Merck Employees Protest Layoffs In The Netherlands
5 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // August 12th, 2010 // 7:08 am
Here’s a novel way to protest layoffs. Every day at noon, five employees at the Organon R&D facility in Oss, which is in The Netherlands, leave their desks and labs, and walk to Oss town hall to complain about the planned elimination of 2,175 jobs. The downsizing is actually part of the large layoffs planned by Merck, which bought Schering-Plough, which had acquired Organon (see here).
The Organon employees call this a relay demonstration, according to The Dutch News. So far 250 employees have volunteered and the protest is expected to continue for months. Do the math and you can understand why it will take that long. The move follows a recent public march by employees, during which economist Arnold Heertje described the layoffs as “a horrible excrescence of finance capitalism,” according to SP International. Meanwhile, the works council of Organon, a labor group, plans to make its case against the reorganization to court on Sept. 2.
Imagine if the same thing were tried in the US. With all the thousands of industry layoffs announced over just the past two years, there would be employees criss-crossing New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Indiana and California (which states did we forget? all of the others?) every day for years and years. It would take so long to play out that the US economy may have recovered by then. Whether the pharmaceutical industry will have revived is another matter.
Hat tip to Shearlings Got Plowed
Condor
Yeowza! — thanks, Ed, for the “hat tip“.
It would be (if this approach were adopted in the USA) a never-ending line — the lines would grow longer and faster, than the speed at which five people could walk — even a quarter-mmile — into infinity. . . [I think].
In other Merck-related international news, this morning we note that Australians alleging injury by Vioxx® have only about two weeks left — to August 25 — file a claim form with the Australian courts. Do go see the shiny image of Australia (forgot to put some cute lil’ wallabees in there — shoot!).
pharmavet
Yes, and if we can get all of the laid off workers to join hands and encircle the globe, kinda like the Van Allen Radiation Belt, then we could all break into song, just like the Coke commercial:
“I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…”, etc., etc., etc.,.
Condor
Okay pharmavet — the protesters’ idea is nobel — even if it ultimately will prove ineffective.
We are all about “equal opportunity” for varying perspectives, here — so perhaps this is more adequately suited to your world-view.
And, if that is so — my sincere condolences.
Namaste, to all of good will.
Gio
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON:))
“Imagine if the same thing were tried in the US.” IT IS HAPPENING IN THE US. GUESSING SOME HAVEN’T BEEN WATCHING THE US NEWS TO KNOW THAT?
Annette Bak
“Imagine if the same thing were tried in the US.” IT IS HAPPENING IN THE US. GUESSING SOME HAVEN’T BEEN WATCHING THE US NEWS TO KNOW THAT?