Regarding my few days of part-time work, I want to talk from two aspects: one is the factory, and the other is life outside the factory, including but not limited to food and accommodation. I plan to use a narrative approach, which might make it easier to understand.
I roughly started working in the factory after the May Day holiday. This factory is an e-commerce warehouse specializing in maternal and infant products. I entered through an agency. On the first day on the way there, I was unlucky and missed the bus, so I had to take a taxi. After arriving, I waited for about one or two hours before the agency came to the factory gate to pick up the workers for interviews. The agency gathered the workers in one place and gave a speech, roughly meaning that we must abide by the factory rules and regulations, “you respect me, I respect you.” I almost laughed to death listening to it. He kept talking about what would happen if workers violated rules, but the agency never mentioned what would happen if the agency violated rules. This shady agency gave me the same feeling as those old-fashioned intellectuals in school. Moreover, during the speech, no one was allowed to talk privately or look at their phones, as if he was very powerful. A few female workers who were also there for part-time work whispered a few words privately and were scolded by the agency, saying, “What are you women doing? I’m speaking up here, and you keep chattering down there. Do you have a problem with me? If you don’t want to work, just come and take your ID and leave. Otherwise, don’t keep talking down there.” After about half an hour, he finally finished. Things that could have been sent as group files for workers to read slowly had to be said out loud like this. Who can remember so many words?
After that, we started signing contracts. By the way, that contract had many illegal clauses; it was not a labor contract but a temporary worker contract. It stated that if you don’t work for three full days, you won’t get paid, and if you leave before the contract ends, your wage will be reduced. Also, whether you resign voluntarily or are dismissed by the factory or agency, it counts as your voluntary resignation, meaning either case is considered a breach of contract.
After signing the contract, we were assigned dormitories. My roommates were all people who only came to work because they had no money. When they had money, they would hang out in urban villages. The key is they were all migrants without local residency. At night, they smoked and set the air conditioner temperature very low (around ten degrees Celsius). After sleeping a few nights, I had a sore and swollen throat, caught a cold, and felt dizzy. When I negotiated with them about smoking outside, they acted like thugs, saying I was the problem because I washed up at night and disturbed their sleep. But in reality, after I washed up and lay down, they were still playing on their phones. They only slept during my washing once. I couldn’t stand it, so I stayed in a hotel for two or three nights, then rented a short-term monthly rental. By the way, the water meter in that rental was outrageous. The contract said water was five yuan per ton (much higher than the local water price). I used one ton of water in one night just for showering and washing some clothes. This was definitely a rip-off. Also, the furniture in the place had classic excessive formaldehyde levels. Opening the cabinet released a strong glue smell, which made me really sick.
After talking about accommodation, let’s discuss the factory and other issues. The oppression in this factory was quite severe. Although the leaders wouldn’t openly tell you when they saw you slacking off, they would secretly report to the agency and work together to dismiss you without reason. According to official workers here, before we temporary workers arrived, they had to work overtime every night, attend stupid morning meetings, and shout slogans every morning. The work intensity and environment here are relatively good compared to JD Logistics, which is like heaven and earth (according to a coworker). Here, lunch is provided, but dinner is insufficient and only provided during overtime. Night shifts get only one meal. Lunch break is about an hour and a half, but the night break is only half an hour, which is not enough for eating and resting. You almost have to start working immediately after eating. Also, the provided meals are terrible; the dishes taste bland, and the people serving food treat us temporary workers like animals, scooping rice carelessly into our bowls. I couldn’t stand it and went to the park cafeteria, which was also terrible. The minimum consumption was 12 yuan, meaning no matter how much you eat, you have to pay at least 12 yuan. Fortunately, the food there was passable. I worked like this for a few days and was dismissed without reason by the agency, about ten days before the contract ended. This might be because I was too lazy at work and the leaders held a grudge.
Previously, I met a coworker on the road who voluntarily talked to me. He said some workers were dismissed before their contract ended; some were dismissed after just one day and didn’t get paid, wasting a whole day. Considering travel costs, it was more than ten yuan, which was outrageous. Most temporary workers who came to work were almost out of money for food. However, capitalists and shady agencies were indifferent to the workers’ situations. In their eyes, workers are tools to be used at will—used when needed and discarded when not.
This is the reality for temporary workers. Any day could be the day they get dismissed.
To summarize the problems I encountered during this part-time work: a shady agency and factory colluded to dismiss me without reason, I encountered a greedy landlord charging high water fees with a fast water meter, and I had terrible roommates. Actually, I also had big problems: I took a spontaneous path, showing severe petty-bourgeois weakness and a bad migrant worker atmosphere. When facing the oppression mentioned above, I didn’t dare to fight back but chose to remain silent. This shows that if workers abandon the Marxist path, they become puppets of capitalists with no ability to resist. Even if there is resistance, it is insignificant. I am currently a typical example of not learning or using Marxism. I share this to let comrades who haven’t gone out to work see the oppression temporary workers face in this revisionist imperialist society. Secondly, I want to use myself as a negative example to warn everyone not to be like me—when facing oppression, don’t be afraid to fight back but don’t choose to be a shrinking turtle. Before going out to work, make sure to prepare well. Thirdly, I want to ask comrades if they have any coping methods when encountering such shady factories, agencies, greedy landlords, and bad roommates?
