Crossroads
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- Joined
- Apr 12, 2012
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So, I've recently been looking at this issue of 3rd world labor, after the factory collapse in Bangladesh that ended up killing more than one thousand people. It kind of shocked me into really caring about this issue. So I've been looking around the internet, and trying to do some basic research on the topic. One of the first sites I came across was "The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights".
Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
They have a large body of work on the subject, though it comes from a very leftist perspective to be sure, but if even half of their research is true, then something needs to be done.
One thing I WANT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY FIRST, is the horrible, inhumane argument usually put forth very quickly by conservatives and libertarians; "Although the workers in these countries are working in conditions what we may think to be horrible and getting paid very little, these jobs pay more than the local employment available". THIS is a completely shallow argument. It is THE EQUIVALENT of having an incredibly rich man, with a near unlimited supply of food surrounding him, giving the poor starving man next to him a few crumbs, and then justifying his actions by simply saying "well, it's still more than he would have had otherwise". That is NOT an answer to this issue. Also, it isn't even true in many cases. In Honduras, at the car factories owned by international companies, wages are around THE LOWEST WAGES IN THE COUNTRY.
The main points I want to put out there for debate are;
- The current situation of labor in most of these countries (Bangladesh, China, India, Central America etc) is unacceptable. Something needs to change.
- 1st world countries, governments and businesses, need to take an active step in addressing these issues, and put REAL pressure on these countries to allow for unions to organize, and for the installment of basic labor standards (for instance; those currently put forth by the International Labour Organization, of which 185 countries are members of)
- Legislation the US could pass: The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act - Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
- US citizens (and all citizens from wealthy countries) need to hold these corporations more accountable. In this day and age it is nearly impossible to have a normal existence without somehow benefiting from this 3rd world labor, but that doesn't mean we still can't work toward addressing at least some of these issues.
Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
They have a large body of work on the subject, though it comes from a very leftist perspective to be sure, but if even half of their research is true, then something needs to be done.
One thing I WANT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY FIRST, is the horrible, inhumane argument usually put forth very quickly by conservatives and libertarians; "Although the workers in these countries are working in conditions what we may think to be horrible and getting paid very little, these jobs pay more than the local employment available". THIS is a completely shallow argument. It is THE EQUIVALENT of having an incredibly rich man, with a near unlimited supply of food surrounding him, giving the poor starving man next to him a few crumbs, and then justifying his actions by simply saying "well, it's still more than he would have had otherwise". That is NOT an answer to this issue. Also, it isn't even true in many cases. In Honduras, at the car factories owned by international companies, wages are around THE LOWEST WAGES IN THE COUNTRY.
The main points I want to put out there for debate are;
- The current situation of labor in most of these countries (Bangladesh, China, India, Central America etc) is unacceptable. Something needs to change.
- 1st world countries, governments and businesses, need to take an active step in addressing these issues, and put REAL pressure on these countries to allow for unions to organize, and for the installment of basic labor standards (for instance; those currently put forth by the International Labour Organization, of which 185 countries are members of)
- Legislation the US could pass: The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act - Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
- US citizens (and all citizens from wealthy countries) need to hold these corporations more accountable. In this day and age it is nearly impossible to have a normal existence without somehow benefiting from this 3rd world labor, but that doesn't mean we still can't work toward addressing at least some of these issues.