Wage Slavery: Are we not just as horrible as government

Every man for himself and God for us all. If you live in present day Zimbabwe, I am sure you know what I mean by this. It is amazing how much things have changed in the last seven years. People used to care a lot about other people. It mattered how everyone survived. Beggars were still a nuisance but at least back then they were treated with human dignity. Do we have that nowadays? I just do not know.

For example, it’s amazing how some business people still pay their workers a monthly salary of $200 000 ( US$10) without even feeling bad about it. Honestly, who survives on $200 000 a month these days? That money does not even meet my basic needs for one week and my needs are not fancy at all. I use about $50 000 (US$2.50) for my expenses everyday. I guess I am lucky that I do not have to purchase the fuel that I use. That really would put me in a fix.

If a lot of workers are still getting salaries that are around $200 000, imagine what domestic workers or house-keepers must be getting? My mother is now a retired teacher and she used to pay her domestic help a paltry and indecent sum of money at the end of each month. She could not afford to pay her enough to subsist on. I remember that she used to justify the situation by pointing out that it was not really her fault since, as a civil servant, she earned peanuts herself. However, these days her domestic help must be one of the lucky few since my sister and I are now responsible for her wages. We pay her $250 000 a month but it’s still hardly ideal. These people have real needs too that require money just like all of us.

I suspect that many domestic workers only settle for such low pay since they usually get free food, free lodgings, toiletries and other stuff like that in return for their services. They usually get exposed to the vagaries of the economy when they are travelling or doing some personal shopping. But what happens to those domestic workers who have families of their own to take care of?

For Zimbabweans, wage slavey has been one of the harshest side effects of hyperinflation. Since there is a social stigma associated with not being employed, many a Zimbabwean will sell his or her labour power, submitting to the authority of an employer, in order to merely subsist. People not in formal employment, even though the financial returns are more attractive these days, are looked upon with disdain.

A lot of people all over the world do not understand how Zimbabweans have managed to survive seven years of appalling economic and social conditions without rebelling against the government. I think the answer is very simple. Zimbabweans survive by transferring and perpetuating injustices. The government has stripped the people of their human dignity and the people in turn do it to each other. The golden rule in the Bible states that we should treat others the way that we want to be treated. Perhaps this is the reason why the gods continue to curse us.