goods must be shipped out on schedule - That's what I ask for."