Second Life – May Day Celebrates Effective Form Of  Protest

Second Life may well be considered as ‘geek technology’ and only for those who enjoy computer games, but the reality became somewhat different last September.

With a permanent present now having been set up in the form of the Union Island Republic by UNI, with the involvement of the UK TUC and several UK Trade Unions becoming more interested such as BT union Connect, this may well become a source of protest without having to leave your home or office.

Given that major multi-national companies have jumped on the bandwagon of cyber space and consider a presence in second Life as an important element of their marketing machinery, then it can be seen as equally important for trade Unions to make their presence in Second Life a permanent one.

On the day of the first May Day celebration and exhibitions on Union Island in Second Life, it is worth reflecting on the short history of a new form of union protest that has been extremely successful. The first ever virtual strike took place last year and had a monumental effect on the Company it was aimed at – IBM!

This statement from Union Island forms the basis of the history of the dispute and action within Second Life and is now the source of a competition being run to erect in Second Life a monument to the first ever strike in cyber space:

"In late September 2007, around 1,850 avatars converged on IBM campus sims to mount a 12 hour protest. IBM Italy had cut a performance bonus worth 1000 Euro to staff, and refused to negotiate on it.

The Second Life protest was reported all over SL and the web, and coupled with the threat of real world strikes to follow, IBM Italy agreed to go to negotiation with the union, and gave the workers back their pay.

This was only one more union campaign of the type that are going on every day around the globe, but the significance of Second Life in the dispute was something totally new.”

Further information of the effects of the strike that was instrumental in success for the trade unions involved was issued in the form of this UNI press release:

One month after a virtual protest staged in Second Life with almost 2’000 avatars demonstrating on IBM islands, a new contract with IBM Italy has been signed.

The new agreement, which still needs to be approved by the IBM Italy workforce, reinstates the performance bonus that was cut unilaterally by IBM Italy management.

The agreement signed by IBM Italy and the trade union Rappresentanze Sindacali Unitarie (R.S.U.) not only includes the performance bonuses from 2007 up until 2010 but also payments by IBM into a national health insurance fund and also states that negotiations will continue with respect to IBM industrial and business strategies in Italy and the improvement of internal communication policies.

The situation abruptly improved and negotiation resumed after the former country manager left IBM in the mid of October, who had signed responsible for the pay cuts in the first place. His departure cleared the air and facilitated constructive negotiations between social partners as this could be expected from a professional management of a high-tech company.

The virtual demonstration organized on 27 September for a whole day has certainly had an impact on the positive development. Almost 2’000 virtual protestors from 30 countries populating IBM premises in Second Life solicited an unprecedented media echo from all over the world, including TV and radio stations, daily news papers, computer and business magazines.

The virtual protest had been supported by global unions such as the International and European Metalworkers Federations (IMF and EMF) and UNI Global Union.
The threat of strike action in the “real world” by the Italian unions after the virtual protest has certainly also helped to break the deadlock. Yet, the impact of this historical action in Second Life must not be underestimated."

You can view a short 6 min video of the campaign logistics and day of action below:

 

Many involved in the Trade Union movement now see Second Life as a second frontier for action and the promotion of workers rights. It makes sense to take protests to wherever the employer has interest and of course there are no legal barriers in Second Life against the interest of workers rights.

The Union’s have always embraced technology as a way of improving people’s lives and now it can be used to reach out to those very much involved in using computer based technology, the young employees of tomorrow and get them involved in Trade Unions.

For many, Second Life gives the Trade Union movement a further opportunity now to demonstrate the relevance of being in a TU to the whole world, young and old, employed and unemployed.

Download UNI IBM Protest press release with pics here

Source: Union Island / UNI

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