Do you know that many clothes you are putting on are produced by workers in sweatshop factories? Many clothe-brands such as GAP, M&S [1] and Puma, the owners have taken advantages of workers without considering human rights. The workers are subjected to extreme exploitations by working long hours for very low wages in poor working environment [2].
The news "Baffling mass faintings in Cambodia" [3] on the BBC News available online states that hundreds of young women who worked in garment factories in Cambodia recently fell ill. The Ministry of Labour informed that it could be result from sweatshops condition. Although, the Cambodian government made an agreement with the United States 10 years ago which laid the foundations for the garment industry that included appropriate working conditions for Cambodian-made garments factories. The German sports wear company still found that the Huey Chen factory in Cambodia that was making shoes for Puma had broken the regulations. Tuomo Poutiainen, the chief technical adviser for the Better Factories program, adds that the incidents might be caused by young workers scrimping on food and working long hours. He also stated that perception are the key and failure to come up with solutions to the problem could be enormously costly. Thus, International Labour Organization (ILO) should make more monitoring visits under the program to make sure that workers were well-treated and paid properly.
Though, employees, especially in the third world countries like Cambodia in the news, know they are exploited by the factory owners, they still choose to work in sweatshop factories. In my opinion, it could be a couple of reasons: no limiting at workers qualification and lifting them into higher class of societies.
Sweatshops give an opportunity to workers who lack of knowledge and resources to stand for themself. People who live in the third world countries do not have much chance to study because of poverty. So a number of those people cannot apply for a good job that requires workers with high qualifications. Moreover sweatshops also provide jobs to everyone regardless sexual and ages.
Another benefit toward sweatshops workers is to elevate their status in society. According to the Nobel Prize-winning liberal economist Paul Krugman views, sweatshop have been shown to reduce poverty and malnutrition because it induces the workers away from occupations such as prostitution or begging[4].
However, the government of those countries should take a concrete policy and provide jobs to protect their citizen's rights from foreign investors who seek for benefit with unfair working conditions.
And I will STOP buying various products from the garment factories that abuse workers.
Do you agree with me or have any ideas? let me know.
__________of
References
[1] Chamberlain, G. (2010, August 8). Gap, next and M&S in new sweatshop scandal. Guardian News. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/08/gap-next-marks-spencer-sweatshops
[2] Sweatshop. In Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweatshop
[3] Guy De Launey, (2011, September 2011). Baffling mass faintings in Cambodia. BBC News. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14897130
[4] Millman, J. (2009, October 4). Sweatshops benefit poor. Lantern News. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://www.thelantern.com/opinion/sweatshops-benefit-poor-1.626775#.Tnx6ENQ_ze0
[1] Chamberlain, G. (2010, August 8). Gap, next and M&S in new sweatshop scandal. Guardian News. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/08/gap-next-marks-spencer-sweatshops
[2] Sweatshop. In Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweatshop
[3] Guy De Launey, (2011, September 2011). Baffling mass faintings in Cambodia. BBC News. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14897130
[4] Millman, J. (2009, October 4). Sweatshops benefit poor. Lantern News. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from http://www.thelantern.com/opinion/sweatshops-benefit-poor-1.626775#.Tnx6ENQ_ze0
Cambodia is developing country. The majority of population uneducated due to poor people more then rich people. I understand that those people work extremely hard, but earn very little, but their happy to work hard for their living. Because there are not many jobs opportunity aviable for them. As you can see a lot of illegal Combodian people work in Thailand as slavery. At the same time, these people looked very happy. In my opinion, Multinational companies should invest more in Combodia and pay workers a minimum wage.
ReplyDeleteNoom,
ReplyDeleteI agree, The best way for governments to help end sweat shops is to get rid of all those unjust laws that prevent foreign firms entering the local market and competing fairly with local businesses. I think Thailand suffers a lot from this - the Thai laws that prevent foreign firms competing freely in Thailand, with 100% foreign ownership, are harmful to the Thai economy and Thai citizens.
Thailand, and Cambodia, and every country, would gain many advantages and no harm by allowing most foreign firms and workers to do business in the country. And because they would pay more for the labour, that healthy capitalist competition would be the best solution to end the current slave labour created and encouraged by bad government policies against foreign investment, ownership and business operations.
Kwang,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. No more than until 30 years ago, there were many kinds of sweatshops in our country,too. As you and Noom said, those companies offered jobs and money, which could be opportunities to increase the status of lives. However, our parents' generations had to work very hard and didn't have fair workers' rights like Cambodian workers because we didn't have natural resources, so they needed the working places. I think the sweatshop companies have strategies to exploit workers. After experiencing workers right movement, they slipped to search for less developed countries.
I think that the most important thing is for the governments to negociate their nations' benefits.
The second thing is to prepare a better country.
While factory workers manage to earn dollars from rich countris, the other nations including students,economic leaders, and politicians have to do their best to escape the bad situations.
Otherwise,this terrible conditions would remain in the place.