Chapter 387 Xiao Peng's Troubles
Although Xiao Peng doesn't know how to play the piano, he can see that Felix has not stopped practicing piano in the past two years and his piano level has improved a lot.
But he didn't know how to play the piano, so he just listened for fun, so he didn't pay attention to the piano. The same was true for Ivan.
"Xiao, I have some news that may not be very good for you." Ivan whispered.
Xiao Peng asked, "What news?"
Ivan said, "The Turks are going to deal with you."
Xiao Peng spread his hands. "Look at how much I've had to endure just to help you! I'm just an ordinary citizen, but now I've become the enemy of a country. Turkey's been looking for Fabian, and they've even come to our country to protest our display of their national treasures. Huh, are they anxious now? Why didn't they think of this when they detained Fabian? If they leave them alone, will they come to France and kidnap me again?"
Ivan said, "I believe they are capable of such a thing. Don't underestimate the bottom line of that country. And... don't say I'm trying to scare you. At the current rate of development, France may not be able to withstand Turkey in the future. You understand, one side will rise while the other side will fall. For a country to develop, a stable regime is very important. Although Turkey has many problems, it is really much better than France. Didn't you see when you came? There have been protests in Paris again. How can a country like this develop with only internal strife?"
Xiao Peng nodded: "Ivan, I understand what you mean. I will be careful. So do I have to drag you into this now?"
Ivan smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, and I know you have this idea, but I can't refuse it. Let me jump into this fire pit!"
"Go to hell!" Xiao Peng curled his lips and said, "You speak so tragically, who wouldn't know that you're practically laughing inside right now!"
Ivan was noncommittal: "What are you going to do next?"
Xiao Peng said: "I'm thinking about leaving France."
"Why?" Ivan asked in confusion.
Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "I've been targeted by the French Seamen's Union."
Ivan made the sign of the cross on his chest: "Poor Xiao."
While both Western and Chinese unions serve the interests of workers, a closer look reveals significant differences. Chinese unions typically organize group tours and travel, while Western unions are a completely different type of organization.
When I was in China, I often saw public intellectuals criticizing the Huaxia Federation of Trade Unions for its inaction, saying that foreign unions truly serve workers. Wherever there is inequality or where workers' interests are affected, the union will directly investigate. When workers encounter unfairness, including legal aid, they will immediately follow up!
Look how much more work they do for the workers?
After Xiao Peng came out, he found that the biggest source of instability in Western countries also came from trade unions.
In some Western industries, unions are incredibly powerful. For example, the Teamsters are actually the largest shareholder in the renowned Ford Motor Company. The reason they hold such power is simple: they command a significant share of the vote. Politicians are hesitant to offend union members and risk losing votes, so they simply allow them to run wild.
Besides voting rights, these unions have another weapon: strikes. They strike whenever they're dissatisfied. For example, let's not talk about other places, but France: in 2016, there were 801 strikes in France, an average of more than two per day. Of these, 110 were nationwide strikes, an average of one every three days. These strikes were led by various unions. Even prison guards have unions, and they have organized major strikes.
The result? Being a worker in France is truly blissful, while being a boss is truly unfortunate.
For general industries: In addition to the two-day weekend, the French have 11 statutory holidays and 30 days of paid holidays a year. Adding the days of long holidays before and after, the French only need to work about 200 days out of 365 days a year.
Their unions are all industry unions, so sailors and crew members also have their own unions. When Xiao Peng was salvaging the Yuanmingyuan shipwreck, there was a "compulsory rest period" that was set by the local crew members' union.
No one on Xiao Peng's ship joined this union.
They've been drifting at sea for years. If they really followed these union regulations, Xiao Peng wouldn't have to do anything. After all the hard work of running to the salvage site, he'd have to return to the port to rest before even starting work? What good would that do?
However, he was reported for this. The crew's union said that forming a union was necessary to fulfill their responsibility to the crew. They also began lobbying the crew on Xiao Peng's ship to join the union and fight against Xiao Peng. This made Xiao Peng very upset. This was also a factor in his decision to send all the crew members home for leave.
Even so, the crew members' union was still not satisfied and organized a protest march on the docks of La Ciotat, basically saying that Xiao Peng was a black-hearted boss. This made Xiao Peng very annoyed.
"So what are you going to do?" Ivan asked.
Xiao Peng said, "I haven't thought about it yet. But there's something that's been bothering me."
"What's the matter?" Ivan asked.
Xiao Peng sighed, "When I was in Belarus, I promised to lead a scientific expedition team composed of local Belarusian university students to explore the sea. They never finalized the list, so I didn't take it seriously. But now, they suddenly gave me this list and asked me to fulfill my promise. I've already left the Black Sea, so why should I fulfill my promise? Ivan, isn't your ship in the Black Sea? Just let them pass. I don't dare go to the Black Sea anymore."
Ivan laughed after hearing this: "It's a small matter, just leave it to me!"
Just then, the piano piece ended, and warm applause broke out. Xiao Peng and Ivan stopped chatting and joined in the applause. Felix stood up at the piano and bowed to everyone in thanks.
Elizabeth applauded and walked over to Felix. "Thank you all for coming today. Your presence makes this place so beautiful. Your support for Felix makes me proud as a mother. But what makes me even happier is your kindness. Next, we have the highlight of the day, our charity auction. We are surrounded by many brave firefighters who risk their own lives to keep everyone safe, yet they don't receive the respect and compensation they deserve. All the funds raised from today's charity auction will be used to improve the lives of the families of injured or even deceased firefighters. Today's auction is all about showing love, and all the items are voluntarily donated by you. Let me start by inviting you to auction, and this is the first item."
After she finished speaking, a waitress came over holding a plate with a glass trophy on it. "This is the trophy I won for Best Supporting Actress at the César Awards. I'm offering 50,000 yuan for it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
