17 - Chapter 15
“I think you should take point in the meetings to review the issues businesses have with their existing guilds.” said Sa Bina, “I can interject and nudge things along, but I am not sure, given my age, how much credibility I will have with the business owners.”
“I would have to agree, my lady.” replied Hang Fo, “With you permission, I am happy to lead the conversation. I was hesitant to suggest it, as I did not want to offend.“
“I am not like your typical nobles,” replied Sa Bina, “Feel free to make suggestions, minister. If I don't agree we can each present our views and reach a considered opinion, not react like children fighting over a toy.”
They made small talk while the ministry officials made preparations for the business groups to be invited in, on very short notice, to discuss the issues they faced.
It took around 2 bells before the first group was ready to see them. It turned out the first group that had arrived were indeed the blacksmiths. Sa Bina, along with other officials followed the minister into the meeting room. The room was laid out in the classroom style, with a table at the front, behind which sat the officials, and then rows of seats for the business owners. It gave the impression of supplicants before a magistrate, not adults sitting as equals.
Sa Bina made a note to suggest changes for future meetings, then decided that it would be good for the minister to try out the changes immediately.
Sa Bina leaned in and whispered in the minister's ear. “The way the room is set up is more like a court, it creates an adversarial mindset. Either we need a large enough table for everyone to sit around, or just place the chairs in a circle and we can all join. It would be acceptable for one person to sit with a small desk to aid in note taking.”
The minister, deciding to heed Sa Bina’s advice, asked for the room to be rearranged. At first everyone was surprised, but when they saw the changes, the business owners looked a lot happier with the more equal seating.
When everyone was seated in the new arrangement Hang Fo stood and started the meeting.” Greetings, thank you all for coming on such short notice, “ he said, “I understand all of you have made multiple complaints about the way the guilds are treating you. We have called this meeting to hear your grievances first hand.”
“Only once we understand the issues, will we be able to see if we can help.” continued Hang Fo. I am actually the minister for diplomacy, and have been tasked with finding an acceptable resolution. Who would like to start?”
The business owners looked apprehensive and looked towards each other to see who would start. They were clearly afraid of being singled out, or worse the grievances being reported to the guilds.
Seeing this Sa Bina decided to nudge things along. “Sir, did you not tell me earlier that all complaints would be taken anonymously and that you have instructed the scribes to not even record the names?”
Hang Fo, catching on to Sa Bina’s nudge, readily agreed. “Yes, this is all strictly in confidence,” he said. “You have my personal assurance.”
An elderly blacksmith decided to take the risk and spoke up. “Minister, we have several issues with how the guilds are working. First, we have to be members.” he continued “I understand that they want someone to regulate us, but it means if we upset the guilds, they just revoke our membership and we can’t work at all. Next, the guild sets quotas for guild jobs that have to be completed, at ridiculously low rates. If you don't meet your quota, then again you can risk losing your membership or face heavy fines. Then they control and set the price for raw materials, and also control how much raw materials you can get each month. We are left with no choice but to go along with their demands.”
To Sa Bina, that didn't sound like a guild at all, it sounded like the guilds were ripping their own members off, and pretending to be regulators. On top of that, there was probably the usual politics and playing favourites that happened when people were involved. After hearing the complaints, Sa Bina was sure she would be targeted by the Guilds as soon as they realised the plan she had instigated. She would need more soldiers.
“Apart from those, very serious issues, are there any other issues we should be aware of?” asked Hang Fo. “Please speak freely, we really need to understand the issues, so we can work on a solution.”
A girl spoke up from the side, she had been quieter than even the other blacksmiths.”The guild won't let a girl hold the membership, it has to be in a man’s name.” she said, “What’s more, some of the staff demand certain favours from girls in return for processing requests.”
Sa Bina sighed internally, for a world with cultivation, where a girl could and would kill you just as easily as a guy, the fact sexism was alive and well was just a massive disappointment.
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They spent a little time hearing from the other blacksmiths in the room to ensure everyone’s complaints were heard. Sa Bina decided to ask a question, “What are these jobs and quotas, are they for the government?”
“Yes miss, the government jobs pay is very low.” said the elderly blacksmith. “So no one really wants to work on those contracts. That’s why they are forced to issue quotas.”
That made no sense to Sa Bina, why would the government contracts be so unpopular, usually everyone wanted the government contracts, sure you made a little less, but the volume and regular repeat work more than made up for it. Something was not right. Sa Bina decided to go with a hunch.
“Minister, I wonder if we could get some more details on those government contracts,” asked Sa Bina. “It would be good to understand what the blacksmiths are paid by the guild. If the contracts are not fairly priced, we need to understand where the mistake has been made.”
Hang Fo was quick on the uptake, he was beginning to understand what Sa Bina had said about committees now. He instructed two of his officials to go and get the contracts that the ministry had with the guilds, while asking the scribe to get a list from the blacksmiths of the kind of jobs and prices they were paid.
Sa Bina had a feeling that these disgruntled blacksmiths were given a different rate, and others were given higher, more preferential rates to control the market. After collecting the information from the blacksmiths, Hang Fo, at Sa Bina’s suggestion, asked them to wait and sent refreshments for them.
Hang Fo, Sa Bina and scribe moved to another room where the officials waited with copies of the contracts issued to the guilds.
Once they started to compare, the issue was obvious, if the figures quoted by the blacksmiths was to be believed, and it could easily be identified, then the guilds were taking 50% or in some cases even more as their cut from the contracts. No wonder the blacksmiths thought that the government contracts were rubbish.
“Is this fraud, minister?” asked Sa Bina. “Are they allowed to do this?”
“Well, I think we would have to check the guild by laws” replied Hang Fo, “But I would guess its a grey area, they are allowed to charge a fee for their services, and again I would guess there is no limit on the fees they can charge.”
“I think the guilds have formed a private cartel minister,” replied Sa Bina. “I would go so far as to say they are effectively killing commerce in this city and potentially costing the government a lot in lost revenue. You know this is going to make me a lot of enemies.”
“If I understood the complaints correctly.” continued Sa Bina. “apart from being sexist and misogynistic, which is bad enough by itself. Abusing their authority for personal gain, though we will struggle to prove it at the guild level, they will just throw the attendants to the wolves. Just that would be enough for me to not want to work with them.”
“They also control the price and allocation of raw materials, they control the price of government contracts, and force the smaller businesses to work on the contracts for a pittance, while they keep the bulk of the money for themselves.” she said, sounding more and more irritated.”I would also be willing to bet that they are making a good profit on the raw materials too.”
“That would seem to be the case.” replied Hang Fo, “I will have to report these issues to the ruling council. I am not sure how it will be taken.”
“Badly, I am sure some of the noble houses are making out very well from the current situation.” replied Sa Bina. “I am not sure if even operating through our guilds will improve things if we can't allocate raw materials and manage pricing. We are going to need access to the companies that procure the raw materials. The ones not owned by the nobles. This is a much worse pit of vipers than anticipated. I may have to renegotiate the percentages.”
“Let's see what the other groups have to say.” replied Hang Fo.”maybe this guild is an anomaly?”
“Would you be willing to bet on that minister?” asked Sa Bina.
The minister was not willing to make the bet. Hang Fo and Sa Bina replicated their impromptu committee with several groups, all of whom had arrived by now, and the story was similar across the board. The guilds were effectively colluding to control business across the city, and most like the kingdom.
The minister had no choice, he would have to raise it at the council, and when that didn't change anything he would have to escalate to the royals, and no one would be happy with that. Since the issue was actually across nearly all of the guilds, and there were at least some disgruntled members from most of the guilds, their idea would work. They decided to push ahead knowing they were going to be making a lot of very rich people very unhappy.
There were too many people to hold informal meetings and repeat the same information. They decided to announce it to all of the groups together. It wasn’t like they could keep it a secret anyway.
Once everyone was assembled, the minister stepped up and began.
“Thank you all for taking the time to come and meet with us today, and for explaining the challenges you are facing.” started the minister. “You have been heard, and there are concrete solutions for you going forward. First, be assured we are going to be raising your concerns with the ruling council.” That was met with groans and eye rolling, it was clear from the reaction that most people didn't think that was concrete action, neither had they high hopes of the council actually making changes.
“Secondly, “ continued the minister. “We have signed an agreement with another nation to allow their guilds to operate here. The deal allows businesses to transfer to the other nation, or allows local businesses to come under the jurisdiction of these guilds. As part of the deal we have signed, the new guilds will each have an advisory board made up of local small business owners to ensure your views are taken into account.”
That announcement left the crowd speechless.