Workers at Chile's ALMA Telescope Strike Over Working Conditions

An anonymous reader writes with this snippet from Deutsche Welle: "'Employees at the world's largest radio telescope have gone on strike after failing to reach agreement over pay and conditions. Workers say they are not sufficiently compensated for isolation and high altitude.' The strike started on Thursday, and the telescope is currently not operating. Although the project's budget is $1.1 billion, an ALMA technician earns less than $2,000 per month. How does this compare with people working at observatories in the U.S., Japan, or the European Union?"

Comments

Premium not enough?

[mysidia]

It sounds like they're trying to take advantage and cheat their employer, because they're in a remote area -- making them harder to fire and replace; because they see there is a good bit of money to the project --- but the management still has a fiduciary duty to spend it appropriately. Just because the project has a $1 billion budget; does not mean the facilities workers, janitors, techs, etc, get six figure salaries that are out of line with the market rate of the work to be done, and the employee's work experience.

Workers say they are not sufficiently compensated for isolation and high altitude.'. The strike started on Thursday, and the telescope is currently not operating. Although the project's budget is $1.1 billion, an ALMA technician earns less than $2.000 per month. How does this compare with people working at observatories in the U.S., Japan, or the European Union?"

Wait.... they're essentially getting $12.50 an hour for a minimum wage technician job, And they're saying their $5.25 (a huge premium) isn't compensation for high altitudes and isolation, after considering their opportunity for adventure?

Perhaps they should not have taken on that work then.

There are plenty of cook jobs at fast food restaurants that are not on the mountain.

Re: Apples to Apples.

[popo]

Go find work elsewhere then.

Striking just shows at they can't. Otherwise they already would have.

Re: Apples to Apples.

[I'm New Around Here]

Hello. I would like to ask one question of you:

Do you now, or have you in the past, owned a company with employees working for you?

.
Please don't read judgement into that question. It is simply something I always wonder when I hear statements like yours.

Fire them

[nurb432]

Really, if they don't want to preform their duties, get rid of them. There are other people that would gladly do their part to advance scientific research and not whine about it.

They need to grow up and stop being babies, what 'working conditions' did they expect being stuck on the top of a mountain i the middle of nowhere?

Re:Oh boo hoo

[I'm New Around Here]

Oh look, it's the race-to-the-bottom attitude. "I'm suffering, and the solution is to make more people suffer, rather than to lift everyone up."

Yeah, I hate that liberal attitude towards wealth and jobs too. "It's better if everyone had less, as long as the rich lose more."

Glad to see another enlightened /.er.