The Exploitation of Workers by Corporations

The Exploitation of Workers by Corporations | Jacob Roberti
The Exploitation of Workers by

Corporations
Where the industry is going, is there room for change?
Jacob Roberti
Mr. Toole
Monday, May 15, 2017.
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Table of Contents
Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Significance ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Background ................................................................................................................................................... 9
Expert: Lee McLaven ................................................................................................................................... 12
Expert: Gary Burtless .................................................................................................................................. 16
Role of Control ............................................................................................................................................ 19
Logic of Evil ................................................................................................................................................. 21
Case Study #1 Bangladesh ....................................................................................................................... 23
Case Study #2 China ................................................................................................................................. 27
Case #3 United States of America ............................................................................................................ 30
International Organizations ........................................................................................................................ 33
Canadian Connection .................................................................................................................................. 36
Solutions ..................................................................................................................................................... 39
Works Cited..41
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Preface
Today in North America major corporations have been known to have the majority, if not
all their manufacturing work done in developing countries. Due to the changes in the economy
of both developed and non-developed countries, a great amount of use of sweatshops has
resulted. Sweatshops are defined as:
It is in any workplace in which workers are subject to extreme exploitation. This

includes, not providing workers with benefits, acceptable working conditions, or a living
wage. A living wage differs from minimum wage by enabling workers to cover the cost
of basic needs such as food, shelter, and health care; minimum wages usually do not
cover these costs. (Fair Trade Labour)
Forced labour happens in the context of poverty, lack of sustainable jobs and education, as well
as a weak rule of law, corruption and an economy dependent on cheap labour. The reason that
companies have generally liked to keep this issue quiet is because of how harsh the conditions
are overseas in these impoverished regions and countries. The idea is that cheap or low cost
labour equals low operating costs leading to higher profit, which is the ultimate goal in the
business world.
There has been a great amount of exploitation towards these workers by corporations and
the question is, where is the industry going? In response, there is great deal of speculation and
initiative that North American corporations and companies are making in attempt to bring
offshore business and manufacturing back home. This is because of the issues surrounding jobs
in the United States specifically where U.S President, Donald Trump is pushing to bring jobs
back home. The conflict of interest however is if these jobs are unable to meet the criteria to fit
the American Standard which is defined by high expectations setting the bar for the level of
living that the United States is accustomed to. Not meeting the American Standard could mean
one of two things. Many of these jobs may not be good enough as they are too low in skill to be
needed or have no desire from a certain degree of arrogance or maybe they just will not work
because the jobs being created or brought back are too complex due to the lack of education
some Americans have. This would lead to jobs with no one to fill them.
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The purpose of this report is to obtain an in depth look as to how corporations are
exploiting workers in developing countries along with the use of and conditions of sweatshops
and offshore manufacturing. This will be shown from both sides of an economic standpoint,
meaning the benefits and drawbacks for the western hemisphere countries, specifically Canada
and the United States of America along with developing, impoverished countries such as
Bangladesh, Vietnam, parts of China and so on. There will also be a discussion on the validity
of this issue and if there is any real solution to the problem in the future.
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Significance
There are currently 21 million people across the world who are victims of forced labour,
which is equivalent to about three in every 1,000 who are trapped in jobs where they are forced
to work in an environment that do not support them with the rights in which they deserve.
Although not all cheap labour is forced, in a way it very much is. Working for next to nothing is
better than not working at all. This is true to an extent as it has and continues to put these people
working in these sweatshops in very difficult positions with no way out. The problem with
sweatshops is this: those who work in them typically have no other option because of their
current life circumstances (Gaille). These people are being violated with respect to undervalued
wages, working conditions, and for women sometimes sexual harassment and assault. The
highest hourly wage for apparel workers in developing countries is in Costa Rica, coming in at
$2.38, while workers in Bangladesh are suffering even more with an hourly rate of $0.13, which
is currently the lowest in the world.
Comparable wages only mean that someone has enough to get by. Although some
nations have emphasized the removal of sweatshops and this has led to a natural increase
in the amount of money that workers can make, there are still nations that barely provide
their workers any money at all. If someone from the working poor in Bangladesh is only
making $0.13 an hour, then that is an effective life sentence. They can do nothing else
because all of their money goes to support basic living conditions. (Gaille)
The difficult part is the reality of this statement. There are children as young as 6-7 years old
falling into this trap, working 16 hours a day, just so they can help support their family. This
results in the continuous cycle of receiving a life sentence. If for example, someone who
worked for $0.20 an hour and made five articles of clothing, would only be being paid 4 cents
per article. Now regardless of where that person lives in the world, whether its a 1st world or 3rd
world country, that amount of compensation is not going to be proper or fair and not be
beneficial to whomever is working for that price.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the exploitation by corporations is the type of
conditions in which they place these workers in. These conditions include a dangerous working
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environment, poor lighting, poor air quality, poor water quality, extreme heat, lack of basic
health and safety and are rarely supplied with proper functioning emergency exits.
Today, American citizens simply cannot know the working conditions of the factories
that make the products they buy. We cannot know how the chemicals, tools, and
technologies in these workplaces affect workers. Some brave workers publicize their
conditions, and investigative institutions such as Human Rights Watch expose some of
the worst violations, but there is an enormous knowledge gap. This is hugely beneficial
for corporations who want to keep us ignorant of their activities. (Loomis)
The most ironic thing about these events regarding poor working conditions is the fact that
corporations know exactly what is going on. They know how the employees are being treated,
how poorly they are getting paid and the awful working environments that are impacting their
way of life. All of this just so they can maximize profit for their business, which is the way the
world seems to work, and then throw what they call worthless bodies away. Although this has
been occurring for a very long time and is still true for a majority, there has been several
corporations who have come out publicly and vowed to make a change. Some have decided to
bring offshore manufacturing back home or at the very least acknowledge the harsh and
inappropriate conditions they are supporting overseas in these developing countries and try to
create a better working environment, both physically and mentally for the workers.
One of the companies putting an effort forward to create a better working environment is
world famous Nike. Nike has committed to a new way of business called lean manufacturing
for both business reasons along with being able to support some positive social consequences in
the working environment.
What about lean makes for better working conditions? One explanation, Hainmueller
says, could be that going lean kicks off a virtuous cycle where workers are expected to be
more than just cogs in a machine. That means managers invest more in worker training,
which makes retention and motivation more important, which leads to more equitable
terms of employment. With these efficiency gains, you basically increase the size of the
pie, and you can share more of that back with the workers, he says. (Chipman)
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The most important aspect of the actions Nike has made is an overall awareness and effort to
acknowledge the long occurring situations. This can be a positive not only in the economical
and financial part of the company but also on the social and humanitarian side as well.
While Nikes program trained senior management from apparel suppliers on lean
processes in waves starting in 2009, the company simultaneously performed audits of the
working conditions in its supplier factories. Every 12 to 18 months, Nike scored each
factory on a variety of labor standards (such as wages, working hours, and disciplinary
actions) as well as health, safety, and environment standards (such as access to
emergency exits and safe storage of hazardous chemicals). The resulting grades in the
two compliance areas ranged from A and B ratings for factories with good workplace
conditions to C and D ratings for factories demonstrating serious violations.
What is very important here is that Nike has acknowledged the fact that things are not great the
way they are. Although these efforts may be considered small, they are most definitely a step in
the right direction and there may not be a better way to spread awareness than having the
message coming from an established and powerful corporation like Nike.
Something that has been constantly overlooked and something that many consumers most
likely do not know, is that although much of the focus is directed toward the developing
countries, the United States also has issues revolving around sweatshop labour. Migrant
workers are targeted because they often dont speak the language, have few friends, have limited
rights and depend on their employers (Anti-Slavery). This is very significant because as much
as we are trying to prevent this from happening in the well-known targeted places, it is also
happening right in the homeland of the USA.
What this report is really doing is breaking away from the concept that because clothes
are made in the U.S.A. that theyre not made in sweat shops, said Mar Martinez,
organizing coordinator of the Garment Worker Center, a non-profit organization. There
are violations of basic rights of a clean, safe environment. There is no clean drinking
water in a lot of factories. (El Nasser)
It is quite disturbing that corporations who are trying to get out of offshore manufacturing
because of all the criticism some have faced, decide to try and trick the consuming industry by
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doing the same thing to helpless immigrants inside their own country. In the article LA garment
industry rife with sweatshop conditions, Haya El Nasser goes on to say:
The latest study on the state of the Los Angeles garment industry found that 21 percent of
workers have experienced physical or verbal violence on the job and 6 percent reported
sexual harassment in the workplace. Half complained of poor ventilation, and eye and
nose irritation from chemicals. A third of the workers surveyed reported a lack of clean
drinking water at work and almost a third said they are not allowed to take rest breaks.
Due to such actions, it speaks to the difficulty of the ability to mold the future in regards to
exploitation of workers by corporations. Sweatshop work goes on everywhere, even in places
that may not be obvious to the average person. With these reports coming out it may create more
desire to be able to control and resolve these situations.
In deciding if this is a significant issue, one must look into the fact that it is mainly the
corporations from the western society that fuel these sweatshops with a great amount of
ignorance and greed. It also goes onto creating a corrupt world that exploits the lives of less
fortunate people who may not have any other options and as bad as it is in the developing world
it is something that is also in the North American society.
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Background
Labour in Canada started during the 19th century when a mass number of immigrants
came over from Europe with the idea that they would be offered better opportunities
economically along with an easier life. The goal was to start out as labourers and make enough
money to become farmers and/or business owners. In this period however, workers rights in
Canada were very limited, not to mention working conditions in factories, mines, along with
many other industries were extremely dangerous. This was very much the case up until 1887
when the government finally put laws in place requiring standards for safe working conditions.
Unions were created to back or protect workers rights which also included if they may
have fallen ill or been let go from their job. Most of the early unions did not stay around for very
long due to the economic and legal foundations that were in place. This made it very difficult to
sustain any kind of force as many of the essentials to be able to start a union were nonexistent
and any sort of push from the workers was short lived due to the legal system working with
employers to restrict rights and freedoms. This contributed to a major event called the Nine
Hours Movement. In the late 1800s the campaign was to form a working day of nine hours
opposed to the eleven and twelve which many were currently working. There were several
strikes that took place and a main group involved were the Toronto Printers who were charged
with criminal conspiracy. This was illegal due to the fact that the strikers had the objective of
lowering hours. This, with forming a trade union in this context, was illegal. After this there
were several events that helped get Canadas labour laws to where they are today. Such events
were the Winnipeg General Strike, The Snider Case, influences by the United States, and events
occurring surrounding World War II (before, during and after).
Today we now have the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The CLC is an umbrella
body for unions across Canada. It works on the premise that unions can choose for the CLC to
represent interests at national and international levels. Although Canada has come a very long
way and is quite good in regards to labour laws and exploitation of workers, there are still many
issues in Canada, the United States and across the world.
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One of the very first sweatshops was in the crude textile mills of Ecuador. The native
population was put to work to manufacture cloth, rough garments, and assorted textile items by
Spanish conquerors in extremely difficult sweatshop conditions.
The United States adopted the idea of sweatshops after mass immigration on the east
coast in the 1880s. American businesss targeted immigrants specifically from southern and
eastern Europe as they were very vulnerable. They were paid very low wages and forced to
work in poor conditions however, they were happy to take any opportunity that presented itself.
The situation in many of the new industries was ripe for sweatshops to develop. Social
and economic conditions in most cities produced a large population from which to find
workers willing to accept any wage and management systems that neglected the workers,
thus removing any consideration of the human factor in manufacturing. Generally,
workers lacked access to the kind of knowledge and resources that would enable them to
overcome the impossible working conditions, while governments (both local and
national), were unwilling to intervene on their behalf. Other characteristics of
sweatshops included overcrowding, lack of sanitary conditions, no worker breaks or
relief, demands to complete a task within a limited period of time, andas important to
the continuance of the sweatshopa total lack of job security. (Encyclopedia of
Management)
It is obvious that there were not viable options for immigrants coming into the United States and
unfortunately many of these struggles still exist today. In 1884 efforts by the legislation in the
state of New York began to help correct and improve sweatshops by trying to eliminate the
production of tobacco products. Efforts like these continued to exist but were often ineffective
due to the nonexistence of trade unions. When trade unions came into place they were finally
able to provide some relief but it took minimum wage and maximum hours to be put in place by
the government in 1938 before sweatshops started to diminish.
Although sweatshops are still around today, there has been great attention brought to the
issues surrounding the exploitation of workers nationally by the government, specifically in the
garment industry. In recent years garment manufacturers, have found ways to produce goods
offshore where there are extremely low labour costs. Major companies who have participated in
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this have taken strong criticism. Such companies are: Gap, Liz Claiborne, Kathie Lee Gifford,
Nike, and Wal-Mart. They have garnered these responses in several ways.
National attention was directed at these and other companies in the apparel industry
through media outlets, and consumers were sometimes advised not to purchase certain
brand names. Advocacy groups, particularly vibrant among college students (who got
their start by refusing to buy college or university logo merchandise produced in
sweatshops), organize consumer awareness of sweatshop conditions and attempt to
pressure companies into ceasing their sweatshop-labor practices. A site was mounted on
the Internet by Sweatshop Watcha coalition of labor, community, civil rights,
immigrant, and women's organizations (www.sweatshopwatch.org)to further spread
awareness and coalesce activist projects. Corpwatch (www.corpwatch.org) is another
organization that monitors corporate practices, including the use of sweatshop labor.
(Encyclopedia of Management)
As shown, this has not been an issue that has been unnoticed, but there is significant work to do.
There is great significance making this issue known but at the same time there may be nothing
wrong with wanting to manufacture products offshore as it makes perfect sense from an
economic standpoint where it is far cheaper to produce these goods. The issue lies in the fact of
how corporations have continuously decided to turn a blind eye in the direction of sweatshops in
these developing countries. There is no reason that with a little bit of effort, the conditions in
which they work, along with the hours they work cannot be changed in order to give these people
the standards of living they deserve.
Although there has been a great amount of improvement, these issues have gone on and
they will continue to go on for a very long time, or at least as long as all of those that are
involved let it. If the people in power, both in government and in the corporations, decide it is
time to stop the unfair actions and treatment, there is a good possibility that things will become
significantly better.
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Expert
Lee McLaven
Lee McLaven is the owner of Laven Labels, a family owned and operated manufacturing
company with over 50 years of experience in the Label, Tag and Trim industry. They are a
domestic company that is located in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Laven Labels is the only
domestic manufacturer allowing them to meet the demands of their domestic customers to insure
quick timelines and competitive pricing. Lee McLaven is a neighbor and a friend of my family.
Due to his experience in the manufacturing business, I asked to conduct an interview with him,
going over his thoughts on the industry.
Although Laven Labels does not produce their products outside of Canada or the USA,
they do manufacture for several big brands which do. McLaven talks about how the industry of
producing offshore has evolved greatly in the past 10 years as about a decade ago the
manufacturing sector in North America was thriving.
There was no advantage to go offshore for goods as the duties were too high, deliveries
take much longer, and communication was more difficult. So, manufacturing in North
America was a lot easier and cost effective. You couldnt easily go visit your
manufacturing factory to check on this, along with quality control, making tweaks,
etc. Everyone was on the same playing field, with respect to the cost of manufacturing.
(McLaven)
It makes sense that production would be much more viable and productive in a domestic
environment with a greater amount of flexibility, mainly through communication, which is
extremely important when operating a successful business. So why would offshoring become
such a popular and ongoing trend?
The government decided the duties of goods imported to Canada would be drastically
dropped. This had huge implications to manufacturing sector across North America, not
just Canada, but the USA. As with everything, competition is tight with margins,
everyone is looking for lower prices for the advantage at the retail level, more
margins/profit, etc. So, what happened was that manufacturers started to source products
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offshore and found that they were a lot cheaper due to now lower duties and much lower
wages and cost of manufacturing. (McLaven)
In regards to everyone moving offshore, what were the implications in doing so, from an
economic standpoint? And how did these decisions impact certain companies?
Our North American manufacturing sector has been hit hard, lots of jobs
loss. Manufacturers/companies had no choice to move most, if not all of their
manufacturing offshore to compete with their competitors so they wouldnt go out of
business. Many companies whom didnt go offshore did go out of business. An example
of this is Levis whom used to manufacture all their jeans in North America. After the
duties, they had no choice but to shut down all domestic manufacturing and make it
offshore and simply just import all their goods.
Due to the amount of force and economical change there was really nothing that companies
could do in keeping their production domestic, and if they did it was very difficult to do so
unless you were a select few brands.
The industry for garment has continuously been changing and although much is still
offshore, China, one of the industrys biggest powerhouses, has lost a lot of business. Why is
this the case?
There has been a shift in China the minimum wage as increased, maximum hours per
week have been decreased their standards have improved for the Chinese worker. So,
when costs increase in one region of the world, there is always a cheaper alternative
like Vietnam. Big corporations are moving a lot out of China now because of increase
costs. (also, because Chinese demand from their own people have also increased so they
are now making a lot of goods and products for their own residents, while North America
is becoming 2nd biggest, not 1st with all the power). (McLaven)
It is very interesting how this major shift has taken place in China. It shows how although
conditions are getting better for workers in sweatshops there is no concern in this area for
corporations as business has begun to move elsewhere.
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Even though there has been movement overseas, there has also been great interest in
moving south meaning South America. Why is that?
Companies are doing more and more here for a few factors Time zone is a big factor,
you can communicate within regular day hours and get a lot more done compared to
offshore where you have to do most of your work early in morning or late at night. Also,
Chinas New Years is a big shut down of roughly 2-3 weeks so companies are always
scrambling re delivery time, another factor why more and more are moving to South
America. (McLaven)
Much of the interest within South America is the fact that although it is still outsourcing, it offers
a lot of the benefits that come in domestic manufacturing. This includes easier communication
leading to more flexibility allowing for easier production.
Referring back to companys inability to stay domestic, how have select companies
managed to do so? Or at the very least done what they can?
There is a trend over the past few years that is gaining momentum Made in USA /
Made in Canada. Normally the Made in North America goods are a bit higher in price,
but there are certain products and brands that can do this case in point Canada
Goose. They manufacture all their jackets in Canada. Only some accessories are
offshore. Their jackets are a premium but so is the price. Its easier for products that are
higher cost as people will pay a bit more for Made in Canada. But its hard for lower
price stuff. A tee-shirt is Made in South America for less than $1.00 Landed, meaning all
costs in. You simply cant make that here in Canada anymore. Roots is another apparel
brand that does a lot still made in Canada. Companies like H&M, Forever 21, etc. all
prices are so cheap, there is no way they can be made in North America, simply
impossible. (McLaven)
When looking at why only a few select brands are able to sustain successful business at home in
Canada or the United States it is because they are premium products and consumers will pay
more for these high-end brand names. With this being said, much of the population is only able
to maybe buy a few of these premium products if not none. So where does the majority look to
shop? Companies such as H&M, Forever 21, GAP, etc. In todays economy, if it was not for
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offshoring to get cheap labour, there would be no such things as said brands/companies, unless
they increased their prices.
Unfortunately today, the government has made it very difficult for products to be
inexpensively manufactured in our economy and it will be very difficult to bring it back to where
it was. In saying this, there is not much issue with globalizing production but it is the fact that
corporations are not acknowledging the unfair sweatshop type of working conditions. There
really is no reason why this should be ignored as it is something that has been overlooked for the
economic ethics of the business. There is still the ability to get cheaper labour by offshoring, but
with slight increases improving the conditions in which they are made, they will still beat the
North American production prices but giving the humanitarian aid and respect these people
deserve.
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Expert
Gary Burtless
Gary Burtless is an American economist at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

He does research on issues surrounding economics such as: the income distribution and poverty,
public finance, aging, labour markets, social insurance, and the behavioral effects of government
tax and transfer policy. He is an author and coauthor of several different scholarly reports and
articles connected to his areas of expertise, the one being focused on will be on the labour
market.
The information form Gary Burtless stems from his article Workers Rights: Labor
standards and global trade, where Burtless discusses; which labour standards matter most,
enforcing labour standards, practical difficulties and private sanctions.
Proponents of workers rights argue that trading nations should be held to strict labor
standardsand they offer two quite different justifications for their view. The first is a
moral argument whose premise is that many labor standards, such as freedom of
association and the prohibition of forced labor, protect basic human rights. Foreign
nations that wish to be granted free access to the worlds biggest and richest markets
should be required to observe fundamental human values, including labor rights. In short,
the lure of market access to the United States and the European Union should be used to
expand the domain of human rights. (Burtless)
It is crucial to realize that the issue is now at the point where it is time to enforce these
regulations, specifically in support of basic human rights, as failure to do so will not allow for
anything to ever change. However, there is great difficulty doing so without some sort of penalty
or limitation in not following through with the changes, where Burtless mentions that market
access to the top countries could be used as a way to expand the area of human rights.
The second argument for strict labor standards stresses not the welfare of poor workers,
but simple economic self-interest. A trading partner that fails to enforce basic protections
for its workers can gain an unfair trade advantage, boosting its market competitiveness
against countries with stronger labor safeguards. Including labor standards in trade deals
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that can encourage countries in a free trade zone to maintain worker protections rather
than abandoning them in a race to the bottom. (Burtless)
Here Burtless states that if these corporations use economic self-interest instead of trying to
protect the workers and their basic rights, they will then be put at a disadvantage, which will
allow for more incentive for these businesses to look into making changes instead of just
ignoring them as they have for so long.
The greatest challenge in making the best change is to determine what standards matter
the most?
The labor standards that might be covered by a trade agreement fall along a continuum
from those that focus on basic human rights to those that stress working conditions and
pay. On the whole, the case for the former is more persuasive. Insisting that other nations
respect workers right of free association reflects our moral view that this right is
fundamental to human dignity. Workers may also have a right to a safe and healthy
workplace, but that right comes at some cost to productive efficiency. Insisting that other
nations adopt American standards for a safe and healthy workplace means that they must
also adopt our view of the appropriate trade-off between health and safety, on the one
hand, and productive efficiency, on the other. (Burtless)
In order to be successful, many of the standards will have to go under trade agreements made,
which seems like it would be the best way to enforce these regulations on labour workers.
Although there seems to be ways to encourage some businesses to act, they are still not really
being enforced.
The principal global institution enforcing labor standards today is the ILO, which reports
regularly and periodically on the steps each nation takes to implement the standards it has
ratified. If complaints are lodged, the ILO investigates the alleged violation and
publicizes its findings. Even if a member nation has not ratified the freedom-of-
association conventions, the ILO may investigate alleged violations of those conventions.
The ILO cannot, however, authorize retaliatory trade measures or sanctions. Instead it
provides technical assistance to member countries to bring their labor laws and
enforcement procedures into compliance. (Burtless)
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The ILO is a key organization that will hopefully be able to help enforce the standards and
regulations that the companies must follow, in order to be able to support the workers. It has
been noted however, that although the ILO does have some ability to enforce some of these laws
many are skeptical that the ILO cannot protect workers using its existing enforcement tools since
they have been known to impose little penalty other than bad publicity.
Two of the most troublesome ILO standards involve child labor. Rich countriesvery
sensiblyrestrict childrens participation in the job market so that youngsters can attend
school and prepare to become workers. But in poor countries, where childrens earnings
are a crucial family resource and schooling may be unavailable, the restrictions may not
be appropriate. Of course, children in poor countries deserve protection and education
too, but the standard of protection and the resources available for schooling will be far
below those in a wealthy country. (Burtless)
There are numerous conflicting differences between 1st and 3rd world countries, which is what
makes it so difficult. Citizens in developing countries might be less confident that their laws and
enforcement procedures will meet the tests implied by the ILO conventions while some
Americans fear that including these enforceable labour standards in trade agreements will be
opportunity to expose the United States to charges that it fails to enforce ILO core standards,
exposing it to possible trade penalties, although many of the ILO standards are followed by the
United States. There will be considerable conflict with whatever the purposed changes entail
due to the reality in that all places of the world function in a certain way and it is very difficult to
change that. With that being said, that is the challenge that lies ahead and it is the responsibility
of not only organizations such as the ILO, but all of society as well in attempt to enforce these
standards.
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Role of Control
When discussing the role of control in regards to sweatshops, the power in this situation
of continuing and controlling these unfair, hardworking, underpaid and unsafe sweatshop
conditions is mainly in the hands of the government and large corporations. The issue is that in
order to eliminate the exploitation of workers, said people in control must care enough to make a
change. That is sadly not the case. The biggest problem as to why the exploitation of workers
by corporations is an issue is that too many of them are turning a blind an eye toward the
situation and the government for the most part is just letting them do it. If this ignorance keeps
up, there is no saying what the future will hold.
Corporate greed and human misery often meet in the workplace. Nowhere else is that
more true than in sweatshops. Taking advantage of extremely poor workers in the
developing world, many wealthy companies from economically developed nations -- like
Wal-Mart -- demand employees work at a fast pace for long hours in deplorable
conditions with no benefits, all for the sake of corporate profit. (Magliano)
The reason for this continual lack of commitment to wanting to make a change is strictly due to
the greed of these corporations. Unfortunately, this is something in the world that happens
regularly, in a variety of different ways, with some being more drastic than others. There is no
ethical reason for any of it and these powerless people need a way out.
Corresponding with the difficulty in resolving hard sweatshop labour, the people that
have the desire to help do not currently have the power or authority to make the difference. The
concept of not currently is very crucial to the future because there are many ways people,
specifically consumers, who have started to deal with the situation in attempt to begin to defeat
these wrong doings. For example, one major motion forward that consumers have begun is not
wanting to buy goods made in China. The reasons for this, are because they have been made
aware or possibly seen first-hand what these workers go through. Also, they or someone they
know may have lost a manufacturing job due to the offshore outsourcing. So, in response to the
ignorance, consumers are starting to gain awareness to how corrupt these companies are, leading
some to think twice and shy away from buying their products. This is likely the most effective
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way to gain power towards fighting these corrupt companies. If companys products are not
being sold due to action such as protesting against their arrogance and ignorance, change may
eventually be forced upon these corporations.
It is never a good situation when the people in the wrong are the ones that hold the
power, but unfortunately that is where this issue stands. There is no real timetable as to how
soon this issue can be resolved or if it is even viable to try, but only time will tell if society truly
wants to stand up to fight against these corrupt business practices.
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Logic of Evil
The logic of evil is defined as the reasoning as to why the issue exists to the
extent it does. The logic of evil is looking at the other side and understanding the opposing
views. In this case the logic of evil surrounding the corruption by corporations to exploit labour
workers is simply due to the economic upside in doing so. It just makes sense from a business
perspective, where the financial state of the business overlooks any humanitarian rights or aid.
Sweatshops have been around hundreds of years, going back to slavery and placing
people into unfair positions in which they cannot succeed. Sweatshops were created because it
is an easy way for companies to gain profit by driving down the cost of production.
Therefore, low cost factories are created. For companies to lower costs, they look for places
with low wages and human rights protections (Fair Trade Labour). In todays world one would
think that the issues involving exploitation of workers would cease to exist or at the very least be
greatly limited. However, that is not the case. Why is it that these corporations continue to
exploit these workers? As previously discussed, the original basis of this idea from a business
perspective makes perfect sense. To maximize profits one needs to lower the production costs
by moving elsewhere, where it is allowable and thus cheaper.
The reasons why it is cheap and why they do it is specifically because of taxes, labour
costs, market seeking, and regulation. Taxes are a huge part of offshore manufacturing as
companies can receive a large amount savings in corporate taxes by funneling their profits
through overseas countries as they have far more lenient tax regulations for businesses in
comparison to Canada and the U.S specifically. This also goes hand in hand with the reduced
labour costs. The minimum wage in the U.S is currently $7.25/hour for workers, which is far
more expensive compared to the next to nothing wage workers in developing countries make.
Next is market seeking where many companies look at this as an opportunity to build up their
business in another location, thus moving product overseas and gaining exposure for a greater
amount of growth. Lastly, moving to a country with fewer and more relaxed regulations is a
huge attraction for a business as it allows them the freedom to grow and be innovative while
taking risks, which is also much easier to do than in strictly regulated countries like the United
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States and Canada. Many companies will elect to relocate if it allows for avoiding anti-
competition and labour laws, along with price fixing rules.
Once again, this makes perfectly logical sense. As a business owner, why would one
limit themselves and not want to maximize their profit. Its no secret U.S. companies save
billions of dollars by doing business overseas. A recent Senate investigation revealed Apple paid
a 2 percent tax on $74 billion in income by channeling profits through its offshore subsidiaries
(Bradford). Apple has been known to be one of the greatest and most powerful corporations of
them all with their constant evolving and innovative technology which has led them to an income
of 74 billion dollars. This number was achievable because their manufacturing is mostly foreign
and there is no issue with that as these jobs created by globalization within the corporate world
are helping with the economic improvement in these developing countries. Thus, the issue lies
within the fact that these corporations are making billions of dollars a year and they still choose
to ignore the struggles these workers face as well as exploitation and entrapment within a viscous
cycle. There is no reason that these corporations cannot improve the conditions in which they
work as well as a slight to moderate increase in their wages. Although the cost of living in these
developing countries is far less expensive in comparison to North America, a higher wage should
not significantly hurt the company but may greatly help the workers. This may also in turn,
improve overall moral and potentially the companys productivity. With improving these areas,
they will still be less costly than domestic manufacturing which will still be good for the business
and it will also be fair, proper and well deserved for the workers. After all, if it was not for these
workers, these companies would not exist to the same extent in which they do today.
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Case Study #1-Bangladesh
Bangladesh is located in the southern part of Asia and is known worldwide as one of the
largest suppliers for the garment industry. This status has left many Bangladesh workers to be
exploited by large corporations. Bangladesh is home to a substantial number of sweatshops with
working conditions that are extremely unfair and unsafe. Workers are continually exploited and
abused on a day to day basis but the problem is something that will take time defuse.
The main reason and biggest attraction for why corporations choose to put the
manufacturing of their business products (specifically garment) in Bangladesh is simply the price
as it exceedingly inexpensive. Part of the reason for this is due to the fact that a vast majority of
these workers are children and women. Currently the minimum wage a month for ready made
garment is 5,300BDT which is the equivalent to about 88CAD which works out to about
190BDT equalling just over 3CAD a day. This is obviously not a fair compensation as these
people are working long hours (approximately 11-12 but often more) working out to less than 30
cents/hour under awful and unsafe conditions.
In 2013, Bangladesh suffered one of their greatest disasters in regard to the struggles with
cheap labour. On April 24, 2013, the Savar building or better known as Rana Plaza collapsed in
Savar Upazila of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The collapse of the eight-story building killed a total of
1,129 workers and was home to some major garment companies.
Wednesday's disaster in the Dhaka suburb of Savar is the worst ever for Bangladesh's
booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire less than five months earlier
that killed 112 people. Workers at both sites made clothes for major brands around the
world; some of the companies in the building that fell say their customers include retail
giants such as Walmart. (Toronto Star)
The most disturbing part of the collapse is that there was an opportunity to have avoided this as
there were reports that were brought to the attention of the garment factories and their officials to
stop working and evacuate the building.
After the cracks were reported in the walls of Rana Plaza on Tuesday, managers of a
local bank that also had an office in the building evacuated their workers. The garment
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factories, though, kept working, ignoring the instructions of the local industrial police,
said Mostafizur Rahman, a director of that paramilitary police force. The Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had also asked the factories to
suspend work starting Wednesday morning, hours before the collapse. (Toronto Star)
It is never a good thing when a tragedy that could be avoided ends up being a reality, and that
was exactly the case for the Rana Plaza collapse. The issue behind this was ignorance that the
officials of the corporations had not just against the warnings but the overall ignorance allowing
for these workers to be put into these conditions to begin with. Although the collapse happened
after warnings, there is no reason as to why something like this could not just happen to any
building when the conditions and regulations are as poor as what they are.
In the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse, there was, as there should be, a response by
some of the companies who had ties with the building due to evidence of western brand labels
lying beneath the rubble. One name familiar to Canada was Joe Fresh.
Canadian fast fashion brand Joe Fresh was one of the first to act, sending representatives
to Bangladesh to investigate the building's collapse. One of its manufacturers had been
based in Rana Plaza, alongside factories making garments for U.K. cheap chic chain
Primark and Italian clothier Benetton among others.
At the time, Joe Fresh parent company Loblaw, owned by the billionaire Weston family,
posted a statement saying they'd compensate families of workers killed when the
shoddily-constructed building crashed down. (OConnor)
It is good to see that some of these companies like Joe Fresh have reacted to the tragedy of Rana
Plaza and the efforts that they have made to compensate for the victims and their families.
Although there is no way to change what has happened, there is a way to help eliminate or at
least limit these incidents from occurring and the onus is on the companies who place there
manufacturing in these buildings.
They've made good on their promise so far, having made "initial contributions" to the
Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, according to labor nonprofit the Clean Clothes Campaign
(OConnor). It is very important for companies to no only recognize the fact that they need to
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take action but to actually do something and take responsibility for the incidents. In saying this,
Joe Fresh as well as others are still waiting on around 16 other brands and retailers to follow as
just over a third of the estimated 40 million dollar compensation has been contributed by the
companies involved.
As bad as this event was, it may have given the world the opportunity to see this industry
for what it is.
That spotlight showed an industry in chaos, rife with horrifically unsafe conditions,
corruption, shoddy oversight, low wages, and child labor. Apparel companies
including the Walt Disney Company have reacted to such disasters by pulling their
business out of Bangladesh. But that does nothing to improve the lives of workers there,
many of whose livelihood, meager as it is, depends on the garment business. (Avins)
Now as appropriate as it is for companies such as the Walt Disney Company to pull themselves
out of Bangladesh, it is only half the battle. This is because if even, for example, all major
brands decide to remove themselves from these places, there will still be other smaller
companies that will find these openings and continue to exploit the workers. There needs to be a
second step, and that is treating the workers with the rights they are entitled to. This is obviously
very much easier said, than done. The thing that makes Bangladeshs garment industry
enormous also makes it incredibly dangerousand difficult to fix. Its just so cheap (Bain).
Although the garment industry in Bangladesh has positively impacted the economy it has been
the dehumanizing, soul-destroying, and exploitative trade that has done so. This has been done
by providing around 3 million Bangladeshis (majority being women and children) with
employment which has utterly transformed the economic and social landscape of the country.
It has been seen by many in the international development industry that Bangladesh is a
success story in that they have excelled in areas such as gender equality and healthcare, along
with at times outshining its much richer and powerful neighbor, India. However, with that being
said, many still do acknowledge the safety regulations and protections as highly insufficient.
This once again brings back the fact that what makes the garment industry in Bangladesh so
great is the same thing that continues to make it so corrupt and dangerous; the challenge to fix it
because it is so inexpensive.
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The production of the Bangladesh garment industrys share of the worlds cheap clothing
has significantly increased in recent years. In 2013, Bangladesh exported $31 billion of goods
and $28 billion of those goods were manufactured in the garment industry making it the second
longest garment manufacture in the world and one that will likely keep growing. The reason for
this is due to the fact that Bangladesh is becoming far less expensive to manufacture than it is in
China.
Bangladesh rose to its position largely because of its lack of regulation and the low wages
it pays its garment workers, most of whom are women. Bangladeshs minimum wage for
the sector is one of the worlds lowestor according to some groups, the very lowest
even after the government raised it in response to fallout from the Rana Plaza disaster. As
fashion brands look to cut costs, and wages continue to rise in China, Bangladesh
becomes an increasingly attractive place to make clothes on the cheap. (Avins)
China has begun to improve their regulations in the garment industry, especially when it comes
to wages making Bangladesh that much more popular. Bangladeshs industry appears that it will
continue to rise as a report from the United States Fashion Industry Association has found that
many executives plan to reduce sourcing in China over the next few years. As this was being
said, other statistics showed that 60% plan to somewhat increase production in Bangladesh and
5% plan to strongly increase in the near future.
Therefore, the fact of the matter in Bangladesh is that although the garment industry has
done well for the economy, it has not exactly done that well for the humanitarian rights of the
workers. So, the problem surrounding Bangladesh stands, as the issue that makes Bangladeshs
garment industry enormous also makes it incredibly dangerousand difficult to fix. Its just so
inexpensive to manufacture goods.
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Case Study #2-China
China is the largest country in Asia and one of the most well known and powerful
manufacturing markets in the world. China has continued to build into a consumerist based
economy allowing for most of the Chinese population to buy the newest products. Although the
majority of China is considered developed, a large portion the country is still undeveloped. The
undeveloped parts of China face many social struggles from companies using forced and child
labour with many of the factories having hostile environments creating a difficult life for the
Chinese workers.
China holds the greatest population in the world at 1.39 billion with 10 million of the
population being employed in the garment industry. As a basic consuming product sector, the
garment industry is one of the industries in China that enjoy the most advanced market, the most
edging international competitiveness, the fastest growth and most attention. There are
approximately more than 100,000 garment manufacturers housing these 10 million workers.
There are approximately 150 million internal migrant workers in China who, because of
their status, do not receive any state benefits or protection. They have to endure poor
working conditions such as excessive and forced overtime, denial of social security rights
and failure to provide employment contracts, as well as severe health risks. (Sweatshops
in China)
This involves the entire labour working population in China but it especially includes what the
garment industry does have to deal with as well. The harsh conditions that Chinese workers face
is typical to what many of the workers in other countries do as well, however one of the biggest
issues within China is overtime hours. Overall, working conditions in the garment and textile
industry in China are very poor but with the high demand for products results in having
excessive overtime for very little, or no compensation.
Pushing to keep big corporations honest, labor groups regularly smuggle photographs,
videos, pay stubs, shipping records and other evidence out of factories that they say
violate local law and international worker standards. In 2007, factories that supplied
more than a dozen corporations, including Wal-Mart, Disney and Dell, were accused of
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unfair labor practices, including using child labor, forcing employees to work 16-hour
days on fast-moving assembly lines, and paying workers less than minimum wage.
(Minimum wage in this part of China is about 55 cents an hour.) (Barboza)
Corporations have continued to try and use these inexpensive manufacturing locations for the
cheapest prices but choosing to ignore or just not caring at all about the people who allow for
them to produce their products for so little. There needs to continue to be labour groups who try
to expose the disgraceful wrong doings of these corporations who continually exploit the
workers, especially when it involves the forced overtime to meet these deadlines. That is one
major reason as to why the Chinese industry is so strong and attractive to the North American
market.
Over the past few years, there has been a shift within Chinas manufacturing market that
has seen a great number of companies pulling their business out. China has been improving their
regulations and standards within the economy in the developed part of Asia, which has led to an
increase in wages and a subsequent significant withdrawal of companies out of China.
A growing number of US companies operating in China say they plan to move their
business out of the country according to a recent survey by the American Chamber of
Commerce in China.
The organization's annual business climate survey report found that 25 percent of
respondents have either moved or are planning to move capacity outside of China. While
half of respondents are moving capacity to "Developing Asia," 40 percent say they are
moving capacity to the US, Canada or Mexico. (Shanghaiist)
There is no question that companies will continue to find other ways to be corrupt by looking to
wherever is least expensive, which often corresponds with the worst conditions for the workers.
Regardless of the development within countries, it just speaks to how challenging these labour
issues are to eliminate.
International companies' leaving is unlikely to bode well for an economy that has counted
heavily on foreign investment to become a key figure in global trade.
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But labor costs are just one problem foreign firms face. Regulatory challenges are
another. Survey respondents bemoaned unclear laws, difficulty in obtaining required
licenses, and increased Chinese protectionism. (Dumalaon)
The after effect with all these companies leaving and/or planning to leave will effect China in a
variety of ways however due to the great amount of structure and power that China has built up
over the years this will keep them running strong. Businesses reported that labor costs,
regulatory challenges and the threat of IP theft were the main reasons promoting US businesses
to pack up shop in China (Shanghaiist). Unfortunately for the companies who did have
significant business within China did suffer from the threat of stealing IP allowing for China to
build off.
Intellectual property (IP) protection is the No. 1 challenge for multinational corporations
operating in China. According to the U.S. government, China accounted for nearly 80%
of all IP thefts from U.S.-headquartered organizations in 2013,1 amounting to an
estimated $300 billion in lost business. (Schotter)
With China stealing IPs from U.S companies, they have created for themselves a great amount
of profit and will continue to use it moving forward, leading to another reason as to why
companies are packing up and getting out of China. China also received benefits of this through
European manufactures lowering their profits by 20%.
China has built itself into a powerhouse thanks to having a massive population putting
them well on top. However, there has been a shift within the Chinese manufacturing industry
having 25% of business packing up and moving elsewhere. This is due to the fact that there has
been some improvements in conditions, specifically in wages causing for corporations to look for
cheaper options. This is unfortunate to see because as regulations seem to improve they are over
looked by the corrupt corporate and manufacturing world which speaks volumes to the
difficulties and challenges in resolving labour issues.
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Case Study #3- United States
The United States has long been seen as one of the greatest and most powerful countries
in the world with an approximate population of 325,908,918. They have been forever
recognized as the largest consumer country holding true as they are atop the ranks in the
importing of garments. Since they are a leading consumer they have played a huge role in the
exploitation of workers within not only developing countries but within their own country as
well.
As much as 97 percent of apparel sold in the United States is now made outside the
country and most of the garment production for the U.S. market is in developing countries such
as Bangladesh, China, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India and the
Philippines. An extensive amount of manufacturing is being done offshore.
Today, Congress' General Accounting Office provides a simple definition of

sweatshop": a business that regularly violates both wage or child labor and safety or
health laws. At this point, much of America's cheapest garment production has moved
overseas, but Ross estimates that as late as 2000, there were still 255,000 sweatshop
workers in the United States. Sweatshops can be found in New York City, California, and
Texas. (De Jesus)
The United States Department of Labour defines sweatshops as a factory that violates 2 or more
labor laws. Sweatshops often have poor working conditions, unfair wages, unreasonable hours,
child labor, and a lack of benefits for workers. With a country as modernized as the United
States, how do these sweatshops exist? Regardless of the percentage of how much
manufacturing work is done overseas there is still well over 200,000 people being exploited and
put in these difficult positions within the United States.
In 2012, a report came out about a workers rights being violated. His name was Wenyu
Lu and he worked for the fashion label of Alexander Wang, who is based out of New York City.
Fashion darling Alexander Wang was served this month with a $50 million lawsuit from
a man who used to sew his clothes. Wenyu Lu describes having worked 25 hours
continuously without break or overtime pay in an unventilated, windowless part of
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Wangs New York City design firm, and claims he was ultimately fired after voicing his
complaints to management and filing for workers compensation. He sued, and dozens of
his fellow employees signed on. The headlines that have rocked the fashion world put a
name to Lus allegation: Wang ran a sweatshop in the United States of America.
(Soriano)
The article came from GOOD Magazine and was titled Ethical Style: There Are Still
Sweatshops in America. It is quite absurd that these things go on within a developed, role
model country. In saying that, the part of having a voice does not happen very often with
situations in other countries. As for being in the U.S., the ability for Wenyu Lu to plead his case
is much greater and that is something that must continue to grow, not only in the States but into
developing countries as well.
Subpar working conditions in garment factories around the world have long been the
subject of stateside media attention, but conditions in American factories largely slip
under the radar. In fact, most consumers spy a label like Made in the USA and assume
the workers who made their T-shirt are paid and treated better than most. (Soriano)
It is somewhat stereotypical for the American consumer to automatically assume that the Made
in the USA label means that all regulations are being followed in the manufacturing of the
product, but that sadly is not the case. The Wang suit simply shows that even an expensive
garment, such as an Alexander Wang shirt that can cost $200 plus, does not guarantee better
working conditions and regulations for the workers who produced the product. Many of Wangs
products have also been known to be made in China serving as a false advertisement to the
American consumer market.
The lawsuit on Alexander Wang also showed another part of how corrupt the industry
really is. The case was thrown out by New York federal court Judge Harold Baer, however
Wang didn't get away 100% scot-free: The court's decision to dismiss the suit, came after an
"undisclosed settlement" between the two parties (Phelan). The way that these corrupt
corporations often avoid and sneak out of these situations are due to the mass amount of money
in which they have. Realistically for most people when dealing with situations like so see a large
amount of money being thrown at them in order for the company to clear its name. Although the
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difficulty to not take the money and drop all matters surrounding the case is easy to do and very
tempting, there needs to be more change within the industry as these wealthy companies use their
corrupt power to get off. If this continues to be these case, unfortunately the struggle to fight
these battles will continue to go on.
The United States has painted the picture to society that they are a country that has a
booming economy, leading the consumer industry. Now yes this is very true, however, what
very few people do know is that not only the corporations fuel the corrupt world in developing
countries by exploiting the workers there, but they do the exact same thing on their home soil.
Regardless of the size of scale in the number of workers and sweatshops there are, in the words
of the IRLF, a violation of one workers rights is a violation of all workers rights. This
creates the message that no matter where in the world a workers rights are being violated, they
are infact being violated and that must come to an end.
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International Organizations
There are many international organizations around the world that work to bring
awareness and justice to those who need it. There are several organizations that deal with labour
laws that all have similar goals they are trying to reach. These organizations specifically work
towards trying to stop corporations from exploiting workers. There are three organizations that
will be examined: the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), the International Labour
Organization (ILO), and the Fair Labor Association (FLA). All of these organizations have the
mindset and motive to preserve the rights of workers and deal with a variety of labour issues.
The International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to

preserving the rights of workers around the world with an emphasis on sweatshops and child
labour. The ILRFs core work is three-fold as they hold global corporations accountable for
labor rights violations in their supply chains, advance policies and laws that protect workers, and
strengthen workers ability to advocate for their rights. The ILRF works with trade unions, faith-
based organizations, and community groups to support workers and their families. One of the
main initiatives that the ILRF has is making apparel factories safe in Bangladesh.
ILRF works for a world where workers have the power to speak out and organize to
defend and advance their rights and interests; a world where workers have the right to
form unions and bargain collectively to secure a safe and dignified life for themselves
and their families; and a world where everyone is free from discrimination, forced labor
and child labor. (ILRF)
The vision for the ILRF is to create a world where the basic rights entitled are granted and not
ignored by these powerful corporations and governments. They continue to work towards the
main goal of giving a voice to troubled workers being forced against their will into these
situations in order to survive. One of the IRLFs mottos that they believe in is a violation of
one workers rights is a violation of all workers rights. This comes with the idea that until
everybody receives equal rights there is still work to be done.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is an agency of the United Nations to deal
with labor issues. The ILO has been together since 1919 and is the only tripartite (three party)
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U.N. agency. The ILO brings together governments, employers and workers representatives of
187 member States, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting
decent work for all women and men.
Productive employment and decent work are key elements to achieving a fair
globalization and poverty reduction. The ILO has developed an agenda for the
community of work looking at job creation, rights at work, social protection and social
dialogue, with gender equality as a crosscutting objective.
There has been an increased urgency among international policy-makers, particularly in

the wake of the global financial and economic crisis of 2008, to deliver quality jobs along
with social protection and respect for rights at work to achieve sustainable, inclusive
economic growth, and eliminate poverty. (ILO)
This is all in part of the ILOs Decent Work plan. The Decent Work plan means the access
to not just any work but quality work. The idea of Decent Work is for everyone to have
dignity, equality, a fair income, safe working conditions and puts people at the center of
development. The Decent Work action plan umbrellas several different programs that are more
specific in their areas. These programs include child labour, domestic workers, economic and
social development, forced labour, human trafficking, poverty, wages along with many more.
These are all topics on the agenda for sustainable development in 2030. This meeting will put
people and the planet at its center and will give the international community the support it needs
to work together to tackle the intimidating challenges confronting humanity, including those in
the world of work.
The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is a non-profit designed to complement existing

international and national labor laws. Since 1999, the FLA has helped to improve the lives of
millions of workers around the world. The FLA creates lasting solutions to abusive labour
practices by offering tools and resources to companies, delivering training to factory workers and
management, and making sure the proper process is being conducted through independent
assessments. The FLA also advocates for greater accountability and transparency from
companies, manufacturers, factories and others involved in global supply chains.
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The products we buy should not come at the cost of workers' rights. The Fair Labor
Association believes that all goods should be produced fairly and ethically, and brings
together three key constituencies - universities, civil society organizations (CSOs) and
companies - to find sustainable solutions to systemic labour issues. (FLA)
The FLA is an international organization that strongly stands behind the fact that the exploitation
of workers must come to an end. They are not saying that the products we buy can not be made
in developing countries specifically, but that they must not come by voiding workers rights.
The FLA just like the ILRF, ILO and so many other international organizations have the end
goal of wanting to find sustainable solutions in regard to supporting workers who are being
exploited and the other labour issues that are constantly occurring.
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Canadian Connection
Just like the United States, there are many corporate companies which are Canadian owned
who exploit other countries (specifically developing) resources and their people, but there are also
a number of companies who exploit the resources, and people inside Canada as well.
One of Canadas most recent situations that they have been faced with is the Rana Plaza
incident in Bangladesh that was earlier discussed within this report. The reason as to why this
particular event is so significant to Canada is because of some of the companies involved, in
particular, Canadian company Joe Fresh.
As rescuers continued to pull corpses and survivors from the rubble of a collapsed garment
factory in Bangladesh, some consumers in Canada were shocked to learn that items from
their favourite brands were made there. Canadian clothing line Joe Fresh was among the
customers of the garment factories operating in the building. (The Canadian Press)
The after affect of the knowledge given to the consumers of these brands did not come with a
positive response however not a surprising one either. The article by The Canadian Press had
some responses by a few consumers, one being 24 year old, Natalie Erb who shops at Joe Fresh at
least once a week for everything from yoga clothes to office wear. She said that the news out of
Bangladesh had her disturbed about her purchases. Erb went on to say, To be honest, I had never
really done much research into where Joe Fresh manufactures their clothing, but knowing what I
do now, Im hugely disappointed in the company, said the Halifax woman. I dont know if Ill
be buying from the line any time soon, or ever again for that matter.
In todays society where social issues are still as much of a problem as ever, events like
Rana Plaza leave people feeling very uncomfortable, especially when they are informed on the
issue currently being discussed. There was also a response by the Canadian brand. The company
said it requires vendors to ensure products are being manufactured in a socially responsible way,
prohibiting child harassment, abuse and forced labour, as well as ensuring fair pay, benefits and
health and safety standards (The Canadian Press). The idea is for Joe Fresh to want to continue
to create a better work environment for the workers in order to ensure that an event like Rana Plaza
never happens again.
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The Toronto Star reports that the Ontario government will be introducing an ethical
sourcing policy for companies that bid on those contracts. In the United States, a similar
bill was passed in Maine. The state now requires winning bidders to contribute to a fund
used to investigate workers rights. Across the country, individual Canadians are
increasingly reaching for fair-trade and ethically-sourced clothing and other products. (City
News)
These moves appear to have the ability to succeed as studies have showed that things such as fair
trade coffee, sweatshop-free garments, lead-free toys, environmentally-friendly cleaning agents
and organic and local foods are increasingly becoming popular within Canada. The follow up is
that Canadians are continually increasing their decisions to be based on ethical considerations,
which is growing very year.
Major Canadian companies are also following suit after tragedies in Bangladesh raised
concerns about garment-workers safety in third-world countries. Joe Fresh, under
Loblaw, has signed onto a safety pact. Accord on Fire and Building Safety is a five-year,
legally binding factory safety contract aimed at improving worker safety in the Bangladesh
garment industry. Benetton, trendy Swedish fashion chain H&M, C&A of the Netherlands,
British retailers Tesco and Primark, and Spains Inditex, owner of Zara, have also signed.
(City News)
It is very good to see that some of these companies are taking responsibility for the events
occurring overseas, not only Bangladesh in particular but others as well. Unfortunately, sometimes
it takes events like this to put companies into awkward and uncomfortable situations to allow for
the realization that there is more to than just the financial aspect of the business they are responsible
for. Peoples lives are at risk everyday in order to complete the needs of these power hungry,
wealthy corrupt corporations and that needs to change.
Canada does however do some of their manufacturing of products here at home. There
are many advantages for manufacturing locally. Owning a factory means a company does not
have to pay shipping costs, wait for containers to arrive or fly garments by air at a prohibitive
price (Talaga). Two companies that do this work in Canada are brands Tristan and Canada Goose.
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These companies do in fact have the Made in Canada label but here is the clarification on what
that really means.
A piece of clothing labeled Made in Canada must meet specific requirements. Most
important is that the last substantial transformation of the product occurs in Canada. At
least 51 per cent of the total direct costs of producing or manufacturing the goods such
as labour in sewing and stitching must take place here. When the Made in Canada
label is used, qualifying information such as Made in Canada with imported parts must
be included. (Keating)
When people see this label they often think that it is a pure Canadian product having been made
in the best conditions and so on, however that is not the case as only just over half (51%) is needed
to be able to use this label.
Now this is not the only label that is used on Canadian manufactured products as they may
also say, Product of Canada. There is also a Product of Canada label or stamp that is legal
only if 98 per cent of the total direct costs of producing or making the goods have occurred in
Canada. The last substantial transformation of the product must also happen here (Keating). As
a Canadian consumer if this label is on a purchased product, the product is assumed to be fairly
safe and most likely made in a decent environment.
Canadian companies have done a good job in the reaction of some of the events that have
transpired, mainly overseas. They worked well at supporting and looking to improve the
regulations and conditions that these workers are forced to deal with on a day to day basis. Canada
has also done a good job working on and improving their own regulations looking to make for a
better world that has such an ignorant and corrupt industry.
38
Solutions
There are several solutions that need to be looked into to help against the fight of
sweatshops and the exploitation of workers that comes from corrupt corporations. An easy way
to help with the issue is to shop locally and support businesses within the local economy. By
buying locally made products, it will allow for people to putting money into their pockets and
back into their own countrys economy, along with helping with job creation within the country.
By buying products made in Canada, consumers will be able to know that the rights and
regulations of workers are protected.
Realistically, through the purchases consumers make, and those they choose to avoid,
consumers have the power to create an economy where child labour and sweatshops will cease to
exist. If the consumer market comes together with the voices of others, they can help encourage
companies here and abroad to ensure that all workers are paid fairly and treated with respect,
under the rights they are entitled to.
One major thing that anyone has the ability to do is to demand sweatshop free products
from the stores in which they shop at.
Ask companies you do business with to ensure that no sweatshop or forced child labor is
used in the manufacturing of the products they sell. The next time you go shopping for
clothes, shoes, or household items, take a minute to fill out a customer comment card and
ask the company to work with their suppliers to make sure that workers are paid a living
wage and treated fairly. Or visit the company's web site and send a message online.
(Green America)
Green America is a none profit organization whose mission is to harness economic power, which
is the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace. This is to create a
socially just and environmentally sustainable society. Some other ways to get the point across is
by buying Fair Trade.
Fair Trade is an economic system that ensures healthy working conditions, self-
determination, and fair wages for workers. When you purchase Fair Trade products, you
help ensure a sustainable livelihood for farmers and workers. Look for coffee, tea,
39
chocolate/cocoa, bananas, mangoes, pineapples and other fresh fruit bearing the Fair
Trade Certified label. If your supermarket or local health food store doesn't stock fair
trade products, ask them to do so and explain why. At restaurants, suggest the addition of
Fair Trade Certified coffee and tea to the menu. Also, Fair Trade Certified sugar is now
available as well. You can also buy crafts, clothing, jewelry, and other household and
gift items from companies that belong to the Fair Trade Federation (FTF). (Green
America)
By following through on Fair Trade the consumer will be able to ensure themselves that what
they are buying did not violate anyones rights during the process of production.
Another powerful way that society can help support the fight against the corrupt world is
by encouraging government enforcement of current regulations. In many countries, including
the United States, sweatshops exist just underneath the radar of government officials. By being
more proactive and socially aware about finding and enforcing current labour regulations, it
would become possible for workers trapped in this type of situation to gain the opportunity to
fight for their rights in a meaningful way without fear of losing what little money they earn or in
most cases their job as a whole.
Other initiatives can include all sorts of activists, lobby groups and unions such as
international trade union confederation, international workers association, and world federation
of trade unions which are all globally orientated along with many others that are country specific
to help show government officials this is no joke a solution must come of this issue. There is too
much at risk for people to just sit around as especially when dealing with a corrupt situation there
is no way any sort of change will be made unless a group rises together. The main solution
needs to be to force companies to become more socially and environmentally sustainable and the
consumers are the ones that are obligated to step up and tell the companies to make the changes.
If not, the rest of the world will have to live in poverty, and future generations will never be
given the opportunities worldwide that everyone is entitled to.
40
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The Exploitation of Workers by Corporations | Jacob Roberti

The Exploitation of Workers by

Monday, May 15, 2017.

It is in any workplace in which workers are subject to extreme exploitation. This

Gary Burtless is an American economist at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

Case Study #1-Bangladesh

Case Study #2-China

Case Study #3- United States

Today, Congress' General Accounting Office provides a simple definition of

The International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to

There has been an increased urgency among international policy-makers, particularly in

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is a non-profit designed to complement existing

Institution." Brookings. Brookings, 28 July 2016. Web. 9 May 2017.

Web. 14 May 2017.

at site." Thestar.com. N.p., 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 9 May 2017.

The New York Times, 04 Jan. 2008. Web. 9 May 2017.

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 May 2013. Web. 14 May 2017.

"Cheap labor." Schools Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2017.

Web. 9 May 2017.

2015. Web. 9 May 2017.

2010. Web. 9 May 2017.

Fraser, Colin R. "The Equivocal Nature of Exploitation: How Poor Workers in

01 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 May 2017.

Gaille, Brandon. "36 Shocking Sweatshop Statistics." BrandonGaille.com. N.p., 11 Aug.

2015. Web. 14 May 2017.

Admin. "Gary Burtless | Brookings Institution." Brookings. Brookings, 14 Dec. 2016.

Web. 14 May 2017.

"How to Improve Working Conditions in the Developing World." Stanford Graduate

School of Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2017.

Counts. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2017.

Web. 9 May 2017.

Garment Industry | Al Jazeera America. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2017.

Lombardo, Crystal, Marc Zorn, and Andrew Gazdecki. "4 Solutions to

Sweatshops." Vision Launch. N.p., 14 Jan. 2017. Web. 9 May 2017.

"Made in Bangladesh - Episodes - the fifth estate." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 09

Mar. 2017. Web. 14 May 2017.

Phelan, Hayley. "Alexander Wang Sweatshop Lawsuit Dismissed." Fashionista. N.p., 15

Aug. 2012. Web. 9 May 2017.

Web. 9 May 2017.

N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2017.

"Sweatshops." Encyclopedia of Management. Encyclopedia.com, n.d. Web. 9 May 2017.

challenges." Thestar.com. N.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 May 2017.

Web. 14 May 2017.

"The Slaves of Dubai." Vice. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2017.

N.p., 22 Mar. 2011. Web. 9 May 2017.

Writer, Leaf Group. "Why Do Companies Need to Go Overseas?" Chron.com.

Chron.com, 26 Oct. 2016. Web. 9 May 2017.

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