Chapter 349: The Strike
Masayoshi Kishimoto showed up at Makoto Natsui’s residence the day before he flew from Tokyo to Hangzhou, China. He thought about the fact that the other party was carrying a big belly, which really put him at ease.
His own trip away would take as little as a week or as much as half a month. In addition to business negotiations, he also had to take a good look at Hangzhou, among the Paradise Above and the Suzhou-Hangzhou Below.
He also wanted to go to the Broken Bridge for a walk to see if he could meet the White Maiden? He also wanted to visit the Leifeng Pagoda.
In Kishimoto Justice’s memories of his previous life, when traveling to this place, the tour guide introduced that the Leifeng Pagoda had collapsed once.
Of course, not Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen’s son Xu Shilin dug up the West Lake, resulting in the West Lake water dried up, Leifeng Pagoda fell. It is said that Hangzhou was suddenly infested with snakes one year.
At that time, there was a rumor that only the bricks of Leifeng Pagoda could protect the city from snakes. So, in order to keep their families safe, the citizens have come to Leifeng Pagoda.
You take a brick, I take a brick, directly it got down. The Leifeng Pagoda that people are now allowed to see is the one that was rebuilt.
“Tomorrow, I’m leaving Tokyo to go abroad. The trip out will last perhaps half a month. I know that I personally promised you that I would come at least once a week to keep you company, have a meal or something.
If I’m busy and don’t make it, I’ll make it up to you in the future.” Masayoshi Kishimoto said as he lay on his side on top of the long couch in the living room, one ear pressed to the top of her high belly to listen to the movement of his child.
“I’m just saying. You’re really overworked and distracted, so there’s no need. Besides, you’re there to do the right thing.” Natsui Makoto said with complete understanding and consideration.
“I’m a man of my word, and when I say something, I have to do it.” Masayoshi Kishimoto said seriously.
Natsui Makoto had a happy and sweet smile on her face in reaction to her heart. When she had said this in the first place, it was as a precautionary measure, fearing that Masayoshi Kishimoto would forget about them as mother and son.
That was why she had asked him to make a personal guarantee. Nowadays, the relationship between them was again very good. There was simply no reason for herself to stalk him.
She was seeing that even if the love between the two faded in the future, it would still make the other person hold the child in his heart. This really did fulfill that saying that the child was a connecting link between the two parties.
Even if they don’t have much to say to each other, they will have endless topics about their children. Does your child listen to you lately, do you do well in exams, do you study hard ……
“Today, the bus drivers in Tokyo went on a general strike, did you know that?” Natsui Makoto suddenly remembered a report from the morning news.
Masayoshi Kishimoto couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Japan’s bus drivers’ strike is a unique sight in the world. In other countries, when bus drivers go on strike, they collectively don’t show up.
In this way, it is good to let the traffic paralyzed, is to facilitate the trade unions and employers to carry out a higher wages and benefits negotiations.
This is not how a strike by Japanese bus drivers works. The buses go out as usual, and the work goes on as usual, but the passengers who get on the buses during the strike don’t have to buy a ticket, it’s completely free.
This also reflects the character trait of Japanese people, that is, they are most afraid of causing trouble to others. Even if they go on strike to defend their legitimate interests, they will not hinder the travel of the general public.”
“You can still laugh. I can’t laugh out loud. The long working hours and low hourly wage, coupled with the fact that prices, especially rent, are on the rise again.
How can you support your family as an average working class person? I’d be very supportive of this strike they’re having.”
Natsui Makoto had read the news report properly. One of the representatives of the bus union faced the reporter’s interview camera with reasoned arguments, not only stating their demands, but also producing relevant authoritative data. They demanded a 10 percent increase in wages above the original hourly rate.
“I’m not laughing at their reasonable demands, but I am laughing at the unique and funny form of Japanese bus drivers’ strike.
By hauling so many passengers for free for one day, they incur a direct financial loss to the bus company. A day’s delay adds another day’s loss.
This one way of putting pressure on the employer would work quite well.” Masayoshi Kishimoto knows that the public transportation system in Japan is private and not state-owned at all.
Therefore, the cost of transportation in Japan is much higher than in China. This is not only the difference in income, and the main thing is that China’s public transportation system is an annual financial subsidies, Japan can often not.
As a result, Japanese companies that notify job seekers to come to the company for interviews will generally send 500 yen, 1,000 yen …… transportation cards of varying denominations.
If it’s after noon, they’ll even throw in a free lunch. After all, the companies know that these job seekers tend to live in places that are remote from the capital or sub-centers.
The concentration of Japanese companies is often concentrated in the center or subcenter, which leads to the phenomenon of inversion.
This situation is common in large cities, where people live on the fringe of the city and work in the center of the city. Three to four hours, or more, are wasted on commuting time.
The opposite is true for smaller cities, where people live in the city center and work on the city fringe.
“And the capitalists will behave? I don’t believe it.” Makoto Natsui snapped.
“Negotiations took place. The labor unions made their offer, which was their demand, and even they knew that there was absolutely no way that there would be no room for bargaining, and proceeded to let the employer take it at face value.
The employers were also furious when they encountered such a situation. However, what can be done? We are all adults, so we have to follow the rules of the game for adults.
Moreover, there is a famous saying among businessmen, “Don’t get angry, harmony makes money”. Why don’t you get angry? Because anger is not for fear of hurting one’s health, but for fear of hurting one’s wealth.
Therefore, the capitalists will not come to a bet, that is, not to give you a wage increase, you do what you like, the big deal is to use up the gasoline stored inside the company.
At that time, the cars will not be able to drive, let’s see what you will do. If there really is a major traffic paralysis, the government will intervene forcefully.” Masayoshi Kishimoto spoke eloquently.
“So tell me, do you support the bus drivers? Or the employer?” Natsui Makoto asked curiously.
“Neither is supportive. The bus drivers have their reasons for striking, and are acting entirely on their own self-interest. The employers have equally valid and reasonable reasons.
Raising the wages of bus drivers will inevitably cause the company’s operating costs to rise and profits to fall. Shouldn’t this extra cost fall back on the passengers in the form of higher fares?” Justice Kishimoto said slowly.