Sweatshop Labour

Questions (1)Is sweatshop labour ethical? (2)Should sweatshop labour be banned?

Background Information Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous.

Sweatshop Labour Long working hours and low pay Regardless of law mandating overtime pay or minimum wage Child labour laws may be violated Hazardous materials and situations/environment Abuse

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Against Exploitation of low-wage workers Hiring of underage workers Leads to stress or even suicides Physical abuse of workers Poor working conditions

Support Businesses can maximize profit Many big organizations have the same conventional, business practice Creation of jobs for those in the third world countries Equip the workers with skills which they can apply elsewhere or to search for better jobs To the people in less developed countries, it means an opportunity to let them earn money for their family

Utilitarian Agree to sweatshop labour For the poor and those people that need to support their family, a job in the factories is one way to earn money to support their family. Even if they are treated badly or their wages are low, to them, the income is better than earning nothing at all.At least they are able to help their family in lessening the burden. Disagree to sweatshop labour The workers sacrifice their happiness to work in the factories.They are treated badly and not given the basic human rights. They have to work long hours just to get by and some workers are even physically abused in the factories. It doesn’t matter if they are earning money, sweatshop labour should be abolished as these workers should be respected and treated like a human being.

Rights Agree to sweatshop labour Disagree to sweatshop labour The company has the right to decide the wages of its employees. They also have the right to employ workers that they want. Since the workers have accepted the job offer, they should obey the rules and regulations of the company. Hence, as long as the company pays employees their wages, there is no violation of rights. Disagree to sweatshop labour Some of the basic human rights of the workers are being violated. For example, workers are not respected and are treated as slaves. Many of them are forced to work without wages until they have repaid "debts". Since there are many underage workers, sweatshop labour has robbed them of their rights to go to school. The sweatshop environment is unsafe – workers are harassed, forced to work overtime, and made to work in dangerous and unhealthy environments.This is detrimental to their health and may lead to health issues as some workers also handle toxic chemical paints, with their bare hands. Sweatshop labour has caused workers to lose their right of being protected from harm/injury and privacy.

Common Good Against (No, sweatshop should not be ban) The existence of Sweatshop creates job opportunities in the country. Thousands of workers who are previously unemployed are now able to work in the factory due to job creation, and earn money for their family. Sweatshop also helps to contribute to that country’s GDP. Besides that, the workers are able to learn and acquire new knowledge and skills, which previously they might not have any skills at all. Therefore, this benefits the country’s citizens and society as it helps the country to reduce unemployment rate. It also allows them to earn income and contribute partly to the country’s economic. The existence of the sweatshop is also signs of growth for those developing countries. When sweatshop grows, more people are able to get employed as demand for labour increases, the wages might be pushed up. Therefore, sweatshop is actually beneficial to the developing country and the community who are employed by them. Support (Yes, sweatshop should be ban) Sweatshop generally had very poor working condition or environment, unfair and very low wages, unreasonable long working hours, and even child labour. All this are not being fair to the workers and not beneficial to them at all. They are earning little money, yet putting in lots of efforts and time. Their welfare is not properly taken care of and they are not being treated rightly. Therefore, instead of bringing more benefits, sweatshop is bringing more harm and damage to the workers, society and country. Sweatshop is only beneficial to the company and not to the workers at all. By banning sweatshop, people in the developing countries will then have a higher chance of escaping the poverty cycle.

Virtue Support Sweatshop Labour Against Sweatshop Labour The company is showing compassion, generosity and helpfulness toward the people in the less developed countries as they are providing them with jobs so that they are able to feed their family. Other companies might not even be interested in hiring them to help with their business and to provide them with the option to survive under the condition they are in. Also, by providing them with a job, they are able to acquire skills which will benefit them. Against Sweatshop Labour By practicing Sweatshop labour, it is an act of selfishness and greed. Companies that practice sweatshop labour take advantage of how they can use a smaller amount of money to gain profit for their organization. They do not take the workers feelings at heart and only selfishly think of how they can benefit from this as not only they can reduce the cost needed to be spent on hiring workers, they can increase productivity which will thus, increase their profit earned. This also shows their greed over money as they are finding a cheaper alternative to gain more profit for the company.

Justice (Fairness) Support: - Workers working in sweatshops have a relatively higher pay than other employees in the country Against: - No sense of distributive justice; No maternity leaves, healthcare, education as well as security rights given -No sense of compensatory justice; Corporation do not take responsibility of diseases and injuries caused by the harsh working environments. E.g. Sandblasting that led to silicosis in textile workers in China.

References: http://usas.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5L6IXz3w3M http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2103798/Revealed-Inside-Apples-Chinese-sweatshop-factory-workers-paid-just-1-12-hour.html http://www.writework.com/essay/persuasive-paper-sweatshop-benifits-look-worker-s-point-vi

References: http://www.waronwant.org/overseas-work/sweatshops-and-plantations/china-sweatshops https://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-sweatshops