Sweatshop Conditions and Treatment of Workers
The major issues concerning sweatshops are the treatment of employees and the conditions under which they work. Sweatshop workers worldwide are treated very badly. They are forced to labor for extremely long hours, yet receive very little pay in return. They also face numerous threats and abuses from their supervisors. Clearly, the employees do not work under ideal conditions and examples can be seen in the case of sweatshops in the country of Jordan and many others.
The article, “An Ugly Side of Free Trade: Sweatshops in Jordan,” focuses on horrific conditions found in some sweatshops located in Jordan. One issue in these sweatshops is long hours. Workers would often work almost 20 hours a day, seven days a week, amounting to a large amount of hours a week. Sometimes workers would even work as much as 48 hours straight. Their sleeping conditions were not very good as well. The sweatshops would cram 10 to 20 people in a small dorm room to sleep in. Many workers encountered issues with pay. They would not receive their salaries for months, and when they finally did, it was often for a month or so only. One worker said he was promised $120 a month, and after five months, he received a paycheck of only $50 for one of them. The pay received by workers was far less than the country’s instated minimum wage. Workers also receive no benefits, meaning they have no medical benefits if they get sick. Instead, they are usually punished by a decrease in pay.
Another issue was with workers from other countries who came in looking for work. Sometimes people would pay as much as $3000 to work in Jordan, only to have their passports confiscated when they got there, meaning they could not escape the country, or even go out on the streets, keeping them trapped inside the sweatshops. They also usually received much less pay than they were promised for their labor. The supervisors would threaten workers when they complained as well. Two workers actually stood up and demanded the money they earned. The supervisors were furious, and in punishment, they threw them in a jail cell for four days without any food and then forced them to leave the country.
Examples of similar conditions can be found in numerous other countries. In Honduras, the Hansoll factory, where Reebok makes its NFL and NBA jerseys, pays their workers, most of which are women in their twenties, up to 82 cents an hour (Picker). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average manufacturing wage in China is 64 cents an hour. That rate, however, assumes the employee worked 40 hours per week when in reality, a 60 to 100 hour workweek is much more common in China. That means that the real manufacturing wage is far less (Roberts). Clearly, sweatshops conditions are terrible worldwide.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to catch sweatshops in the act of committing these crimes. Although the Jordanian government inspects the sweatshops every once in a while, it is still hard to catch the supervisors. The supervisors train the workers to lie, so when they are interviewed by inspectors, they do not tell the truth about the pay and conditions. If the inspectors can’t find anything wrong, they cannot hold the sweatshops responsible. This makes it difficult to shut down sweatshops that promote these poor conditions and suffering.
Greenhouse, Steven, and Michael Barbaro. “An Ugly Side of Free Trade: Sweatshops in Jordan.” New York Times. 3 May 2006. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/business/worldbusiness/03clothing.html?_r=1>.
Picker, David. “Protest Calls for Pro Athletes to Help Stop Sweatshops.” New York Times. 23 July 2005. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=871186291&SrchMode=2&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&V&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1302057395&clientId=19935&cfc=1>.
Roberts, Dexter, and Pete Engardio. “Secrets, Lies, And Sweatshops.” Bloomberg Businessweek. 27 Nov. 2006. <http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/06_48/b4011001.htm?chan=gl>.
The article, “An Ugly Side of Free Trade: Sweatshops in Jordan,” focuses on horrific conditions found in some sweatshops located in Jordan. One issue in these sweatshops is long hours. Workers would often work almost 20 hours a day, seven days a week, amounting to a large amount of hours a week. Sometimes workers would even work as much as 48 hours straight. Their sleeping conditions were not very good as well. The sweatshops would cram 10 to 20 people in a small dorm room to sleep in. Many workers encountered issues with pay. They would not receive their salaries for months, and when they finally did, it was often for a month or so only. One worker said he was promised $120 a month, and after five months, he received a paycheck of only $50 for one of them. The pay received by workers was far less than the country’s instated minimum wage. Workers also receive no benefits, meaning they have no medical benefits if they get sick. Instead, they are usually punished by a decrease in pay.
Another issue was with workers from other countries who came in looking for work. Sometimes people would pay as much as $3000 to work in Jordan, only to have their passports confiscated when they got there, meaning they could not escape the country, or even go out on the streets, keeping them trapped inside the sweatshops. They also usually received much less pay than they were promised for their labor. The supervisors would threaten workers when they complained as well. Two workers actually stood up and demanded the money they earned. The supervisors were furious, and in punishment, they threw them in a jail cell for four days without any food and then forced them to leave the country.
Examples of similar conditions can be found in numerous other countries. In Honduras, the Hansoll factory, where Reebok makes its NFL and NBA jerseys, pays their workers, most of which are women in their twenties, up to 82 cents an hour (Picker). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average manufacturing wage in China is 64 cents an hour. That rate, however, assumes the employee worked 40 hours per week when in reality, a 60 to 100 hour workweek is much more common in China. That means that the real manufacturing wage is far less (Roberts). Clearly, sweatshops conditions are terrible worldwide.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to catch sweatshops in the act of committing these crimes. Although the Jordanian government inspects the sweatshops every once in a while, it is still hard to catch the supervisors. The supervisors train the workers to lie, so when they are interviewed by inspectors, they do not tell the truth about the pay and conditions. If the inspectors can’t find anything wrong, they cannot hold the sweatshops responsible. This makes it difficult to shut down sweatshops that promote these poor conditions and suffering.
Greenhouse, Steven, and Michael Barbaro. “An Ugly Side of Free Trade: Sweatshops in Jordan.” New York Times. 3 May 2006. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/business/worldbusiness/03clothing.html?_r=1>.
Picker, David. “Protest Calls for Pro Athletes to Help Stop Sweatshops.” New York Times. 23 July 2005. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=871186291&SrchMode=2&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&V&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1302057395&clientId=19935&cfc=1>.
Roberts, Dexter, and Pete Engardio. “Secrets, Lies, And Sweatshops.” Bloomberg Businessweek. 27 Nov. 2006. <http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/06_48/b4011001.htm?chan=gl>.
