Being self-employed in the loosest possible sense - being paid to muck about in public and be silly - I never really miss the days when I worked for big companies. I miss some of the people I worked with, but then I see them, they exist outside the office (who knew?!). And I sure don't miss the feeling that I'm helping the wheels of giant business go round (which seriously over-estimates how much "help" I was to those companies, mostly I just played cricket round the desks with an old clip-board and a ball of rubber bands...).The UK recently passed up an opportunity to make some really strong corporate manslaughter laws, that would really have meant a tidal shift in the way companies looked at risk.
The situation is now totally out of hand, corporations can get away with anything. Kids drinking shandy on a street corner can expect an ASBO leading to probation, fines and even jail. Corporations can murder people with total impunity. If you don't believe me - read this. If you do - read it anyway; it's one of the most compelling things I've read in ages.
1 comment:
When I worked in a law firm once I saw a case of a man who'd worked for a large chemical company in the 60s, working directly with asbestos, and issued with no protective gear other than cotton overalls and a hard hat. Needless to say he had some pretty severe respiratory problems.
Companies do usually get away with throwing a bunch of money at the claimants, and often try to avoid even that much expenditure. Besides, they have indemnity insurance. I could never work in the claims management department of a law firm for very long, the ethical implications are staggering.
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