Workers have had to change themselves as per the requirements of capital over the centuries. First, they abandoned agriculture as a way of life and got used to 12/16 hours of working days in textile mills, foundries and iron smelting workshops. Then came the nine to five workdays. This is changing again as longer hours and flexible contract work have made deep inroads.
Workers gave in eventually but not without a struggle. The luddite strikes are well-known. Less known are the following two.
1) In Mumbai, in the second half of 19th century, factory managers used to have a tough time retaining workers in the textile mills. During rainy season (for planting crops) and winter (for harvesting),during Ganapati and Shimga workers just left without notice and headed back to Konkan. Budli system and residential accommodation (in Dagdi chawl) were in response to this foot-loose nature of workers.
2) In 1930s, Henry Ford invested a lot of money in creating a dream city in the Amazon rainforest. The city was named Fordlandia and it was designed to resemble an American suburb, complete with a church and movie theatre. Local Brazilian Tapajos Indians were to work and stay in the city cultivating a mammoth rubber plantation to supply latex to the world market. Working conditions were to be the same as in the tightly controlled assembly line factory that turned out the Model T cars in America.
The project never took off because the workers did not understand church bells and factory sirens. They were used to working only in the relatively dry months from June to November. They submitted for a while and then destroyed the time machines which recorded their entry and exit time every day. The project was then abandoned.
Workers gave in eventually but not without a struggle. The luddite strikes are well-known. Less known are the following two.
1) In Mumbai, in the second half of 19th century, factory managers used to have a tough time retaining workers in the textile mills. During rainy season (for planting crops) and winter (for harvesting),during Ganapati and Shimga workers just left without notice and headed back to Konkan. Budli system and residential accommodation (in Dagdi chawl) were in response to this foot-loose nature of workers.
2) In 1930s, Henry Ford invested a lot of money in creating a dream city in the Amazon rainforest. The city was named Fordlandia and it was designed to resemble an American suburb, complete with a church and movie theatre. Local Brazilian Tapajos Indians were to work and stay in the city cultivating a mammoth rubber plantation to supply latex to the world market. Working conditions were to be the same as in the tightly controlled assembly line factory that turned out the Model T cars in America.
The project never took off because the workers did not understand church bells and factory sirens. They were used to working only in the relatively dry months from June to November. They submitted for a while and then destroyed the time machines which recorded their entry and exit time every day. The project was then abandoned.
