You haven't seen some of my coworkers then
A serious answer: it's more about supply and demand. Unskilled is work that nearly anyone can do. Lots of supply, so wages are lower than jobs where a smaller number of people can do it. I don't think there's any conspiracy there.
Any labor is skilled labor. The only difference is training time.
I think that's a far more useful way to look at it than a simple binary of skilled and unskilled.
I'm a bit fuzzy on how the continuum really relates to wage, because ultimately it's a question of supply and demand.
I guess if you have a rarer skill because it takes longer and is harder to acquire proficiency at, demand will be higher so you won't go for jobs that are easier to acquire the skill for, thus, jobs with a bigger supply of workers? And so that drives the pay offered.
Another approach is to divide unpleasant work evenly under everyone who can do it like in the novel The Dispossessed. This will be less efficient since each one needs to acquire the skill and won't reach perfection because they don't stay long enough but to hell with efficiency.
So yes, it is skilled labor and if you call it "unskilled", you have no excuse not to do it from time to time.
There's also the fact manual labor is seem by Anarresti as something to be proud of.
Also, Chevek doesn't directly mention it in the book, but in reality some people simply enjoy hard jobs and would gladily do them if they can make a good living out of them.
Apparently you haven't met any of my coworkers.
/s
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