An analytical review of Sweatshop Regulation, Its Benefits and Cost

QUESTION

An analytical review of Sweatshop Regulation, Its Benefits and Cost

SOLUTION

In the current business All the leading multi national corporation from west has been dominating the scenario in many business perspective, most of the countries want to buy stuffs from the developing countries is grown or manufactured  by workers who all are deprived from their rights from many perspectives , Cell Phone components from China,  And fabric from India, fruits from Mexico  are commonly  processed or manufactured by workers who are not even paid the minimum wages for their service. This people are generally exposed to vulnerable chemical, dangerous machinery and are forced to work for extra long hours, generally this people don’t have any say to bring any changes to this kind of situation.

Since a very long time, huge criticism has been going on about the working condition of the factories which the developed countries generally establish in upcoming countries. MNC’s re generally accused of running “sweatshop” in this type of countries. But there is a huge difference of opinion in this regard.

Regulations of the Sweatshop

Third world nations or the developing nations are among the key opponent in this matter primarily due to following reasons

The nations argue that the present compensation and the working standard reflect their basic relative benefit in the low skilled labor.  It has been strongly argued that global standards that raise the cost of labor drastically, where it becomes difficult to derive the present competitive benefits. It is most widely believed by developing countries that western nation always insist to bring labor parameters into international arena which shows protectionist orientation.

At the same time in the text, the debate has been further carried out where, Paul Krugman developed his words, Instead of discontinuing his factories, it should be taken as a positive symbol for the progress and development of the country. Working in this type of environment my not be very good, and wages may not also match with the western standards but the work available here can be considered as very good compared to the local players. It has als0 been strongly projected that the condition may soon disappear as soon as the transition will take place from low skilled labor based industry to high skill deliverable industry.

In the matter of regulation Northern Union is vey active in implementing the regulation. John Miller in this perspective that available proof does not give any guarantee that global labor standards will reduce the number of manufacturing opportunities in the progressive nations and there is a very less chance of minimize the number of sweatshop even if government regulate the entire process.

Meanwhile, a good number of economists have defended the Sweatshop movement. In the text it was argued with two simple yet powerful philosophies in the regard of Sweatshop. It has been argued that labors easily choose to enter this employment opportunity, and next is the sweatshop jobs are better than the options available to them in the developing countries. There are few points that support the statement.

Viewpoint of exchange- In the eyes of the key economy, all sort of interchanges are taking place. Including the exchange between the worker and the employer they intrude freely. It has been believed that it only takes place due to betterment of both the side. Employing people for working in the factories is not an exception. Though, the employee may not join the particular sweatshop even if he or she is paid as per laws. It has been observed that the most of the time, workers choose to work in these kind of set up, the concept is viewed from the barter perspective of the main stream economy and the choice speaks for itself that it not a sweatshop and no exploitation is done to the employee.

Working Condition- It is one of the key factors of the debate in terms of running sweatshops. Economist says that sweatshops follow all the international laws regarding the payment of wages. And they pay competitive salary to the employees but at the same time it may not apply to all the industries in the segment. In many research it has been founded that a very little portion of the money has been allotted towards the wages of the employee.

In the seminar regarding the sweatshop, has witnessed an effective response in this matter. It has been seen as irrelevant argument to consider this factory as a sweatshop and any exploitation in this regard as it depends on the nature of the industry.

Similarly there were movements who spoke against the sweatshops a number of discrepancies regarding the sweatshops. The message was very strong in this regard those very poor conditions prevailed in the various industries across many nations.

Working Standard: It has been said that everyone has got a particular set of standards. It is also important for any owner of the factory to follow a set of rules that can be applied globally. Many economists even asked to combat the concept of sweatshop as it contributed to poor health condition, forced labor and because of lack of organization. The matter of fact is that the economist, who is against this movement, has extended their support to the applications in the labor standards. It means all the safety measures and other relevant standards should be followed for the wellbeing of the workers.

Sustainable Wage – it is the term defined to the wage that is adequate to support him along with his family for better standards of living. It has been noticed that all the MNC’s transfer the burden on the subcontractors which lead to the shifts in the job which disrupts the concept of collective welfare. (Thomas Oatley, Sweatshop Regulation)

Social Improvement – In terms of human rights it shows the way to the socio- economic progress. Many businesses speak that labor standards inflate the costs and minimize the number in terms of employment that is likely to be done by economically weaker section. In this regard to carry out the genuine work may be critical which cannot be sustained by avoiding the social stability. Generally, companies that take care of the employees hand over more money to them for overall development of the family, with some high quality lifestyle.

Conclusion

Finally, from the moral point of view, the solution is clear, In terms of business perspective, initially, combat of sweatshops is better in all respect. It is not only related to quality of the worker or goods but also to sustain the image of the multi national corporation which may be a costly affair in the long run.

References

Thomas Oatley’s , Sweatshop Regulation Chapter 6 (page 123 -141), Debate in International Politics and Economy.

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