22 Sep 2004

Eve Guardian

 

It seems there is going to be an influx of migratory labour in the next few weeks. Potentially these are short-term contract workers, with permits to work within Eve for the next 6 months as long as they have a sponsor who is already an Eve citizen.

 

Authorities are hoping the work permits will be extended and this influx of population will find a permanent home in the Universe. But what sort of life can these people expect?

 

Traditionally migrant labour is brought in to do the jobs other people do not wish to do. These jobs usually require low skills, are dangerous, or lowly paid, more often than not, a combination of all.

 

Those that currently occupy these roles within Eve are likely to adapt and move onto better things, but there might be some that find this adaptation too difficult and get left behind in skill training.

 

Exactly how this will affect the larger economy of Eve is not clear but there will be individuals making a lot of isk from this cheap labour. It is likely the first influx will be simple haulers assisting mining operations and allowing them to work more efficiently. Some may well get into mining themselves at a later stage as career progression, especially with the new mining cruisers that have recently become available making the entry costs to large scale mining considerably lower than it was just a few months ago.

 

As some invest in more training, expect to see even more pressure on lab slots as these people start to have influence in this area. This will need some bankrolling but often the sponsors will have the sort of isk needed to set them up in business.

 

The very fact research facilities are difficult to come means it is likely more will find themselves working in factories, churning out low value items at first but gradually working up to more interesting projects as their skill levels grow.

 

While it is unlikely many of these new faces are going to rise to the ranks of skilled fighter pilots there is a slim chance they will. The darker side of this is clear for all to see..

 

Not all are going to make it onto even the first rung of the social ladder and they will descend into a life of crime. Expect to see more scammers, ore thieves and thugs hanging about empire jump gates locking people in an effort to get their feeble-minded kicks.

 

While there are clear advantages to a certain strata of the Eve economy this move cannot be seen as a totally positive one.