Sweatshops in Globalization
...re and started having their clothing manufactured in other countries where the wage they needed to pay workers saves them millions of dollars. Some of the United States Corporations that have moved their apparel production to other countries are Nike, Disney and Wal-Mart (through its Kathie Lee Gifford line of clothing) In her book, Ellen Rosen mentions these retailers as being responsible for sweatshop like conditions in Haiti, Vietnam and Honduras. She explains that the working conditions in these sweatshops are abhorrent and the pay is so low that they can barely feed their families (Rosen pg 123). As these sweatshops grow globally, and the people working them are continuously exposed to horrid working conditions, the United States Corporations have continued to save money, turning a blind eye to exactly what these workers endure. It has only been of late, that the plight of these people has come to light and the sweatshops exposed to the world. In 1996 the Walt Disney Corporation was exposed as being one United States Company producing products in Haiti. One would expect that a company that uses the slogan “happiest place on earth” would certainly not be responsible for miserable working conditions and ridiculously low pay. However in Haiti laborers for Disney can expect to work in factories that are dirty, poorly lit, have rats running through it and filthy toilets, if there are any. Sexual harassment is commonplace and ignored by supervisors. The average pay for these workers is .22 per hour. Even in Haiti, this is barely a living wage. (Rosen, pg 237). To show further evidence of Disney’s practices, recently, on March 19 2003, anti sweatshop activists braved closed airports, roads and public transportation to gather in below-freezing conditions outside Disney's annual corporate shareholder meeting to call on the multinational corporation to take accountability for its actions towards the workers of the Shah Makhdum factory in Bangladesh. For the last 8 years, young women at the Shah Makdhum factory in Bangladesh have been forced to work over 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, denied maternity benefits, beaten and paid just 15 cents for every $17.99 Disney shirts they sewed. When the women stood up for their rights and denounced the violations, Disney responded by cutting and running, pulling its work from the factory and dumping the women on the street with nothing, penniless, facing hunger and misery (National Labor Committee for Worker and Human Rights). In 1997 it was Nike that came into the public’s eye. It was discovered that Nike was employing people in Vietnam, Indonesia and China for 10 – 20 cents per hour. In Nicaragua, The Chentex factory which produces goods for companies including Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, K-Mart and other U.S. Corporations paid women workers .22 cents per hour (www.tao.ca). Again, working conditions were horrible and people could barely live on their earnings. To its credit Nike did reach an agreement to better working conditions and increase the pay scale stating that All Nike Shoe factories would meet US air quality standards, the minimum age for workers would be raised to 18, there would be regular factory inspections and education programs would be offered (Rosen pg 240-241). However, much of these initiated ideas were never fully applied and things have not changed much (Rosen, pg 242). The sweatshops that have been created through globalization by major corporations have had a direct affect on women. Over the past decade, trade agreements have given way to low wage labor, especially low wage female labor. Through time, women have been seen as deserving less of a wage then men, and today even in affluent countries, this is still true. However, within the sweatshop apparel industry, it is largely women that suffer. All around the world, governments and corporations consider globalization to be a wonderful thing. New trade agreements and governmental pacts seem to be declared constantly, each one increases the profits for global capital (Rosen, pg 25). Women all over the world have suffered the most from globalization. In the advanced capitalist countries, vicious cuts to child care, women's shelters, social assistance, and health care have drastically impacted upon the lives of women. Throughout the world, women and their children make up about 80% of the worlds poor (Fellis, Becky). The effects of poverty and globalization are clear in many third word countries; especially on the lives of women workers. In many countries throughout the world, corporations have set up free-trade zones where sweatshops operate with little regard for human rights. Women are often considered to be the best workers and are hired by the large factories for their tolerance for monotonous tasks and greater obedience than men. Most often, these women are very poor, have young children and no other means to support the family. Many employers do not pay even the minimum wage, and women workers are paid less than the men in most industries. Depending on the country, wages can be lower then $2.00 per day. (Ross, Andrew, pg 98). In addition women's usual working conditions include long hours, abusive environments, unhealthy conditions and restrictions on the right to organize. The women's low wages means that they also live in very poor conditions. Some factories provide accommodation for their workers, usually housing compounds consisting of large brick buildings which are severely overcrowded. At one Nike housing compound, each room houses 12 women. Each room contains six bunk beds and virtually no walking space (www.angelfire). These women often work over 60 hou...