As I was driving home I was listening to a news item on BBC Radio4 which was outlining how many of the thirty-something generation in China, who have moved from the villages to the cities to work in the factories that churn out huge amounts of products to the West, are now becoming quite vocal about receiving a better wage for their work.  It seems that they are not prepared to “shut up and put up” like their long suffering parents before them, and in my book, quite right too.

What was particularly interesting were the closing comments of the report which essentially said that if they won their fight for fairer pay, then we in the West would no doubt end up paying more for all those products we buy that are “Made in China.”  Well personally since there are so many in the marketplace, I would at least feel happier knowing that the people making them were receiving something akin to appropriate payment rather than slogging away for a pittance.

Unfortunately though I’m sure there would be many who wouldn’t share that view because recession seems to bring out the mentality of “everyone for themselves”, just when it would perhaps be healthier if we all looked at ways to be more cohesive as a collective.  If our buying things on-the-cheap means the suffering of someone else, then I believe that ultimately we are all impoverished, not necessarily financially but in spirit.