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By Callistus Antony D’Angelus
OPINION: The ire directed by Capital A Bhd Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Tony Fernandez, at the information technology (IT) industry as a result of the recent Global IT outage is shared by many.
It is being talked about as the biggest IT outage in history.
The most unfortunate thing in all of this is that so much more emphasis has been placed on lost profits suffered by industries such as airlines. Too little, on the other hand, is mentioned about the inconveniences suffered by individuals.
There is a bigger issue at play here. Fernandez is one of many who is talking about compensation as a consequence of the IT outage. What is being missed is the fact that the economic system which favors big business and oligopolies being formed continues to exploit the general public.
The airline industry is one which heavily favors airline companies and conversely disadvantages customers.
It’s easy for an airline to delay a flight or even cancel it. If an airline customer were to be late for a flight, or want to cancel a booked flight, it would be a different story altogether. It is ironic that when it comes to profits of the airline industry being impacted, the multi-billion dollar industry plays the victim card.
Empathy is also mentioned, in that the IT industry lacks it.
The airline industry is no better though. What kind of empathy does the airline industry have for customers and the general public? What is the empathy shown towards employees of the industry by the airline companies?
The casualisation of working standards within the industry, which has the effect of depressing wage levels and depriving employees of trade union representation among others have only grown to be worse over time.
The airline industry is not alone in this regard. Other industries which have grown to support oligopolies such as the financial services industry behaves no differently. It is all about profits, shareholder value and increasing the remuneration of senior executives. Despite the lessons laid bare as a result of the 2007-8 global financial crisis, money laundering, loose compliance controls and institutionalised mis-selling is still very apparent.
The global trade and economic system we have today is intrinsically exploitative. More stringent antitrust, customer and worker protection mechanisms are needed to redress the imbalance present in a global economic system that is teetering on the edge of breakdown. For starters, perhaps Tony Fernandez can lead the airline industry in Malaysia towards showing some empathy towards its customers and employees.
Callistus Antony D’Angelus is International Labour Advisor Social Protection Contributors Advisory Association Malaysia (SPCAAM)