Cause and effect

Typical of union leaders to spout some facts and then tie them together with the wrong pice of string.

Mr Union Man:

Fact 1: IBM are going to cut these hardworking peoples' wages

Fact 2: IBM are making record profits

Fact 3: IBM Execs are getting whopping pay rises

Piece of string: These workers are the driving force behind the profits and should get paid better.

In fact, the reason that IBM (and companies like it) make better profits is substantially because executives make and implement cost management decisions such as these. If the workforce had been given 10% rises every year, IBM would NOT be making good profits. IBM chip plants have to compete against Taiwanese and Chinese plants, with cheap labour rates and high levels of productivity.

At a strategic level, this is a wise decision. What would be good in this situation is if IBM could help employees retrain for better-paying roles or roles in other industries. The sad fact is though that low-skill production jobs are like liquids - they will flow to the lowest point. Today China, tomorrow Africa.

Paris, because she knows this to be true (which is the ONLY REASON she does not work in a factory.)