Digital data management systems are useful for retailers such as Walmart, which this month an-nounced that by 2016 it is raising its minimum hourly rate in the US to $10. Sophisticated new software that captures real-time sales patterns and other data means companies can deploy more staff at short notice, or send them home when restaurants or stores are empty. Workers are often sent packing mid-shift or called in early. It saves costs for employers and ultimately shareholders.
沃爾瑪(Walmart)上月宣布，到2016年要將其在美國(guó)的最低時(shí)薪提高至10美元。對(duì)沃爾瑪這樣的零售商來說，電子數(shù)據(jù)管理系統(tǒng)非常有用。復(fù)雜的新軟件可以捕捉實(shí)時(shí)銷售情況和其它數(shù)據(jù)，這意味著企業(yè)可以臨時(shí)調(diào)配更多員工，或者在餐館或者門店空閑的時(shí)候讓他們下班回家。員工經(jīng)常上班上到一半被打發(fā)回家或者提前被叫來上班。這為雇主，而且歸根結(jié)底也為股東節(jié)省了成本。
It is also a nightmare for many low-wage workers, among whose ranks I worked for more than a decade, mostly in food service. Software does not take into account the shifting nature of human lives. Nor can it deal with unexpected events such as a sick child.
但這也是很多低薪勞動(dòng)者的夢(mèng)魘。我也在這樣的低薪崗位上工作了十幾年，基本都是在餐飲行業(yè)。軟件既不會(huì)考慮人類生活變化不定的性質(zhì)，也不會(huì)考慮孩子生病等突發(fā)狀況。
Quality of life is about more than the size of your pay cheque. It means being able to spend an evening with your family once a week — instead of keeping one parent at home with the kids while the other works, and then exchanging a few words when you switch roles halfway through the day. It means being able to request working hours that allow you to travel when buses are running so you do not have to walk miles to get to work.
生活質(zhì)量不僅在于薪水高低。有質(zhì)量的生活意味著每周能和家人共度一晚——而不是一方在家?guī)Ш⒆樱硪环皆谕夤ぷ�，然后在中午角色互換時(shí)說幾句話。有質(zhì)量的生活還意味著能要求在公交運(yùn)營(yíng)時(shí)間內(nèi)上下班，而不必步行幾英里去上班。
Those things matter to workers. When someone on a low wage talks about finding a better job, better pay is just part of the mix. This is why campaigns groups across America are trying to win better conditions — enabling employees to address questions of health, safety and life quality, alongside their wage gains.
這些事情對(duì)勞動(dòng)者來說很重要。當(dāng)一個(gè)薪水較低的人談起找一份更好的工作時(shí)，更高的薪資僅僅是部分因素。這就是為什么美國(guó)各地的活動(dòng)團(tuán)體一直在努力爭(zhēng)取更好的工作條件——讓雇員在獲得漲薪的同時(shí)，也能夠解決健康、安全和生活質(zhì)量方面的問題。
Short-notice rotas, as much as low pay or unsafe conditions, are central to a spate of protests across the US. Starbucks, for example, was held up to scrutiny when a New York Times feature in August showed how hard it was for a single mother to keep her job, stay in education and sort out childcare while also working unpredictable hours.
臨時(shí)排班與低薪和不安全的工作條件一樣，是美國(guó)各地許多抗議活動(dòng)主要針對(duì)的問題。比如，《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》(New York Times)去年8月的一篇特寫報(bào)道，講述了在自己的工作時(shí)間無法預(yù)測(cè)的情況下，一位單身母親又要工作、又要繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)、還要照顧孩子是多么艱難，此文讓她的雇主星巴克(Starbucks)成為眾矢之的。
Commentators and policy makers have focused on the consequences of Walmart’s decision to increase wages. These may make a difference to the macroeconomic statistics that are most widely followed as measures of the economy’s health.
評(píng)論人士以及政策制定者們關(guān)注的是沃爾瑪漲薪會(huì)帶來哪些后果。漲薪可能會(huì)改變被視為經(jīng)濟(jì)健康狀況指標(biāo)而廣受關(guān)注的宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)。
For many workers, however, the most significant part of the announcement was not the loudly trumpeted but marginal pay rise. Rather, it was a series of significant policy shifts that will have a big effect on quality of life. Most important was a promise that work schedules will be available two-and-a-half weeks in advance. This is a significant gain for staff. Walmart has said that the entire initiative will be in full effect in 2016.
Similarly overlooked in the Walmart announcement is a commitment to management retraining. Most low-wage workers will agree that this is long overdue. Every low-wage employee has run up against incompetent or petty managers. But some will remain sceptical; this particular company has long faced complaints that its culture is unfriendly to employees.
Walmart’s decision to make positive moves with its $1bn overhaul is welcome, not least to taxpayers who in effect subsidise its wages with welfare subsidies which, by some accounts, add up to over $6bn a year. Any raise is significant at these wage levels, but $10 per hour is still a poverty-level wage in many US cities. But it did so under pressure from a tightening labour market and a tide of bad publicity from protesters, its own striking employees and politicians. Even President Barack Obama is on record, in the early days of his career, calling for Walmart “to do better by its workers”.
Big employers in America seem to be realising what is meant by the term “human capital”. Should this trend continue, led by the world’s biggest private sector employer, it is possible that we will start seeing the kinds of stable and dependable jobs that build a strong economy, instead of the efficient but unstable sort that build a strong quarterly report.
The writer is author of ‘Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America’
然而對(duì)很多勞動(dòng)者來說，這份聲明最有意義的部分不在于雷聲大雨點(diǎn)小的加薪，而在于一系列會(huì)有效改善員工生活質(zhì)量的重大政策轉(zhuǎn)變。其中最重要的是提前兩個(gè)半星期排出輪班表的承諾。這將讓員工受益良多。沃爾瑪表示，整個(gè)方案將于2016年完全生效。
在沃爾瑪?shù)穆暶髦�，還有一個(gè)同樣被忽視的地方，即對(duì)管理層進(jìn)行再培訓(xùn)的承諾。大多數(shù)低薪勞動(dòng)者都會(huì)同意這是一項(xiàng)早該實(shí)施的措施。每個(gè)低薪雇員都遇到過不稱職或卑鄙的經(jīng)理。但有些人仍會(huì)抱懷疑態(tài)度——沃爾瑪是個(gè)長(zhǎng)期以來一直被抱怨其文化對(duì)雇員不友好的企業(yè)。