29 January 2006: Boycott Electrolux

Friends have written to me with the news that Electrolux has announced plans to close its factories in Germany and Poland. Production will continue, but in China and elsewhere. The new plants, of course, will open on a low-wage and non-union basis.

The German union IG Metall has called a consumers' boycott of Electrolux products, including brands such as AEG, Zanussi and Flymo. 

Details of the campaign here, English-language petition here. 

Old arguments become relevant again: in the face of international production, a campaign for job protection will almost inevitably lose.

Campaigns to raise wages in China, Taiwan and Vietnam are the only long-term hope.