One day in late May they were not there, and the story of instant dismissal, shipped-in replacements and the unending search for lowest-cost services by Australia's largest retailers exposes deep social and economic forces changing Australia.
The 20 trolley boys who were summarily dismissed by a Melbourne labour-hire company, Xidis Pty Ltd, trading as Effective Supermarket Solutions, are among those least able to defend themselves from such forces.
Some got their jobs through a community organisation, Personnel Employment, that places mentally and physically handicapped people into work.
They are, said the director of the Office of Workplace Services, Nicholas Wilson, "the most vulnerable of the vulnerable"."
Labels: economic rationalism, hardship
