I misspoke around 15:56…meant to say annual German working hours, not monthly.
A couple weeks ago, between ads for neoliberal “wealth management” firms, National “Public” Radio nonchalantly reported that 250 US workers have died in recent years while building trenches. Their employers deemed it too costly/unprofitable to install trench boxes that protect workers from cave-ins and keep workers alive.
It is a criminal violation of federal (OSHA) rules for employers to kill workers in this way. The trench boxes are “legally required.” The requirement is commonly ignored, workers die and no employer has yet been prosecuted for this crime.
N“P”R quickly moved on to some trivial story with soothing electronic music between the segments. It’s sad, but these dead workers are disposable people. That’s the way capitalism, understood as “life” (try death), is.
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