The pecule system withheld worker wages to enforce discipline and teach savings
Evidence
To solve the latter tendency, Dakar instituted the system known as the pecule, which sanctioned withholding a portion of salaries owed until the contract in question had expired. 74 The pecule system was designed to keep Africans working. It also created a fund from which the em- ployer could automatically collect fines. Lastly, it was to be remitted to the chief in the circle from which the worker had been recruited, and the chief would make it over to its rightful owner when he re- turned. In this way, the French hoped to secure a steady and disci- plined work force, prevent vagrancy, and ensure that taxes were paid. The French legitimated holding a portion of Africansā salary on the grounds that the African often spent his money on useless goods while on the job, thus winding up with nothing to show for his la- bor. The pecule, it was argued, would teach him the virtue of saving and indoctrinate him with the proper work ethic. ā Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republicanā¦, 838
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- DEFINE: Clarifies what āpeculeā meant in French colonial labor law and the paternalist rationale behind it.