Exploitation, Women, and Lower Prices?

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by a various of sources, such dangerous conditions continue to exist in Third World country factors that are owned by MNCs. In these conditions, not only do these workers develop problems with their sight, respiratory system, but also their mental health. In the opening paragraph of “Sweatshops are the norm in the global apparel industry. We’re standing up to change that” we are given a plentiful of accounts of which workers are abused. Throughout the years 2012 and 2015 the world has seen some of the largest garment industry disasters on global record. This article refers to the Ali Enterprises fire in Pakistan in September 2012, the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh in April 2013, and the Kentex factory fire in the Philippines in May 2015. The Ali Enterprises fire in Pakistan killed nearly 300 workers, and much of this was caused by being trapped behind locked exit doors. In the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh, the building was clearly unsafe as the owner had illegally constructed upper floors to house garment factories employing several thousand workers causing the building to collapse and killing 1,127 people. And the Kentex factory fire in the Philippines killed over 70 people after an explosion because iron grilles reinforced with fencing wire covered windows on the second floor that could easily prevent small animals from escaping. Additionally, David Barboza concurs this as well in his article “In Chinese Factories, Lost Fingers and Low Pay.” Barboza claims that “while American and European consumers worry about exposing their children to Chinese-made toys coated in lead, Chinese workers, often as young as 16, face far more serious hazards,” he reports the hazards in factories located by the Pearl River Delta region near Hong Kong are that state factory workers lose or break about 40,000 fingers on the job every year, and some of these workers are as young as sixteen. Furthermore, Anup Shah proclaims that companies like Nestle and other baby foods companies put pressure on “governments not to introduce strong codes. Gabon, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe came under pressure in 1997 and 1998.” If these codes were stronger than problems addressed in Garrett D. Brown’s article, “The Global Threats to Workers’ Health and Safety on the Job,” would be avoided. Hazards such as: “lack effective safety programs and employee training, lack engineering controls or personal protective equipment for chemical exposures, lack machine guarding, lack effective controls for noise, heat stress and ergonomics, and usually lack trained professionals to develop and manage safety programs.” Which lead one to question whether society should allow for corporations to, in a way, govern a nation by pressuring developing nations to allow these kinds of environments.

This essay further proves the claim Ehrenreich and Fuentes argue in their article “Life on the Global Assembly Line” which was written in the 1980s as women continue to be taken advantage of to this day by MNC in Third World countries. There has been little signs of improvements of standards for Third World country workers’ after many decade of this article being published. And because of the lack of change,should one take it upon themselves to become educated on this topic and avoid buying from MNCs? This essay would urge one to.

Works Cited

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Powell, Benjamin W., and David B. Sharbek. "Sweatshops and Third World Living Standards: Are the Jobs Worth the Sweat?: Publications: The Independent Institute." Sweatshops and Third World Living Standards: Are the Jobs Worth the Sweat?: Publications: The Independent Institute. Independent Institute, 24 Sept. 2004. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.independent.org/publications/working_papers/article.asp?id=1369>.

Seigle, Lucy. "Britain’s Appetite for Fast Fashion Is Pushing Workers into Starvation Conditions." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/08/fashion-sweatshops-lucy-siegle-comment>.

Shah, Anup. "Corporations and Worker’s Rights." Global Issues. N.p., 28 May 2006. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/57/corporations-and-workers-rights>.

Walsh, Declan, and Steven Greenhouse. "Inspectors Certified Pakistani Factory as Safe Before Disaster." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/world/asia/pakistan-factory-passed-inspection-before-fire.html>.

Whaley, Floyd. "Death Toll in Philippine Factory Fire Climbs Above 70." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 May 2015. Web. 6 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/15/world/asia/death-toll-rises-in-valenzuela-philippines-factory-fire.html>.

Yardley, Jim. "Report on Deadly Factory Collapse in Bangladesh Finds Widespread Blame." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 May 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/asia/report-on-bangladesh-building-collapse-finds-widespread-blame.html>.