HOLDING his mother’s hands, a young boy walks past a construction site. He pauses at the sight of men working in hard hats. Noticing her son’s look of awe, she swiftly tightens her grip on his arm, making him wince. “Please don’t grow up to be like them, dear. I want you to be successful,” she says, her face writhing with disgust. 

This narrative—one that shuns the working class—pervades the minds of people across the globe.  Waste collectors, factory workers, delivery drivers and auto mechanics are ostracised and deemed failures. They face rising inflation, the threat of automation, and economic inequality.

Our harsh judgement of them amounts to a form of social strangulation giving them little room to breathe, much less aspire to a higher livelihood. The working class are characterised as uneducated, unskilled, and unimportant who have become thus as a result of  poor decision-making.

Rather than trying to empathise with them, we anathematise them. This dehumanisation of the working class creates barriers that make it that much harder for them to aspire to better livelihoods.

This is precisely why we need to stop stigmatising the working class. It forces generations of people into a social corner, making them lose faith in their potential and cultivating a vicious cycle. The rhetoric needs to change; slandering of the working class must stop. 

We are also often ignorant of just how important blue-collar workers are for our society to run. The management of sewage waste gives us access to clean water. Maintenance work on communication towers ensures we have WiFi. These undesirable jobs facilitate the thriving of civilisation itself and must be shown greater appreciation.

The working class are pivotal to the economy, yet another fact we neglect. Manufacturing and gig jobs serve consumer demands.

The government has in recent years worked to accommodate the needs of the working class, which as significantly empowered them. It has supported the revamping of polytechnic institutions that allow disenfranchised students to gain technical knowledge and diagnostic skills. The government has also initiated certificate and diploma programmes and increased efforts to enhance TVET education. 

Let us work towards a world that seeks to raise the financial wellbeing of the working class and recognise their contributions. A world that says, “Never forget to appreciate them, dear.” – January 10, 2023.

* Pravin Periasamy reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.