Sunday, March 16, 2008

Industrial relations | On strike, virtually | Economist.com

Interesting times

The internet allows expressions of discontent to be aggregated, giving workers the opportunity to stage protests without actually going on strike. The most dramatic example came last September in Italy, at the local arm of IBM. About 2,000 employees of the computer giant—logging on from home to dodge legal problems—staged a virtual protest against a new pay settlement at IBM's corporate campus in Second Life, an online virtual world. A month later the head of IBM Italy resigned and the RSU union agreed on a new pay deal. This innovative use of the internet was recognised with an award at the Forum Netxplorateur, a conference held in Paris in February. The award was presented by the president of Microsoft France.

Industrial relations | On strike, virtually | Economist.com

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