Janet CollinsThe China Factories
April 15th 2010 09:49
There should be no surprise about the reports today that companies used by Apple and Microsoft in China have been forcing their workers to put in 80 hours a week or more for as little as 52c an hour. It is something that market forces and competition encourage.
For decades now stories have emerged frequently about top brand clothing companies doing much the same. In many instances people called out for a boycott on the goods under question.
The trouble is that everything now from clothes to household good to electronics and even technology is either made or assembled in China or anywhere where there is little workforce regulation. There is no way of boycotting brands that have production involving slave-labour or even child labour without doing without technology altogether.
The story today in The Sydney Morning Herald claimed that Microsoft and Apple have both distanced themselves from the allegations, Apple saying that the company contracted to them were ignoring the maxiumum 60-hours a week rule.
The report about these factories went further citing prison-like conditions for workers and students often as young as 15 working these extreme hours in these harsh conditions.
Competition, that whole idea about giving the consumer the best price, is all about cutting costs. That means labour costs too.
Until we all get into a different mindset about cheap goods and take more concern about the harsh conditions many suffer all to get it to market at a cheap price, these conditions will prevail.
Sourced: www.smh.com.au
Image credit: The Sydney Morning Herald
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Comment by Chris Champion
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I have no doubt that abuses, harassment and unscrupulous behaviour take place in China, but there are always two sides to a story.
China is a divided country. Twenty years ago, 90 per cent of Chinese were poor. Today it is perhaps 50 percent, and the change is continuing rapidly.
But there is a great divide - the rich live in the big cities, and the poor live in the rural areas. The wealth being generated by the deregulated economy and markets is filtering through the Chinese socio-economic layers and demographies. It is filtering quickly in economic terms, but slowly in sociological terms.
Too slowly for many rural dwellers, especially the younger ones, and they have for years now been flocking to the cities in search of the much-publicised growing wealth on offer.
Economically speaking, it is a predictable pattern. In Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and much of the developed Middle East, Filipino, Indonesian and Indian workers do the menial, low-paid tasks - the men on construction sites and the women in factories and in domestic duties.
In California and other areas of the US, Hispanics do the housework of the rich. In Australia, how many lowly-paid jobs such as taxi drivers and fast-food servers are being done by Indian students, African immigrants and young people travelling the world?
In China, as in all of the above, there is choice. Terms like slave labour and prison conditions are emotive - the pay and conditions may seem atrocious to the privileged first world, yet people eagerly accept those jobs. What we see as slave labour, they see as opportunity. They may be earning a pittance, but it's a lot more than they could be earning back in the village or on the farm, and it's enough that a lot of them send some of that money back home every month.
It is, as you say, something that market forces and competition encourage, but that is a positive thing.
As I said, there will always be unscrupulous behaviour along the way, but generally what you have described in this post is free market economics working as it should.
Comment by Janet Collins
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That, to me, is why free market economics is so wrong, wrong, wrong.
Yes, it does happen everywhere but that doesn't make it right. Australia operated like that in the 19th century and that led to the creation of the Australian Labour Movement that grew so strong it became a political party, now known as the ALP.
All the good that was achieved for workers in the early 20th century has now been eroded away because, yes, it happens here too.
And might I point out that the selling of the free market economic model also came along with the promise that the wealth would "trickle down"! What a con!
The amounts they are being paid and the conditions in which they are forced to work led to a report by the human rights group, Sorry, I had trouble linking it but it was linked in the SMH article.
It may be more than they could get in their rural areas which is probably nothing, but something being better than nothing is not good enough.
What happened to the belief that everyone should earn "a decent days pay for a decent days work"?
Thank you for the visit and for reading the post.
Comment by Chris Champion
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The trickle-down effect is not a con. It is a fundamental truth in developing market economics. Why else would so many people in China be wealthier today on any objective scale than 20 years ago?
Comment by Janet Collins
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I have never thought a deregulated market is something that any civilised society should adopt. It is almost like kidding ourselves that everyone will do the right thing. If we believe that way, perhaps we should get rid of police, laws and everything else that is there to protect us. Workers need protecting from unscrupulous employers no matter where they are.
Comment by Anonymous
and cutting costs is a lame way to keep on
"producing" lesser and lesser quality.
Of course we all know that once you get
used to that you won't even complaint
about quality anymore. And that's what the
money slaves are and will.
Comment by Wilson Pon
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WoW, I can't hardly imagine, how can the workers survive with such low monthly income!
Guess this is one of the bad effects of capitalism...
Comment by islandaddy
They need what built this great land--Good trade UNIONS! Yes, they might have overstepped their boundries here but they raised your salary too. If the laborer gets thirty bucks an hour the estimator, equipment operator, truck driver, book-keeper, shop owners and sales staff need more to keep up. Did I mention the greedy bank manager, mortgage broker, engineer, architect doctor or dentist? ,
Comment by Janet Collins
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It certainly is the downside of capitalism. I have nothing against companies making as much money as they can providing they pay workers properly and provide a suitable environment for them to work in.
To some it might seem that I am being a bit idealistic but we are in the 21st century. Certainly humans have grown up enough to respect individuals enough to give them at least that.
Thank you for dropping in.
Comment by Janet Collins
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There's always a lot said about the greedy people at the top. I am sure they are not ALL that way but a lot of conscience has been lost in the quest for top profits.
You would think the global economic crisis, if nothing else, would have jolted people into a more social employment system. It doesn't appear that it has.
Thank you for the visit.
Comment by Readbaron
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All of the great tourist attritions in the world have one thing in common – they were built by slave labor, but we still line up and pay money to see them.
Labeled brand names must or should have the country of origin. If it is made in China it is your choice, but the thing to remember is that low wages is better than no wages.
To put millions out of work is even worse than getting things on the cheap. China is advancing at an amazing rate and will soon overtake most countries of the world. As many readers have already said – things will level out.
Having been in and out of China and watch it change over the last fifty years, it will soon overtake America even in the average wage, just give it time. Market forces sort things out far better than democracy ever could. The problem is really badly lead unions, lobbyists, the media and the ignorance of politicians and a gullible public. .
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Comment by Janet Collins
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I am always hearing this one - usually from bosses from businesses that pay them millions in bonuses a year.
This was said in the 80s too - the good old "self-correcting market". Instead it just got a lot more out of control as everyone in the world has just witnessed.
I can't believe that some people can now still think that people who work in white collars in the big banks and corporations are naturally going to do what is best for the world rather than what makes them individually so rich.
I have no issue about people being wealthy I just think there should be rules and regulations about how they operate and these include employment regulations too.
As yes, it happens everywhere and has happened forever. That doesn't make it right.
Thank you for visiting and commenting.