The free adventure "Edge of Darkness" features the term "Indentured Labour". I really like the idea of contract/life time contract workers.

Anyone any ideas on

- how they get into the contract (selling themselves out? Herditary?)
- how long the contracts are binding (till one side cancels the deal? A five year period? Lifetime?)
- what the contract taker will get from it? (the right to life in a certain location and a good chance to be employed? Food ratitions? A room?)

Gregorius21778 said:

All of the above are correct, IMO... and more besides.

As I see it, it's slavery. Semi-legitimised slavery (in a setting that doesn't really mind such things anyway; it's a pretence of legitimacy more than anything else). An individual might be forced into it (by circumstance, such as debt or poverty, or by brute force), or choose it voluntarily (because the opportunity it provides is better than they could get on their own), but for that time, they're essentially owned by whomever holds the contract (which could be sold between companies as easily as any other resource). Indentured workers are kept in a reasonable state - company-owned dwellings, regular food, maybe more - and are guaranteed work - until their contract expires (as determined at the start of the indenture - someone selling themselves because of debt may be on an indefinite contract, which expires once they're out of debt, while a press-ganged slave might have no way out of his contract, while someone else may only be employed until a particular job ends).

It's a broad term, and one that can cover all manner of things, really. One example might be: a man enters into an indenture contract for an indefinite because it pays for his food and lodging for that time, and his meagre stipend on top of that can go towards something nice every so often, or can be saved up to 'buy' himself out of his indenture when he's had enough. He might even have the chance to buy or otherwise move into a better contract later, giving him a better job (more responsibility and better training), with better benefits (a bigger home, better/more food, a bigger stipend) - in essence, a promotion.

I can imagine that on some worlds, particularly hive worlds and similar industry-heavy places, indenture is the norm for most jobs (which puts the "common worker" pay in the rulebook into context, IMO - that's the 'spending money' your owner/employer is willing to give you on top of the home and food they provide in exchange for your toil). The "Houses" of Necromunda may consist entirely of companies with vast numbers of ancient, hereditary indenture contracts providing the labour.

It isn't necessarily a matter of what the benefits are, then... if it's a common way of doing things, then the 'benefits' are being allowed to work and live within society rather than at the fringes. Where a choice exists as to with whom you will indenture yourself to, then those rival employers will seek to make their offers the most tempting... but it's all still slavery, at the core.

Essentially its a kind of Serfdom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serf

I came across this the other day, I would imagine many working conditions on hive worlds woudl be quite similar.

http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=613

Gregorius21778 said:

If its anything like historical Indentured Labour (such as th Indentured Labour that occured in the American Colonies)..

Contracts were often done by people selling themselves out, it occasionally could fall to the herditary, but often a child born to an indentured servant was concidered a free person. It kind of depended on the contract entered into.

Contrats were either timed or until the contract was paid off. Technically it wasn't a lifetime (they weren't slaves or serfs) but by messing with the terms of the contract, ie charging for food, water, clothing, and paying little the contract could go on indefinatly. If it was a timed contract (say 5 years) then after 5 years it was over, done, and nothing could be done about it. Generally the "pay off as you go" was more harsher since rarely did the contract stipulate how much the person had to be paid. The term limit contract seemed worse (the person didn't get paid except for room and board) but once the contract was up, nothing to keep him from just leaving (except that he was still broke).

What the contract taker got from it depended on the contract. Sometimes it was money up front (to pay off debts)... sometimes it was the right to be moved to a certain geographical location (ie move me from England to Georgia and I'll work for you for 5 years after we land in Georgia). Generally the contract stipulated room and board if it was a time limit, but such as the indentured servants for mining companies and railroad companies there was no contract stipulation other then "payment". So often the company would pay a person 10 cents a day, then charge 25 cents a day if the person wanted to eat or sleep in company owned areas. Since mines and railroads were hardly ever by civilization, the person didn't have much of a choice and would keep digging themselves further into debt, and never get out of it.

Its important to note that technically (emphasis technically) they were not slaves, but free people under contract, with the same rights as any free person under contract. In reality, the contracts were so poorly written (compounded that most people who were indentured servants were uneducated and illiterate) that they in all respects became slaves. They were often treated poorly (ie poorly fed and clothed) in order to maximize the contractors profits.

In the sad irony of fate, Slaves were often treated better then indentured servants. Slaves had a monetary worth, they were property, and a good one was quite expensive, so they had WORTH. You don't destroy something that cost you quite a bit of money and you had invested heavily in. On the other hand, the indentured servants were usually cost very little overhead to bring over (ie simply shipping and a bit of hardtack and water) then they cost you basically nothing.

Edit: As much as I hate wikipedia, this definition seems rather accurate.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servant

@Xathes
A very insightfull information. I thank you alot for sharing it, it was really helpfull to me! Especially the different conditions mentioned and the "shipping you to America as a pay of for 5 years of work where I only pay you food and board". I think I will turn this into "I will move out of this mess and give you a living in a our fine worker hab and the safety and security of our guild... in exchange, you will work for me your life long while I give you food, a place to sleep and a throne a day." Hack, imperial settles could be moved around this way from one planet to another!

N0-1_H3r3 said:

yep, that´s really in picture .

Thanks a lot!

Well, another very common form of "indentured service" is penal service for non-violent criminals and debtors. Sometimes for a period based on the crime or debt, sometimes for life, depending on customs. Also a classing sci-fi/fantasy thing.

Effectively, it can be whatever you want as it's a very wide term.

Aureus said:

Yep. Thing like this is stated in the IH, in reference to the where-abouts of some of the people in the Volg Hive. But I think this is restracted to areas where the "workers" are unablte to leave (through natural bonds of artificial bonds) and some kind of "penalty" can easly be dealt out if works is not done/is done slugghish.
Workers tending to and harvesting algea and/or mushrooms in a water drenched sub-level come to my mind... being "paid" ("house money" or throne) for the material they bring to the oversseer station...and needing this payment to buy food and other things (besides "lodging". Rolling out your sleeping back in any dry spot you could find is for "free").