Nobody knows when and how the new normality will end. We do not know whether we will be able to get out of the bottom and left of this great crisis, or whether capitalism, after its umpteenth reconversion, will still impose a stronger social model on us.
But there are already some projects underway that will be developed in the new normal. One of them, and not the smallest one, is teleworking. This phenomenon will bring about drastic changes in the organization of the world of work, the class struggle, the lives of workers and community development, as well as in the organization and functioning of society. It will put it all on its head if we don't put a brake on it.
"According to experts, the capitalist system will be able to channel one third of all that it needs for its reproduction in a very short time"
According to the experts, the capitalist system will be able to channel a third of the work it needs for its reproduction in a very short time. But the intention is much broader, little by little, outside manual work, because it is a question of ensuring the greatest number of jobs through teleworking, not to mention high-level skilled and technical jobs.
In the administration, teleworking started a few years ago via family reconciliation. In other words, the administration opened up the possibility for employees with small children or parents with disabilities to telework from their homes. In two words, teleworking was sold to us as something useful to the workers, and we were also sold well, as most of the political and trade union forces joined teleworking. We all forget that capitalism never proposes anything that goes to the detriment of itself, even when the lives of workers are at stake, as we have seen during the coronavirus crisis. Teleworking, in my opinion, is the poisoned sweet thing that the capitalist system offers to the workers.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of URL 0, the industrial revolution meant the urbanization of millions of workers and the creation of giant companies. We've also known them in Euskal Herria, in the Left Margin. There was a large accumulation of capital in Bizkaia and with it a large concentration of workers. This led to the creation, articulation and struggle of the labor movement in the Basque Country. We do not forget that the first workers’ strikes and achievements are of that time.
With the development of new technologies, the relocation of production and the excessive development of financial capital, these gigantic factories were sent to the third world, increasing the deregulation of the world of work. This dispersion of production weakened the strength, coordination and fighting capacity of the working class. The gap between those who created and worked increased in a world of atomized, globalized and precarious work, of course, to the detriment of the working class.
Now, teleworking is going to intensify this process to the extreme. This kind of work that was launched to facilitate family reconciliation has begun to show its true face during the coronavirus crisis. In Euskal Herria, in these two months, there are thousands of people who have left their job and started working at home, making their house a continuation of the company’s office, without anyone pronouncing against it. And it does not appear that in the coming months the Administration is going to reverse.
"The gap between work and rest will blur, also in terms of physical space. The work schedule and working hours will be opened without limits"
And what does capital gain from teleworking? Firstly, to increase the atomization of the labour movement, to strengthen internal relocation. In recent years, there has been a growing number of workers working in the same company who have different contracts and conditions. Subcontracted workers, such as cleaning workers, technical services, communication, etc., work in the same company but are employed by different companies. This situation greatly hinders the unity, struggle and articulation of the workers’ movement.
From now on, teleworking will multiply the division and atomization of workers within each company. Many employees will not even show up for the company, as they will work at home, and if there is no room to work at home, you will have to work in a library, a bar or a basement, for example. New difficulties can be foreseen in organising the struggle of workers and, on the contrary, more possibilities for exploitation. All means of reducing production costs are useful in capitalism, and teleworking is a means of doing so. That's the main value of teleworking for the capitalist system, but it's not limited to that.
Telework will bridge the gap between work and rest, also in the physical space. The work schedule and working hours will be opened to you without restrictions. The family and office will be mixed up, always to the detriment of family life. You will lose the collaborating community when you stay out of the company, and you will lose a great space of relationship and socialization because most of the hours of the day you will spend them at home. That is the result of teleworking.
That's where we're throwing at speed. And the main victims of teleworking will be, above all, the new and new workers of today and tomorrow. Keep the fight against teleworking.
Joseba Alvarez, member of Sortu*
Bidali zure iritzi artikuluak iritzia@argia.eus helbide elektronikora
ARGIAk ez du zertan bat etorri artikuluen edukiarekin. Idatzien gehienezko luzera 4.500 karakterekoa da (espazioak barne). Idazkera aldetik gutxieneko zuzentasun bat beharrezkoa da: batetik, ARGIAk ezin du hartu zuzenketa sakona egiteko lanik; bestetik, egitekotan edukia nahi gabe aldatzeko arriskua dago. ARGIAk azaleko zuzenketak edo moldaketak egingo dizkie artikuluei, behar izanez gero.
I received your e-mail in personal mail on the strike portals. At first, like many others, I thought it was to let you know what options we have in the face of the strike. But no, the e-mail received was a political and communicative movement against the strike.
I will confess... [+]
This weekend I've been thinking about the word 'aesthetic' in relation to a phrase said by a friend: “This work is aesthetic.” I have studied the etymology of the word aesthetic, it seems that its meaning was originally perceived through the senses, and it was later associated... [+]
In recent years, the concept of industrial policy has reappeared strongly at various levels. The organization that was the hammer of neoliberalism, the International Monetary Fund, today insists that markets have been pressured to allocate resources efficiently and solve these... [+]
The other day in Bilbao, I met a friend at the Bira bar. We were very happy at the Tar and I said: “Of course, since you’re Guipúzcoa, hahahaha.” And he insisted that he was not Guipuzcoan. Without me understanding it, I kept saying, “Ah! Is it not? You were born in New... [+]
Zalantza asko izan ditut, meloia ireki ala ez. Ausartuko naiz, zer demontre! Aspaldian buruan dudan gogoeta jarri nahi dut mahai gainean: ez da justua erditu den emakumearen eta beste gurasoaren baimen-iraupena bera izatea. Hobeto esanda, baimen-denbora bera izanda ere, ez... [+]
We are in the midst of a world imperialist offensive led by the Western bourgeoisie. The form that the imperialist offensive has taken is that of war, with all its variants: economic war, cognitive and cultural war, lawfarr; and, of course, military war. Western imperialism has... [+]
I just saw a series from another sad detective. All the plots take place on a remote island in Scotland. You know how these fictions work: many dead, ordinary people but not so many, and the dark green landscape. This time it reminded me of a trip I made to the Scottish... [+]
To be honest, I don't know why I'm writing this. In today’s hostile environment, opinions of this kind are not well received. Perhaps LUZ will not publish this because it does not correspond to the opinions they have published so far (but if they have finally decided to publish... [+]
On January 15, the techno-business lobby called Cedarios presented its 6th report, Euskadi and the European Union, the shared destiny of prosperity and competitiveness. This neoliberal Think Tank, made up of eminent experts drawn from the world of finance, presented a magical... [+]
We Basques move our feet behind the witness of Korrika to proclaim that we want to survive as a Basque people in favor of our language, with the aim of the Basque Country we desire.
The tipi-tapa is the first step taken by a migrant person who leaves his homeland in Africa,... [+]
And for another year, the unions have organized prefabricated strikes for us. And we, individually, will decide whether or not to join the strike, without the need for any assembly at the school.
The strike model that I was taught is no longer in vogue, it seems. In my... [+]
Life surrounds everything, it is limited and fragile. To live good lives, it seems to me that the body knows what to do, while the mind, although it knows (when it is well informed), often sees the body deliberately silence. In this silence the mind opens itself to relations... [+]
Eroso gaude ingurunea gure egoera fisiko/emozionalera egokitzen denean. Besteak ni kontuan hartu nauenean, izan gizaki bat, objektu bat, espazio bat. Erosotasunaren klabea produktu eta espazio diseinuan beharrizan handi gisa sartu da, erosotzat jotzen dena erosgarria delako... [+]