70,000. That’s how many hours on average we spend at work in our lives. Scary given how many people hate their jobs. Moreover how many people work for companies whose ethics are paralleled only by that of the worlds worst tyrants. Take McDonalds, though few would call it a career. Their disposable workforce get paid little above minimum wage to take orders of Mc Shit with Lies. All the while being a pillar in a company which contributes to mass deforestation, supports oppressive regimes, slaughters more animals than I bear to comprehend whilst simultaneously marketing nutritionless junk to the kids of today in quirky little things called ‘Happy’ Meals.

Okay, so you may not want to work for McDonalds or join Asda-Walmart in their quest for
world-food domination, but how well do other mainstream jobs measure up? Large corporations and Public Limited Companies rely on infinite expansion to generate more and more wealth for shareholders. Such are the laws of nature that shareholders cannot prosper in this way without someone footing the bill, and I bet you all my shares in Rio Tinto that this will not be a CEO, rather it will be the developing world, the local economies and of course Mother Nature. Many large and medium sized corporations depend on mass consumerism and a throwaway nation for their survival. As our nation accumulates debt and our financial institutions reap interest we are moved to ask ourselves do we want to be part of this corporate hierarchy. Whatever you do should be consistent with you consistent with your own beliefs. Finding an ethical career is not easy, however in Manchester there is a movement towards these ideals. Here are some of the options:

Workers co-ops
Co-operatives incorporate values of co-operation and economic sustainability, workers co-ops work on the democratic principals of one-person one-vote whereby workers get an equal say in how the company is run. Within Manchester the co-operative movement is thriving. For information on your local workers co-ops contact ICOM, Industrial Common Ownership Movement. www.icom.org

Freelance work
Freelance work can give you the freedom, not only to say when you work but also who you work for. The downside to this is there may not be a constant influx of work.

Environmental jobs
As pressure is applied government to increase recycling targets and reduce national carbon emissions the need for environmental workers is also on the increase. For information on environmental work check out www.environmentpost.co.uk/envpost.cfm or contact Manchester Environment Resource Centre at merci@bridge-5.org.

The social economy
The social economy is generally accepted to cover the range of organisations that are neither part of the public or private for-profit sectors. It is a ‘middle way’ relying often on innovative partnerships and creative management techniques to ensure environmental, and social as well as economic benefits for its' local community. For more information on the social economy visit www.bridge-5.org/economy or email lucyw@bridge-5.org

Voluntary work
Joining the voluntary sector can give people the necessary experience to work in their chosen field not only does it open new doors but also allows people to contribute to the good of the planet. For more information contact Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations on 0161 277 1011/ www.gmcvo.org.uk or contact Voluntary Action Manchester on 0161 236 3206/ www.vamanchester.org.uk

Some Ethical Career Source Resources:

Ethical Careers Service from People and Planet.
web www.ethicalcareers.org
phone 01865 245678
email emma@peopleandplanet.org

environmentjob.com is a web-based environmental careers service.

To find out about working for charity or in the voluntary sector, check out www.wfac.org.uk

Studying science? Looking for a career that doesn't involve building better weapons for the millitary, or engineering designer crops for Monsanto? Check out Scientists for Global Resposibility
web www.sgr.org.uk
phone 07771 883696
email info@sgr.org.uk

A couple of books that might prove helpful are the Sustainable Careers Handbook, from Centre for Alternative Technology Publications, £10
web www.cat.org.uk
phone 01654 702400

and Careers Un-ltd by Carmel McConnell and Jonathan Robinson, £9.99, ISBN: 1843040263, available from www.yourmomentum.com

This list was taken from Ethical Consumer Magasine issue 84 p20.

...or don't work

There’s always the dole
Do constructive fun things with your life while the state pays. Scrounging? The government subsidises the arms trade and other immoral industries massively while waging war against countries with resources it covets. Yet £53 a week to you makes you evil and lazy? I don’t think so.
New deal makes the dole a harder option these days but there are ways and means. For advice: www.urban75.com/action/jsa/jsa1.html

Anti-consumerism...
Our economy is based on consumption, if we didn’t buy useless pieces of plastic crap or pointless new varieties of yoghurt the economy would literally collapse. But everything we buy has a story, the raw materials needed to make and transport stuff are taken by corporations from Third World countries, their transport contributes to climate change, the chemicals used to make them leach into our environment and poison our bodies. We don’t need it! So why not...

Steal things
Shoplifting is great. It benefits you while undermining corporations. Be careful though, shoplifting is a crime and why not avoid local businesses - ASDA is so much more deserving of our attention.

Living without money
Grow your own food, use second hand shops, make things, repair things, recycle, skip food, hitch hike, ride a bike, share resources with friends. Money isn’t everything and life can be more productive and fulfilling without it. And remember the 3 Rs of recycling: reduce, re-use, recycle!
And if you must work for corporations why not... steal stuff, waste time and generally slack (face it other people do), inflate expenses, visit the pub at lunch time and smoke weed on your breaks.