Concerns about

Factory Safety &Worker Exploitation

in Developing Countries

Sweatshop A factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions (Google Definition).

Nike sweatshop

7 Countries With Horrific Sweatshop Situations

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/7-countries-with-horrific-sweatshop-situations/?view=all

Unsafe working conditions at the Menderes Tekstil factory in Denizli, Turkey resulted in the deaths of four of its workers. On a daily basis, workers are faced with harassment and poor working conditions. They are exposed to the risks posed by sandblasting in order to create the effect of distressed denim, which has led to silicosis among factory workers.

Turkey

Those working in the textile and garment industry in Indonesia receive exceptionally low wages, the minimum wage amounting to $2 per day, or Rp 5200. Workers have claimed that they have been mentally and physically abused by their supervisors receiving slaps and being called names during working hours for making minor mistakes. Nike has confirmed that these allegations are true and are continuing to work on improving conditions for factory workers.Indonesia

Mexico

The enormous pressures facing workers at one Mexican sweatshop sees employees expected to meet a quota of 1,000 items per day. In order to meet this quota, workers would need to produce more than one item a minute. GlobalExchange.org have stated that the ‘quota is so high that the workers are unable to have a drink or go to the toilet all day.’

China

A shocking 482 million people in China ‘live on less than $2 a day’, according to a report carried out by War on Want. For many of these people, employment in sweatshop factories is their only option. They are forced to work under extreme conditions posing severe health risks. The recent fashion trend of distressed denim is created by using sandblasting, a technique that exposes workers to ‘silica dust particles which severely damage their respiratory passages causing silicosis’.

Cambodia

They are working in extremely long hours in excessive heat with few breaks. The report also found that many sweatshop factories in Cambodia employ children under the age of 15 which is a breach of the law.A report carried out by the International Labour Organisation last year found that ‘24 factories kept emergency exits locked during working hours’ putting workers at serious risk given fire is the greatest threat to these factories.

Vietnam

Trafficking gangs in Dien Bien, one of Vietnam’s poorest provinces, recruit children under the guise of fair employment only to force them into sweatshop factories in Ho Chi Minh City where they work excessively long hours for little or no pay. If workers do not meet their daily quota, they are at risk of beatings or fines. Employees were only allowed to use the bathroom for ‘eight minutes a day, including brushing your teeth, washing, going to the toilet.’

Bangladesh

On the 24th of April 2013, the world was faced with the consequences of cheap clothing. The eight floor in Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka collapsed. Tragically, 1,100 employees died as a result of the collapse with over 2,000 injured. The Maquila Solidarity Network has stated that this and other buildings have collapsed ‘as a result of factory owners violating building codes and health and safety regulations.’

10 Major Clothing Brands Caught in Shocking Sweatshop Scandals

10. H&M9. Nike8. Walmart7. The GAP6. La Senza5. Victoria’s Secret4. Disney3. Sears2. Joe Fresh1. Marks & Spencer

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/10-major-clothing-brands-caught-in-shocking-sweatshop-scandals/?view=all

Should toy company executives take steps in ensuring safety and welfare of factory workers in developing countries?

Bangladesh sweatshop fire

YesIt is the company’s responsibility to make the workers feel secure and comfortable through safe and healthy working environment.

_________________________________“Social responsibility is the responsibility of an organization for the impact of decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behavior that is consistent with sustainable development and the welfare of society; takes into account the stakeholders.“

_________________________________ISO 2600 Working Group (2007)

Content moderation sweatshop in the Philippines

How was the number of manufacturing jobs in triad

countries affected by low wages paid in developing country manufacturing operations?

Dramatic decrease in manufacturing jobs in

high wage triad countries.

Woods (2015) cited the report provided by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) which shows that since year 2007, in the US, the manufacturing sector is down 3.2% — 15,000 fewer production facilities and 2 million jobs have already lost.

If higher wages in toy factories led to higher prices in the United States for toys, how would the toy industry

be affected?

Generally, if the toy industry will make the customers shoulder the increased labor cost in manufacturing toys, the quantity demanded will decrease.

In the US, purchasing power is high enough that a change in price cannot significantly affect the toy industry. An increased-price toy made from a developing country is still cheaper than those made in the triad countries.

Should the subject of working conditions be included in international trade agreements?

There is little compelling empirical evidence suggesting that mandating higher labor standards will improve wages and working conditions in developing countries. Some evidences show that it may make poorer workers worse off.

• As costs increase, the degree of leverage to pursue producing in that country decreases since lower labor costs is what got multinational companies there in the first place.

• There was a significant degree to which workers were displaced when minimum wages were raised in different amounts.

• Protective labor legislation can backfire when measures are too costly for the employer.

Latin America. Reduced hiring rate in some countries due to high levels of severance pay (Heckman and Pages, 2000).Senegal. Attempts to create more secure employment in the Labor code resulted in increase in short-term three-month contracts (Terrel and Syenjar, 1989).

There is little compelling empirical evidence suggesting that mandating higher labor standards will improve wages and working conditions in developing countries. Some evidences show that it may make poorer workers worse off.

• If the employer increases the wages of the workers, it goes with the event that workers are to produce more.

• Just increasing the minimum wage does not translate to a possible better standard of living as inflation will only keep up with the increase in wage since no change in actual value of productivity occurred.

• History also states that imposing “outside” institutions or policies on countries that are not ready for them, is a recipe for failure.

Prohibition of forced labor Freedom of association and protection of the rights to

organize and to collective bargaining Equal remuneration for men and women for work of

equal value Nondiscrimination in employment and occupation Minimum age of employment of children and

abolition of worst forms of child labor

International Trade StandardsA good set of standards for international trade should include these.

These standards are from the International Labor

Organization which are not implemented in all parts of the

world due to the presence of constraint earlier discussed.

How expensive, branded shoes are made in India

Are companies doing responsibly enough in ensuring that human rights standards are upheld for workers both inside and outside

their home countries?

NoSweatshop, Human

Trafficking, and Child Labor STILL

EXIST

“America has stronger labor laws than most

undeveloped countries, but it is not free of

sweatshop conditions. Many labor violations slip under the radar of the US

Department of Labor.”DoSomething.org

“The governments of many developing nations are reluctant to enforce strong worker-protection laws. They view cheap labor as one of the major assets they can offer to attract investment by multinational companies, which creates jobs and provides capital for development.”Encylcopedia.com

Inside Apple's Chinese 'sweatshop' factory where workers are paid just £1.12 per hour to produce iPhones and iPads for the West•Factories covered in suicide nets to stop workers leaping to their deaths•18 people have killed themselves at the facilityiPhone, iPad and MacBook assembled in factory in Shenzhen•Microsoft, Dell and Hewlett Packard products also built on site

Apple 'failing to protect Chinese factory workers'Poor treatment of workers in Chinese factories which make Apple products has been discovered by an undercover BBC Panorama investigation, 2014.