Part 9 == The Worker's Life ==
To be a worker in Ukraine is often a very challenging life indeed. First, is the hassle of finding a decent job. Finding a job is more a matter of whom you know, instead of what you know. Not only that, if you are a young woman, it is almost impossible to get hired for any kind of decent job. Why? Because employers are required to hold a woman's job for 2 years after she gives birth. Women are required to take care of their children until 2 years of age, then they are free to return to their job. Because of this, employers tend to not hire young women.
The work is often hard. Some of Marina's friends work in the scrap metal business. They load the scrap metal onto train cars and trucks, to be shipped wherever it is needed. All of it is loaded by hand, as the company cannot afford any machinery. Construction workers tend to use simple tools, as most companies cannot or will not buy the better quality tools. Probably because the tools could get stolen and the workers who steal them would be able to get better work elsewhere.
One thing I never thought of until recently is that trucks over there are not uniform in size. Trucks come in all sizes and shapes. Because of this, most businesses don't have loading docks. Trucks are normally loaded and unloaded by hand. Often times, when a truck makes a delivery, they pull up on the sidewalk right outside the front door and the driver (and maybe a helper), unload the goods and haul them inside.
The only reason I came to notice this was due to an incident back home in Iowa. A new warehouse was built right next to where I work, which had 10 or 12 loading bays. One day, Marina was with me when I stopped at work for something. She was fascinated with the warehouse, due to the fact that the semi trailers were backed right up to the loading bays and they were at, or near to, the same height. I didn't even think to tell her about pallets and forklifts. It probably would have amazed her even more.
Sevastopol is a major seaport and it is always full of ships. The crews for these seagoing ships have an interesting life. The crew sails for 4 or more months. Upon arriving home, they get paid for their entire time at sea. The sailors then live like kings for a few months, until the money runs out. Then they sign up to go out to sea again. Those who are officers, will tend to find wives. The wives and children live well on a ship officer's pay. Unfortunately, once the husband ships off, the wives tend to collect lovers...
There is a new trend in payroll now. Instead of paying their workers in cash, companies now are giving out ATM cards, programmed with the workers' wages. I suspect it might have occurred due to too many payday robberies, but I'm just guessing. Either that, or the companies get kickbacks on the ATM service fees that the banks charge for using their machines...
More later...
