"After returning to the company today, I asked several branches about the development of the trade union organization. I think we should pay attention to it."
Seeing his son looking obviously relieved, Fang Xinshan expressed his concerns about the trade union.
Fang Lang understood that this was the aftereffect of his father listening to the union speech today.
Looking at the office where only he and his father were, Fang Lang lowered his voice and said:
"I've already thought of a way to deal with the union."
When Fang Xinshan heard Fang Lang's words, he breathed a sigh of relief, his face full of joy, and he said with anticipation in his eyes:
"Tell me quickly, what should we do? Should we just kick them out?"
It seems that Fang Xinshan has considered a head-on confrontation with the trade union, but such an idea is normal. No one would like to see forces beyond their control appear in the factory where they invested.
What's more, this force is specifically against us. Isn't this just raising a tiger to cause harm?
...
...
"In fact, trade unions are not only emerging in Brazil. Now with the rise of the Soviet big brother, it is inevitable that workers' thoughts will begin to awaken. This historical trend cannot be stopped by us."
Fang Lang shook his head and denied his father's idea.
Seeing that War II disagreed with his point of view, Fang Xinshan asked anxiously:
"So are we just going to let them grow in our company and then go against us?"
Raising his hand to signal his father not to worry, Fang Lang pushed his father to sit on the sofa in the reception area, and said with a confident smile:
"In fact, the trade unions organized by the Labor Party are just imitating others. Their fundamental purpose is not to protect the interests of workers. Therefore, it is very easy to deal with them."
Fang Xinshan, who had just sat down on the sofa, was so anxious to know what good idea his son had that his face flushed.
"Then tell me quickly, what should we do?"
But Fang Lang smiled, slowly took out a bag of tea from under the coffee table, and took out two teacups.
He opened the tea box, smelled the fragrance of the tea leaves, squinted his eyes with satisfaction and said:
"The method is simple. Since direct confrontation is not an option, we can only choose to go with the flow."
Seeing Fang Lang slowly starting to make tea, Fang Xinshan became extremely anxious.
"Should we follow the trend and join in? But we are the factory owners!"
Fang Lang looked up at his father, motioning him to stay calm, and continued to add tea leaves to the teacup. He then took out a thermos and made two cups of tea.
He placed one of the cups in front of his father with both hands and said:
“Instead of joining it, we will form our own union organization.”
Perhaps influenced by Fang Lang's calmness, Fang Xinshan's impatient mood finally calmed down slowly. He picked up the tea that his son had brewed for him and blew on it twice.
He wanted to take a sip, but perhaps because the tea was too hot, he quickly retracted his mouth and put the cup back on the coffee table, questioning:
"Establish your own union? But the workers know that we established the union ourselves, so how can they join?"
Fang Lang saw the teacup his father placed on the table and smiled. It seemed that his father was indeed a little overwhelmed by the constitution of this union organization today.
He even brought the freshly brewed tea to his lips without even looking at it.
He pulled two cigars from the lining pocket of his suit and handed one to his father.
He took out a small cigar cutter from his trouser pocket, trimmed the head of his cigar, and handed the cigar cutter to his father before saying:
"As long as our union can get them the benefits they want, that's fine! Think about it, we refuse to negotiate with the union they established.
However, the union we have established can help them get the benefits they want. Which union do you think they will join?"
After hearing what Fang Lang said, Fang Xinshan trimmed the cigar in his hand vigorously, as if he wanted to vent his dissatisfaction on the cigar, and said indignantly:
"Then won't we still be blackmailed by them and give up the company's interests?"
Noticing the movements of his father's hands and looking at the cigar that was cut to waste by his father, Fang Lang said helplessly:
"That's for sure. If we choose not to give in now, we will just have to fight head-on with the other side.
But facing the torrent of history, a head-on confrontation will only leave us shattered to pieces, with no chance of winning at all.
If we follow the tide of history and take the unions into our own hands, the initiative will return to us.
For example, the union is now demanding that the twelve-hour workday be adjusted to eleven hours.
Is this too much to ask?”
Without waiting for his father to answer, Fang Lang asked himself:
“No, I don’t think that’s too much to ask.
After 12 hours of high-intensity labor, workers are easily fatigued. When people are tired, their work efficiency is greatly affected.
Some jobs require fatigue and may even lead to accidents easily. If an accident occurs, we may not only face financial losses but also lose a skilled worker.
This way, workers can be given a certain amount of rest time, which is actually beneficial to reducing the factory's losses and improving the factory's production efficiency."
Fang Xinshan only changed his identity from a farmer to a capitalist this year, and he actually doesn't have a strong idea about exploiting workers.
So, he easily accepted Fang Lang's statement.
Seeing his father nod, Fang Lang lit the match in his hand, handed the fire to his father, and continued while lighting a cigar for his father:
“In fact, in my opinion, paying workers wages based on working hours is the stupidest approach.
We should change our mindset and change the original time-based system to piece-rate system, set a basic salary and minimum task standard. As long as he completes the number of tasks we specify, he can get his piece-rate commission based on this piece-rate standard.
Those who fail to complete the task can only get the basic salary. Those who fail to complete the task for several consecutive months can only be said to be not suitable for this job.
Workers who want to get high wages will naturally find ways to improve their work efficiency.
If workers with low work efficiency want to work overtime on their own initiative, we must clearly tell them that we are a formal enterprise and do not encourage overtime. Even if you work overtime, I will not pay you overtime.
Let them decide whether to work overtime or not. And we can also gain a good reputation.”
The father took a big puff of the cigar, his lips slightly opened and his eyes narrowed. It was unclear whether he was savoring the aroma of the cigar in his mouth or thinking about Fang Lang's words.
After a long while, he smiled and said:
"This is a good idea. If we really change it this way, it won't matter if the working hours are shortened by two hours."
Seeing that his father understood his thoughts, Fang Lang also smiled and said:
"Yes, in this case, our own union was able to fight for the benefits that everyone wanted for his family, while their union got nothing. The workers certainly knew what to choose."
Fang Xinshan may have thought of something, his smile faded slightly, his brows slightly frowned and he said:
"What if our union leader is bribed by them and doesn't obey our orders and deliberately goes against us?"
Fang Lang took a deep breath of the cigar, held the smoke in his mouth, and gently stirred it twice with his tongue, letting the fragrance remain between his lips and teeth before slowly exhaling. Then he took another breath of fresh air and smiled and said:
“Since this is a union we founded ourselves, we of course have the power to appoint and remove the union chairman. If someone doesn’t obey our orders, we can just replace him with someone who does!
In fact, there is one biggest advantage of our own union.
That is, we don't need to charge workers membership fees. Do you think workers can refuse a union that can protect their interests but does not require them to pay money to join?
If we cannot collect membership fees from workers, the union will have no source of funds of its own, and the leaders of the union at all levels will have to rely on us to pay their salaries. Who do you think they will listen to?"
After hearing what Fang Lang said, Fang Xinshan slapped his thigh, the smoke in his mouth blew out, he stood up and said with a smile:
"Haha... That's a good idea. Let's do it this way. From now on, our group's union will no longer be an organization that opposes us. Instead, it will be a department of our company. Then there's nothing to be afraid of."
Seeing my father’s smiling face, I knew that his doubts had been dispelled and his mood had improved.
Fang Lang also smiled and added:
“In fact, the union can do a lot more, such as organizing a small birthday party for every employee who has a birthday.
When the weather is hot, we send some cooling food to the front-line workers on behalf of the company.
Help some workers whose families are in financial difficulty, organize internal donations, etc.
Of course, all of this must be done in the name of the company.
This will not only increase workers’ recognition of the union, but also increase workers’ cohesion with the company.”
Fang Xinshan also relaxed at this moment, leaning back on the leather sofa, and said happily:
"Well, then the leader of this union must be chosen carefully, so that the good reputation can truly benefit the company and not be used by those with ulterior motives to buy people's hearts."
Nodding, Fang Lang said softly:
“In fact, when it comes to selecting union members at the grassroots level, we can let the workers vote and elect them themselves!
But the power to appoint and remove middle and senior management must be in our own hands.
Of course, the middle-level managers we select can also be chosen from the grassroots personnel elected by the workers. Becoming a middle-level union worker can allow them to leave their original jobs.
If you become a full-time union worker, your salary and benefits can also be adjusted appropriately.
In addition, we continuously provide them with training on union responsibilities so that they know what kind of work they should do.
Gradually they will start working according to our work requirements.
And they were originally elected by the workers themselves.
Of course, workers will have more faith in such union cadres.
However, there is one thing we need to pay attention to, that is, we should not retain those who have already joined the trade union established by the Labour Party and have participated in many activities.
Slowly look for opportunities to fire these people.
When electing grassroots trade union cadres, we must make it clear that workers who have already joined other trade union organizations are prohibited from joining new trade union organizations.
These activists who joined the Labour Party union were excluded from the new union organization from the outset.”
At this moment, Fang Xinshan could be said to be extremely impressed by his eldest son. What was such a troublesome task for him, after his operation, not only became a no-trouble thing, but instead became a new means for him to manage the factory.
This method of turning crisis into opportunity is really sophisticated!
"I understand. From now on, we can manage the thoughts of factory workers through trade unions."
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