austraLasia 1248
Nestlé: a sour note for Salesian boys in Lahore
LAHORE: 16 September 2005 -- The Salesian in charge of the Don Bosco Technical and Youth Centre in Lahore was sure he'd made a good bargain at the end of the school year last year. The Chief Engineer in the Nestlé factory in Shakhupura asked for six boys for the AC-refrigeration department. The Nestlé factory employs around 1,000 workers. It seemed an excellent opening for our technical centre for graduating students; an expansion of contacts for local industry. But the offer of six places never eventuated.
Some days ago, the chief engineer confessed that he knew why he could not proceed with his offer, and it disappointed him, but company policy was company policy - management informed him that administration had pointed out that Christian boys could only be employed to sweep floors and clean bathrooms. Never in the technical area. Poor Fr Miguel was shocked. Here was a multinational company discriminating on the basis of religion.
Fortunately, the view of educational authorities towards the technical centre has been considerably better, as also the acknowledgement by many local industries of the skills provided. The centre is increasing in numbers; this year 130 boys are under training. Fr Miguel is enrolling them in Government examinations for the first time and is confident they will perform with excellence. The centre has increased practical work in the workshops to 8 hours daily.
Disappointing though the attitude of a multinational company may be, acceptance of this technical centre by locals has been ensured by the evident fruits of Salesian education.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml. If you subscribe, email this information and your name will come off the regular email list. RSS eliminates problems such as multiple mailings, viruses, email bloat. Think about it!
Nestlé: a sour note for Salesian boys in Lahore
LAHORE: 16 September 2005 -- The Salesian in charge of the Don Bosco Technical and Youth Centre in Lahore was sure he'd made a good bargain at the end of the school year last year. The Chief Engineer in the Nestlé factory in Shakhupura asked for six boys for the AC-refrigeration department. The Nestlé factory employs around 1,000 workers. It seemed an excellent opening for our technical centre for graduating students; an expansion of contacts for local industry. But the offer of six places never eventuated.
Some days ago, the chief engineer confessed that he knew why he could not proceed with his offer, and it disappointed him, but company policy was company policy - management informed him that administration had pointed out that Christian boys could only be employed to sweep floors and clean bathrooms. Never in the technical area. Poor Fr Miguel was shocked. Here was a multinational company discriminating on the basis of religion.
Fortunately, the view of educational authorities towards the technical centre has been considerably better, as also the acknowledgement by many local industries of the skills provided. The centre is increasing in numbers; this year 130 boys are under training. Fr Miguel is enrolling them in Government examinations for the first time and is confident they will perform with excellence. The centre has increased practical work in the workshops to 8 hours daily.
Disappointing though the attitude of a multinational company may be, acceptance of this technical centre by locals has been ensured by the evident fruits of Salesian education.
___________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml. If you subscribe, email this information and your name will come off the regular email list. RSS eliminates problems such as multiple mailings, viruses, email bloat. Think about it!
