This is the story of Somalatha, who is from Sri Lanka. That's not her real name -- and you're about to find out why.
It's a story most people won't believe could occur in modern-day Britain. Sadly, it is true. It happened very recently.
Somalatha arrived in Britain when she was 29 with a family for whom she had been working in Jordan. Her job was to be a maid. She had to work 16 to 18 hours a day, for which she was paid about $450 Cdn a month. In the first two years, she was not given one day off.
She was not allowed to eat with the family and had to wait for leftovers. If there were none, she was advised to eat onions and potatoes.
If any food was missing, she was automatically blamed for it, or even punished.
Somalatha had to sleep on a sofa-bed in the sitting room, where she was disturbed by anyone who came in late.
Friday nights were especially difficult since the teenage children would come home late at night and bring their friends, which would prevent her from sleeping.
Her employer deliberately let Somalatha's visa expire. Since she was without a visa, she could not run away. She kept asking for a letter from her employer so she could apply to renew her visa but this was refused.
Under current British law, women like Somalatha have a way out. But the government is about to close her escape route. Earlier this year, it proposed changes to the law that divides migrants into five tiers according to their perceived skills and the economic benefit they will bring to Britain.
This system makes no mention of women like Somalatha. But immigration officials have told Anti-Slavery International that domestic workers like Somalatha will henceforth be tied to the employers with whom they entered the United Kingdom, with no right to change employers -- no matter how abusive their treatment.
Being a wage slave under capitalism doesn't just kill it is also depressing......
About half a million Canadian workers experience depression, and most say it interferes with their ability to manage their jobs, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
Data from 2002 showed almost four per cent of workers between the ages of 25 and 64 reported being depressed in the previous 12 months before the surveyJob-related factors associated with depression included:
- Night shifts.
- Non-regular hours.
- Work stress.
- Occupation.
The prevalence of depression was relatively high among workers who spent fewer than 30 hours on the job. It was lower among those who worked more than 40 hours.
Which may explain why so many bosses are criminal capitalists.You may already suspect that your boss's smooth, charming exterior masks a sadistic control freak with a penchant for violence.
Professor Hare estimates that 1% of the general population in North America are psychopaths.
The professor believes that psychopath's cold-blooded ability to manipulate others without remorse, coupled with a veneer of charm and high energy can make them extremely successful in many walks of life.
They could be perfectly qualified for top posts in the military, politics or in huge multi-national companies as history has already shown in one notorious case.
Former Daily Mirror tycoon Robert Maxwell, who made off with the newspaper's pension fund, was named as a classic example of a man in a powerful position who might very well have displayed psychopathic traits.
