Don Matthews

Blood on the Firm's Hands

by Don Matthews

Thursday 4th July 2019 8:39 am

Blood on the Firm's Hands

The Firm which bought the factory

Sent the work offshore

Fired the factory workers

Don't need you anymore

Workers scuffled with police

Getting into rows

A baby's T-shirt “Dad's been fired

Who's going to feed me now?”

The Firm they didn't care at all

They did their job. Big bucks

So profit it destroyed these lives

The Firm said “What the fuck”

Employees at the Firm are told

Work full-speed with stealth

Allegiance to to the client, Firm

And to their own net wealth

They suffered wilful blindness

At damage wrought on lives

Used profit as justification

For shattering peoples lives

No-one at the Firm

Seemed to really fret

To them life was a casino

The workers just placed wrong bets

The Firm said they were dumb fucks

For job-depending on

An industry that's obsolete

Now here, but soon be gone

Three months later a worker

Topped and 'walked the plank'

His wife she'd gone and left him

Their home seized by the bank

Although this poem's made up

Such places are not rare

Where money's more important

And people just don't care

Don Matthews February 2019

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Comments

M.C. Newberry

Fri 5th Jul 2019 19:40

A poignant and instructive coincidence - there has just been a
report that Britain's oldest firm of builders, with an ancestry that dates
back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, has just failed while
trying to complete a £22 million project.
THAT is sad!

Martin Elder

Fri 5th Jul 2019 09:07

This is a very sad reflection of what happens all over the world in different decades seemingly without any care for those who have helped establish the fortunes of those at the top. It is all very well close down a business that is no longer viable but what do you replace it with?

Well said Don

Don Matthews

Fri 5th Jul 2019 01:08

Hey Mindy I'm going off-track here but I've known the scary face for a long time and can vouch for it's authenticity. Who's this Zatoichi? He could be a copy-cat....?

M.C. Newberry

Thu 4th Jul 2019 18:35

A common fact of life across the generations. But whilst we are right
to be concerned about the workforce and its prospects, it is also
only fair to remind ourselves that someone somewhere had the foresight and the courage needed to get a business up and running
and become a viable place of profit that would enable others to
gain the chance of employment. Sometimes, the moving forces
that see a business emerge and prosper don't get the recognition
or the appreciation they deserve in this world. That said, the genuine
caring employer seeks to do the best he or she can if sale/disposal
of a business is on the card for whatever reason..

<Deleted User> (22247)

Thu 4th Jul 2019 15:05

Ha Ha, why do I believe it?
Zatoichi was close though.
Love Zatoichi!

<Deleted User> (18980)

Thu 4th Jul 2019 14:34

What do you mean Mindy? That's me!?

<Deleted User> (22247)

Thu 4th Jul 2019 14:23

You're right, Brian. You're frightening, but you're right.

P.S. That photo isn't Zatoichi, is it?

eve nortley

Thu 4th Jul 2019 11:21

The love of money sure seems to be the root of many evils Don. A heartfelt poem which really resonated with me. I'm intrigued by the research that has identified earning £50k as the cut off point - apparently people don't get any happier if earning above this.

<Deleted User> (18980)

Thu 4th Jul 2019 08:51

We are always up in arms when this happens and we want the Government to step in to either stop it happening or prop up the company. But do we complain when one of our own companies wins a contract from abroad which subsequently causes a similar situation to the other country's workers?

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