FEATURES OF CAPITALISM – TILL AND DELIVERY

I have just been to the BP petrol station around the corner from the office to buy a cup of coffee.

Vihaan works there. His family is from India. Vihaan has lived in London all his life. I like Vihaan, he is always in a good mood, always has a big smile on his face. He greets me with “Hey brother, how are you?” Often he adds a sentence like “What a beautiful day”, especially when it’s sunny. While he says it he points his finger outside and smiles; he is smiling at the sun actually.

Today he was not in a very good mood. I said, “What is the matter Vihaan?” He points out the window and says “You see the big van outside. It is the delivery. I am on my own. I have to do the delivery and till at the same time. It’s almost impossible.” “Is it always like this?” “Yes, we are always working alone.” “Did you tell your manager?” “Yes, many times, he just says “Get it done, nothing I can do. I also have to do 10 things at the same time”.

BP is one of the world’s largest oil and gas “supermajors”; annual profits $6.5 billion; total assets value $262 billion. All this is syphoned off to investors. No money left for people like Vihaan working at their petrol stations.