Helen, 2018
Photo from series “The Machine People”
For her final project the artist took six portraits of people working in customer service sector. In addition she has made sounds using machines that are characteristic to that environment. In the process she interviewed many employers and employees.
Many employees said that their rights have been violated, they are not treated according to law when receiving
envelope wage from their employers. As a result people get paid less for their sick- and annual leave. For women workers the envelope wage causes problems when planning parenthood.
Employers say that it is not possible for them to pay the whole wage as a declared salary because that would result in financial loss.
People are treated like machines. Attitude towards employees is often irresponsible. When paying workers undeclared salary, they do not receive the accurate wage and social guarantees that should be granted for them.
The project was supported by Go Group, Overall and Humalakoda.