2014 TAINANMUN IV
Forum: Human Rights Council
Issue: The Question of Labor Rights in Sweatshops (202)
Student Officer: Ray Li
I.
Introduction
On 24 April 2013, an eight-story building named Rana Plaza in Bangladesh
collapsed with some 3,500 garment workers inside. The deadliest disaster in the
history of the garment industry claimed 1132 lives and injured thousands of others,
the majority of whom are women under the age of 30. According to the Bangladesh
Fire Service and Civil Defense, the upper 4 floors of the Rana Plaza garment factory
were built illicitly. What’s more, the factory managers of Rana Plaza were reported to
have threatened their employees to toil for long hours under appalling working
conditions and even cut their meager wages 1 if requirements were not met. On May
1st, the International Workers’ Day, the survivors of Rana Plaza and victims’ families
staged a protest against the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA), and the protest ended after BGMEA promised financial
assistance and other benefits to victims and their families. However, seven months
after the devastating collapse in Bangladesh, many survivors have serious injuries that
have prevented them from returning to work. Most of the victims are still awaiting
compensation and have not received legal benefits from their employers since the
collapse.
The Rana Plaza disaster focused global attention on hazardous conditions in
Bangladesh’s powerful garment industry and has shone some light into the murky
business of global sweatshops.
Sweatshops employ millions of people in deplorable conditions around the
world, while their employers profit in the billions. These modern day slaves are barely
able to survive and are subject to extreme exploitation, faced with unsafe working
conditions, and threatened with verbal or physical abuse.
Countries worldwide are now attempting to enforce legislations on labor rights
to stop sweatshops and address the problem of related violations. The U.S.
Department of Labor, for example, has applied more than 180 federal laws concerning
1
The garment workers of the Rana Plaza factories were paid starvation wages－14 to 26 cents (USD)
an hour.
1
employers and workers. Nevertheless, while some labor and human rights activists
call for the end of sweatshops, some defend sweatshops in developing countries,
arguing that the outsourcing of manufacturing labor from rich countries to poor ones
has lifted millions out of extreme poverty. Are sweatshops good for countries with
widespread poverty, because they give people job opportunities to survive? Or the
indispensible human rights of these ill-fated garment workers a top priority? In a
world where some benefit from sweatshops whereas some suffer terribly, careful
attention must be paid to the issue concerning human rights in sweatshops.
II. Definition of Key Terms
Sweatshop
A sweatshop 2 is a manufacturing facility that provides low or subsistence
wages under harsh working conditions, such as long hours, unhealthy conditions,
and/or an oppressive environment.
Free trade
Free trade is a policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic
affairs of individuals and society. It occurs when goods and services can be bought
and sold between countries or sub-national regions without tariffs, quotas or other
restrictions being applied.
Occupational Safety and Health
Occupational safety and health is a worker’s well-being that is not damaged by
the hazards in his or her working environment.
Child labor
Child labor refers to the participation of children in a wide variety of situations
to earn a livelihood for themselves or for others. It subjects a child to economic
exploitation or interferes with the child’s education, or is harmful to the child’s health
or physical, mental, or social development.
2
There is no single definition of what a sweatshop is. The U.S. General Accounting Office defines a
sweatshop as “an employer that violates more than one federal or state law governing minimum wage
and overtime, child labor, industrial homework, occupational safety and health, workers compensation,
or industry regulation.”
2
Minimum wage
The Minimum wage, typically established by contract or legislation by the
government, is a minimum rate of pay that employers are legally obliged to pay their
employees for doing a specified type of work. The minimum wage attempts to protect
employees from exploitation, allowing them to afford the basic necessities of life. The
minimum wage rate fluctuates between countries, and sometimes between states or
provinces. Compared to the living wage, which is an estimated wage to maintain a
normal standard of living, the minimum wage is officially defined.
Table 1: Minimum wages around the globe per month in US dollars, 2012
Country
Monthly minimum wage (USD)
Bangladesh
N.A.
Brazil
326
Canada
1793
Cambodia
61
China
186
Dominican Republic
157
France
1803
Germany
2949
Guatemala
194
India
49
Indonesia
147
Italy
1555
Japan
1782
Kenya
83
Mexico
125
Pakistan
84
Russian Federation
147
South Africa
N.A.
Sweden
2699
Thailand
173
The Philippines
256
United Kingdom
2071
United States
1256
Vietnam
40
3
Source: International Labor Organization
Working Conditions Laws Report 2012: a global review 3
* See the report for more information on monthly minimum wages by country and
region.
III. Current Situation
A sweatshop is a workplace that possess three major characteristics－long
hours, low pay, and unsafe or unhealthy working conditions. Though the existence of
sweatshops may increase the chance of economic growth, to call a workplace a
sweatshop implies that the working conditions are illegitimate and immoral.
3.1 The malign effects sweatshops produce on labor rights
Unreasonable wages and working hours
To reach expected production levels and maintain their competitive edge, major
corporations take advantage of low-cost sweatshop labor in developing countries or
even the developed nations such as the United States. Factory managers typically
pressure employees into working 10-12 hours per day, and sometimes 16 to 18-hour
workdays with hours increasing as order deadlines approach. These employees are
denied the legal minimum wage, overtime pay and even severance pay when being
laid off involuntarily, thus falling victim to working overtime while struggling for
pays that fail to meet their basic everyday needs.
Poor and unsafe occupational environment
Many sweatshop employees work under inhumane and hazardous conditions.
Long hours of repetitive work often lead to undiagnosed injuries. There is often no
clean drinking water available and workers are often not permitted to use the toilet.
Worse yet, employees also risk their lives. They work in stiflingly hot working
environment, or are exposed to toxic substances without proper protective gears.
Other characteristics of unacceptable working conditions include inadequate
emergency exits, fire hazards, overcrowding, or failure to inspect the premises. In the
Rana Plaza tragedy, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association verified that there were 3122 workers in the building by the time it
3
http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/2013/113B09_253_engl.pdf
4
collapsed. The poorly constructed building trapped workers in factories without
adequate emergency exits and forced some to jump to their deaths.
Verbal, mental, physical and other abuses
Men and women alike are subject to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse in
factories from their managers and supervisors. Every worker, faced with work quota
every single day, might be the target of abuse because of unsatisfactory performance.
Supervisors of a sweatshop under Nike, for instance, were reported in 2011 to have
abused their workers by kicking, slapping and calling them animals after the workers
had committed processing mistakes 4. Bangladeshi workers were physically abused
and threatened while working in sweatshops run by some of Australia’s best-known
retailers. They were even told they would be killed if they protested against working
conditions. In a report titled “Sexual Predators and Serial Rapists Run Wild at
Wal-Mart Supplier in Jordan,” many Sri Lankan women shared their accounts of
being sexually and physically abused by their superiors while working for Classic
Fashion 5. As people place increased emphasis on labor rights, cases of abuse in
sweatshops under globally renowned brands keep being unveiled.
Ill-treatment of child, migrant and female workers
Children are employed in sweatshops because they work for less money and are
less likely to complain about illegal and unjust conditions and more importantly, they
are less likely to organize unions. Therefore, children often sit atop the good choices
of employers in sweatshops. To relieve family burden, these children are forced to
work with paltry wages, denied a normal childhood and education. Their workplace is
unsanitary, poorly lit and poorly ventilated. Clean drinking water and health services
are also unavailable. Under these conditions, children are more at risk of catching
illnesses and diseases. In September, 2013, a trend report 6 released from the
International Labor Organization (ILO) revealed that in 2012 there were 120,453,000
children, aged 5 to 14 years old, involved in the child labor－43.8% in Asia and the
4
MailOnline “Nike workers ‘kicked, slapped and verbally abused’ at factories making Converse.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2014325/Nike-workers-kicked-slapped-verbally-abused-factor
ies-making-Converse-line-Indonesia.html
5
Classic/Jordan－Sweatshop Abuse, Sexual Predators
http://www.globallabourrights.org/campaigns?id=0036
6
ILO “Global child labour trends 2008 to 2012”
http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/viewProduct.do;jsessionid=ae2a24f6242f92a5e1bc58595b5a3d10a
b541d8b77d308c90a41373b2014ee1f.e3aTbhuLbNmSe34MchaRah8Sbxz0?productId=23015
5
Pacific, 39.6% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 6.6% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and
10.0% in other regions. Cases of child labor in sweatshops have been disclosed as
well. Nike has been accused of using child labor in the production of its soccer balls
in Pakistan. A Samsung factory in China was discovered to exploit underage child
labor. These children labored under hazardous conditions, working 11 hours a day, 26
to 28 days a month to produce electronic gadgets for Samsung, which is the same
workload as adult workers at the factory. Surprisingly and sadly, these children only
receive 70% of a formal worker’s pay. (See Table 2, 3 and 4 for further information on
child labor.)
In terms of abuses in sweatshops, female workers are no better than child
laborers. According to Feminist Majority Foundation, 85% of the sweatshop workers
are women aged 15-25. Female workers also have to endure low wages,
verbal/physical abuse, excessive working weeks, and humiliation. What’s worse,
frequently subjected to sexual harassments, women are forced to take birth control
and do periodic pregnancy tests so that companies do not have to pay maternity leave.
Women are particularly discriminated against once they decide to start, or already
have, families. Some employers will only hire unmarried women with no children and
some make each female worker sign a contract that they agree not to have children
during their term of employment.
In addition to child and female laborers, migrant workers also play an important
role in global sweatshops. They are employed throughout the garment and textile
supply chains around the world. For instance, India’s success in the global garments
market lies in its predominantly female and migrant labor force. Other countries like
Taiwan and Malaysia have long relied on migrant workers from neighboring countries
and make a name for themselves as garment manufacturing centers. Migrant workers
are found in garment factories located in Europe, the U.S. and Australia as well.
Like child and female workers in sweatshops, migrant workers toil for long
hours under harsh working conditions. Facing dire need of money to cover everyday
necessities or pay off debts, many migrant workers are lured by recruiters who
promise wonderful opportunities in foreign lands. Hence, migrant workers are often
recruited by illicit means such as human trafficking or human smuggling, and are left
unregistered. More often than not, legal migrant workers from abroad often risk losing
their legal status upon dismissal, while undocumented laborers live in fear every
single day of being arrested in the host countries. Staggering under the weight of
6
wavering working status and stringent finances, migrant workers cannot but docilely
bear the repressive conditions and ill treatment.
Table 2: Global estimates of child labor by major age group, 2008 to 2012
Major age group
Child labor 2008
Child labor 2012
5-11
91,024,000
73,072,000
12-14
61,826,000
47,381,000
Total 5-14
152,850,000
120,453,000
Total 15-17
62,419,000
47,503,000
Total 5-17
215,269,000
167,956,000
Table 3: Regional estimates of various forms of children’s work, 5-14 years old,
2008 and 2012
Children
Child labor
World
2008
1,216,854,000
152,850,000
2012
1,221,071,000
120,453,000
2008
651,815,000
81,443,000
2012
637,579,000
52,702,000
2008
110,566,000
9,722,000
2012
110,035,000
7,924,000
2008
205,319,000
52,229,000
2012
220,077,000
47,735,000
2008
249,154,000
9,456,000
2012
253,380,000
12,091,000
Asia and the Pacific
Latin America and the
Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
Other regions
7
Table 4: Global child labor by level of national income, 2012
National income
Total number of children
Child labor
%
Low income
330,257,000
74,394,000
22.5
Lower middle income
902,174,000
81,306,000
9.0
Upper income
197,977,000
12,256,000
6.2
High income
155,159,000
N.A.
N.A.
*It can be observed that the incidence of child labor decreases with level of national
income.
Lack of the right to organize
With numerous intolerable abuses happening in sweatshops worldwide, a labor
union is crucial for ensuring that workers achieve a living wage and decent working
conditions. The collaborative voice allows workers to express their concerns, address
problems confronted in the workplace and defend their rights. However, the right to
organize or form a union is relentlessly deprived. Sweatshop laborers are prohibited
from unionizing, and face the loss of their job, physical abuse, or deportation if they
try to fight for a better working environment. Hence, intimidated workers have no
choice but to endure the poor occupational environment and continue to suffer.
3.2 Positions on Sweatshops
Pro-sweatshop arguments
While most people believe sweatshops have destructive effects on human rights,
some regard their existence as necessary and beneficial. For example, the Nobel
Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman once argued that sweatshops “move hundreds
of millions of people from abject poverty to something still awful but nonetheless
significantly better… [so] the growth of sweatshop employment is tremendous good
news for the world’s poor.” Nicholas Kristof, a renowned journalist and winner of
two Pulitzer Prizes, takes up the same stance, commenting that sweatshops are an
unpleasant but necessary stage in industrial development. He further argues that
sweatshop labor is an improvement over most alternatives in extremely poor countries,
providing jobs and boosting economies. “Talk to these families in the dumps [of
8
Phnom Penh, Cambodia], and a job in a sweatshop is a cherished dream, an escalator
out of poverty, the kind of gauzy if probably unrealistic ambition that parents
everywhere often have for their children.” Others who also defend sweatshops claim
that, throughout history sweatshops are an inevitable process of economic growth and
help raise living standards. Moreover, workers in developing countries do what they
are proficient at and their counterparts in developed countries take jobs they can
perform much better. Sweatshop supporters even urge people to see the issue from the
laborers’ perspective, stating that workers, if losing the chance to work in sweatshops,
will stay unemployed or trapped in extremely physically-demanding jobs or even
prostitution.
Anti-sweatshop arguments
Since sweatshop workers earn pays far lower than the price of the product they
make, or even lower than the legal minimum wage, those opposing the existence of
sweatshops contend that sweatshops neither protect the rights of workers nor alleviate
poverty. Some even assert that before sweatshops marched into the developing
countries, citizens had better-paid jobs and better environment to live in. In addition,
they do not consider sweatshops a necessary evil, maintaining that countries
worldwide should stop buying and selling products from sweatshops.
Despite different positions on sweatshops, the fact that workers in sweatshops
suffer from exploitation still holds true, and it is necessary for us to safeguard their
fundamental human rights and provide them with better occupational environment.
IV. Timeline of Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events
1830
The concept of sweatshops was formed and only produced basic garments
such as sweaters.
1850
Sweatshops attracted immigrants to places like London and New York
︱
City’s “sweatshop districts” which were located at the lower east side of the
1900
city. But these sweatshops were unhygienic and workers were crowded into
small and compact rooms.
1895
The National Anti-Sweating League was inaugurated in Melbourne. Their
efforts contributed to wage regulation via the Factory Act.
1906
The National Anti-Sweating League was formed in London. It helped
9
achieve the minimum wage criteria in the UK in 1909.
1910
The Union for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers was founded to
protect the rights and improve the conditions for the women workers.
1919
International Labor Organization (ILO) was established.
1930
ILO Forced Labour Convention
1938
Fair Labor Standards Act by the United states
1948
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise
Convention
1949
ILO Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
ILO Migration for Employment Convention
1950
The European Union European Convention on Human Rights
1951
ILO Equal Remuneration Convention
1957
ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
1958
ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
The European Union Treaties on the functioning of the European Union
1961
The European Union European Social Charter
1973
ILO Minimum Age for Admission to Employment Convention
1975
ILO Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention
1989
The European Union Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights
of Workers
1990
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
The United Nations International Convention on the Protection of Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW)
1999
ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour
2006
ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration: Non-binding principles
and guidelines for a rights-based approach to labour migration
2007
ECOSOC Resolution 2007/2: The role of the United Nations system in
providing full and productive employment and decent work for all
2008
HRC Resolution 8/7 Resolution: Mandate of the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational
corporations and other business enterprises
ECOSOC Resolution 2008/18: Promoting full employment and decent work
for all
10
2011
HRC Resolution 17/4: Human rights and transnational corporations and
other business enterprises
2012
HRC Resolution 21/5: Contribution of the United Nations system as a
whole to the advancement of the business and human rights agenda and the
dissemination and implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business
and Human Rights
V. Major Countries and Organizations Involved
The United Nations
The UN, acting as a significant international organization concerning global
affairs, has made a concerted effort to protect workers’ human rights. In the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), it proclaims that everyone has the right to
work, to just and favorable conditions of work, to form and to join trade unions for the
protection of his interests in Article 23. In Article 24 it further points out that
“Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working
hours and periodic holidays with pay.” In Article 25 the UN guarantees workers the
right to standard of living adequate for the health and well-being. Motherhood and
childhood are also entitled to special care and assistance.
Besides UDHR, in 1990, the UN passed two conventions that address the rights
of the vulnerable workers in sweatshops－children and migrant workers. The
UNCRC, for instance, states in Article 27 that “states parties recognize the right of
every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual,
moral and social development.” Sweatshops exploiting child labor obviously conflict
with the declaration. The ICMW, which concerns the basic rights of migrant workers
and their families, also declares in Article 7 that “states parties undertake, in
accordance with the international instruments concerning human rights, to respect and
to ensure to all migrant workers and members of their families within their territory or
subject to their jurisdiction the rights provided for in the present Convention without
distinction of any kind such as to sex, race, colour, language, religion or conviction,
political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic
position, property, marital status, birth or other status.”
11
The UN has also passed resolutions regarding labor rights. For example, in
2007, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) passed the resolution 2007/2
which specified the importance of promoting full, productive employment and decent
work, calling on the funds, programs and agencies of the UN to closely cooperate
with the ILO 7. After a year ECOSOC, following its resolution 2007/2, passed another
resolution 2008/18, which lay increased emphasis on the employment rights of
children, women as well as migrants, and the eradication of poverty and hunger. In
addition, the resolutions from the Human Rights Council (HRC), A/HRC/8/7 in 2008
and A/HRC/17/4 in 2011, further stressed that multinational corporations must respect
human rights and encouraged transnational enterprises and national human rights
institutions to hold dialogues on the issue relating to labor rights.
However, though the resolutions, declarations and conventions mentioned
above have come into force, the issue of labor rights in sweatshops is evidently not
well-addressed. To promote the well-being of laborers, the UN should take more
effective measures.
International Labor Organization (ILO)
The International Labor Organization (ILO), specialized agency of the UN, is
an international organization dedicated to promoting social justice and internationally
recognized human and labor rights. Established in 1919 following World War I by the
Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League of Nations, the ILO became
the first affiliated specialized agency of the UN 8 in 1946 and was awarded Nobel
Peace Prize in 1969 in recognition of its extraordinary achievements. The ILO holds
the belief, as expressed in the Preamble to the ILO Constitution, that international
peace can be established only if it is based on social justice, and that the failure of any
nation to adopt humane conditions of labor is an obstacle in the way of other nations
which desire to improve conditions in their own countries. Today, the ILO brings
together governments to make new laws and regulations to help advance the creation
of decent work and bring livelihoods, job-related security and better living standards
to the people of both poor and rich countries.
7
Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work, ILO
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/dgo/selecdoc/2007/toolkit.pdf
8
185 of the 193 UN member states are members of the ILO.
12
ILO’s stance on sweatshops can be seen from its Abolition of Forced Labour
Convention 9, aimed at the abolishment of certain forms of forced labor. For instance,
Article 1 states that “each Member of the International Labour Organisation which
ratifies this Convention undertakes to suppress and not to make use of any form of
forced or compulsory labour as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes
of economic development.” Apparently, sweatshops, which exploit forced laborers,
violate the convention and therefore are of considerable concern to ILO.
The U.S
The U.S. has devoted considerable efforts to combating the human rights
problems faced by workers and enacted significant legislations on minimum wages,
child labor, health and safety laws. However, scores of sweatshops slip under the
radar of the U.S. government. For example, several cases were mentioned in
“Encyclopedia of Business: sweatshop.”
In a 1994, U.S. Department of Labor spot check of garment operations in
California found that 93% had health and safety violations, 73% of the
garment makers had improper payroll records, 68% did not pay appropriate
overtime wages, and 51% paid less than the minimum wage.
Even in 2000, over 11,000 sweatshops in the U.S. violated the minimum wage
and overtime standards and over 16,000 sweatshops did not meet health and safety
standards. Factories belonging to leading brands and retail corporations such as
Wal-Mart and Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F), have a notorious history of labor rights
violations 10.
Indeed, labor rights violation is a serious concern in the U.S, especially when it
comes to migrant workers. A study11 in 2009 jointly conducted by different renowned
organizations indicated widespread violations, including deplorable working
conditions and illegal employer retaliations against workers demanding labor rights.
9
As of 2013, the convention has been ratified by 174 countries with two countries, Malaysia and
Singapore, denouncing it.
10
Wal-Mart Campaign, International Labor Rights Forum
http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/wal-mart-campaign
11
Sweatshop Conditions in US Cities http://www.globalresearch.ca/sweatshop-conditions-in-us-cities
13
Despite of the fact that the US government makes considerable efforts to
protect labor rights, the problem of sweatshops still persists. It is both important and
urgent for the U.S. to figure out how to comprehensively tackle this complex issue.
China
A powerhouse in the global economy, China has leapt toward a prominent status
in the world trade, supported by its substantial number of low-priced laborers that
have drawn tons of foreign investments. For instance, in 2010-2011 when East Asia
took up 45.5% of total world apparel exports, China alone accounted for 35.1%. Yet,
in spite of the rapid growth of the Chinese economy in the last decade, more than 482
million people in China – 36% of the population – live on less than $2 a day. The poor
live in rural areas and extreme poverty, which forces many of them to leave home to
seek employment in urban areas. There are approximately 150 million internal
migrant workers in China who become outcasts without access to any state benefits or
protection. They have to endure appalling working conditions such as excessive
overtime, extremely low wages, denial of social security rights and failure to provide
employment contracts. Furthermore, these workers are deprived of the freedom of
association to form trade unions and non-governmental labor organizations are closely
monitored.
Interestingly enough, China’s explosive economic growth has also transformed
its role in global trade. Growing from a recipient to a giver, China is now becoming a
significant international investor. Countries that are rich in resources and cheap labor
such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos have attracted investors from China.
For example, Chinese investors are predominant among the investors in the
Cambodian garment industry in 2011, and they have begun to march toward Vietnam
as well 12. China’s attitudes toward labor rights protection thus decide the fate of
millions of sweatshop workers at home and abroad.
South Asia
The issue concerning sweatshops has also stirred up controversy in south Asia. In
12
Working Papers in Trade and Development－Australian National University
https://crawford.anu.edu.au/acde/publications/publish/papers/wp2013/wp_econ_2013_16.pdf
14
2010, the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) released a report 13 for Foulball
Campaign, which reveals labor rights violations in Pakistan and India. According to
the report, both countries have enacted legislation to guarantee labor rights. For
example, India has massive laws that regulate the industrial labor relations system,
while the Industrial and Commercial Employment Ordinance in Pakistan states the
definition of a permanent workman.
Despite legal enactments covering labor rights, these laws, in reality, do not
come to the sweatshop workers’ rescue, women and children in particular, and their
labor rights protection has been criticized as “among the most restrictive and complex
in the world” by the World Bank. In one Pakistani manufactory, ILRF found all the
interviewed workers were temporarily employed and denied healthcare or social
security welfare. In India, labor rights laws are enforced only under specific working
conditions. Other unfair treatments like child labor and unreasonable wages are
ubiquitous. After working a full day, usually for 10-15 hours, the children producing
soccer balls could only earn a best $0.07 per one, and that is 40 times less than its
retail price. In Bangladesh, factory workers face adverse conditions as well. Besides
earning a pittance, many are forced to work long hours a day seven days a week. On
top of this, workers face unsafe, cramped and hazardous conditions which often lead
to work injuries and factory fires, as what happened in the Rana Plaza disaster. Sexual
harassment and discrimination are widespread and the formation of trade unions is
strictly prohibited. Considering the alarming situation in sweatshops, there is no doubt
that countries in South Asia should pay urgent and close attention to the issue and
address problems regarding comprehensive labor law and cases of workers’ rights
violations.
Southeast Asia
As the markets in Southeast Asia grow and attract numerous foreign investments,
Countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam are
undergoing inevitable transformations to boost their economy and are becoming “the
new garment-sweatshop capital of the world.”
In fact, these countries are notorious for their forced laborers working for
13
Missed the Goal for Workers－International Labor Rights Forum
http://www.laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications-and-resources/Soccer-Report2010.pdf
15
globally-renowned brands like Nike, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), United
Colors of Benetton and so on. According to a report of the International Textile
Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF), contracted factories under
famous brands were “routinely breaking every rule in the book when it comes to
labour rights.” In spite of the workers’ pain and suffering, these countries choose to
overlook the violations of sweatshops on labor rights and pay extremely low wages to
remain competitive in the world trade market. Organizations such as ILO and Human
Rights Watch have been striving hard to free these sweatshop workers. In addition to
their efforts, though, Southeast Asian countries should also care more about labor
rights in sweatshops.
Central and South America
Similar to Southeast Asia, cheap laborers in Central and South America have
also attracted foreign investors from the U.S. The North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), for example, aimed to attain free trade and was finally passed.
Hence, U.S manufacturers can easily relocate their factories to Mexico for even
cheaper labor. However, criticism about NAFTA’s impact on working conditions and
labor rights has been raised over the years. Global Exchange, an international human
rights organization, pointed out that in Mexico the workers in garment-making
industry earned fewer wages after tons of sweatshops marched in 14.
Then followed the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and
the fruitless Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Both of the agreements make it
possible for manufacturers to move with ease and recruit low-priced labor abroad.
Nonetheless, serious cases of exploitation in sweatshops are often reported in Central
and South America, be it Haiti, Guatemala or Dominican Republic.
VI. Previous Attempted Solutions
See table 5 for previous attempted solutions to the question of labor rights in
sweatshops.
14
CAFTA and the Scourge of Sweatshops－Global Exchanges
http://www.globalexchange.org/resources/cafta/sweatshops
16
Table 5: Attempted solutions concerning labor rights in sweatshops
The United
The European
International Labour
Nations
Union
Organization
Convention on the
European
Rights of the Child
Convention on
(UNCRC)
Human Rights
International
Treaties of the
Convention on the
functioning of the
Protection of Rights
European Union
Forced Labour Convention
Discrimination (Employment and
Occupation) Convention
of All Migrant
Workers and
European Social
Minimum Age for Admission to
Members of Their
Charter
Employment Convention
Families (ICMW)
Migration for Employment
ECOSOC Resolution
Convention
2007/2
Right to Organise and Collective
Bargaining Convention
ECOSOC Resolution
Community Charter
Convention on the Worst Forms of
2008/18
of the Fundamental
Child Labour
HRC Resolution
Social Rights of
8/7
Workers
Multilateral Framework on Labour
HRC Resolution
Migration: Non-binding principles
17/4
and guidelines for a rights-based
HRC Resolution
approach to labour migration
21/5
VII.
Possible Solutions
As the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh makes all too clear, the physically
toiling jobs in our global supply chain carry substantial risks for sweatshop workers.
We need lasting and comprehensive solutions to prevent further calamities. Business
enterprises, governments, the UN, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and
consumers all have to get involved to safeguard labor rights.
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In fact, the solutions to the question of sweatshops have a direct connection with
the attitude of business corporations. By adopting appropriate measures, business
enterprises can effectively prevent laborers from exploitation or mistreatment.
Business enterprises have to cooperate with governments and abide by national labor
protection policies. To be more precise, a responsible corporation is expected to
provide reasonable wages, benefits and compensation such as health care, childcare
and pensions. Furthermore, it should create safe channels for workers’ discussion and
expression about work-related problems such as threats, mistreatment and
gender-based violence. More importantly, a structurally safe working environment
without occupational hazards, and adequate legal protection at work that prevent
harassment and discrimination are absolutely necessary.
If business corporations fail to provide a worker-friendly environment,
consumers, national governments, international governmental organizations, and
NGOS have to stand out and help combat exploitation and ensure fair and humane
treatment for everyone involved in the supply chain. For instance, governments
should be held accountable for establishing legal protections for workers’ rights and
advancement within the labor force and insure that workers’ risks are minimized at
work. International trade agreements must protect fundamental worker rights and
remain their enforcement powers. Similarly, NGOs advocate for better working
conditions, and raise people’s awareness about labor rights. In fact, many NGOs
encourage consumers to buy sweat-free products and, in the meantime, they stress that
workers need to be educated about their rights, including local labor laws.
Each contributor to the sweatshop problem has a role to play in the solution.
Working together, we can transform a sweatshop into a sanitary workplace that
provides fair wages, reasonable working hours, and the ability to organize, thus
stopping sweatshops and safeguarding human rights.
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Useful Links
1.
BBC
http://www.bbc.com/
2.
Business and Human Rights
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ISSUES/BUSINESS/Pages/BusinessIndex.aspx
3.
Clean Clothes Campaign
http://www.cleanclothes.org/
4.
CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/
5.
Do Something
http://www.dosomething.org/
6.
Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org/
7.
Green America
http://www.greenamerica.org/
8.
Historical Development of the Sweatshop－Todd Pugatch
http://www.unc.edu/~andrewsr/ints092/sweat.html
9.
Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights
http://www.globallabourrights.org/about?gclid=COjOsNrckrsCFcXFpAodVVgA
VQ
10. International Labour Organization
http://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
11. International Labor Rights Forum
http://www.laborrights.org/
12. Sweatfree Communities
http://www.sweatfree.org/
13. Sweatshops－Definitions, History, and Morality
http://home.sandiego.edu/~mzwolinski/Sweatshops_essay_web.pdf
14. The United Church of Christ－sweatshops
http://www.ucc.org/justice/sweatshops/sweatshops.html
15. The United Nations
http://www.un.org/en/
16. Worker Rights Consortium
http://www.workersrights.org/
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