Monday, January 17, 2005

Market forces labor pains

Some bright spark has come up with the idea of creating a computer programming center which employs only Haredi women. It's conveniently located in a Haredi town and provides the women with a special room where they can pump breast milk for their babies, seperate kitchens, a seperate area for male supervisors, some training, shorter hours and challenging work. In return, they are paid the minimum wage -- a small fraction of what they could be earning elsewhere. The women don't seem to care that they are being exploited:
"Career is not a goal in the Haredi community, it's just a living," explains one of the Haredim training the students for work. "The Haredi community is used to living on nothing, so making a little means a lot to them."
Just wait til they're used to living on a little. They might just discover unions...

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