Throughout Chapter 11 in class we will begin to discuss the issue of International Agreements. One in specific will be in regards to labor. With everyday pressure from consumers and unions, corporations have began to monitor and improve the conditions in their overseas plants and the plants of their overseas subcontractors (Book Reference). Many overseas plants tend to do a number of unethical things ranging as far as pollution and child labor. Do you think companies are taking a big enough stand to improve their overseas operations or just sweeping it under the rug?
One company taking a big stand is Wal-Mart. Recently, Wal-Mart ordered Chinese suppliers to raise their standards of operation. Wal-Mart wants Chinese suppliers to meet strict environmental and social standards or risk losing their business. Wal-Mart has been pursuing a drive to improve its' reputation on environmental and social issues over the past three years in response to growing criticism in the U.S. over issues that include labor conditions in its' supplier factories. At the time Wal-Mart was demanding a 20% increase in energy efficiency by the 200 largest Chinese suppliers as well as disclosure to the factories used so they can look into proper employment and working conditions.
Another group of companies taking an unexpected stand are major U.S. apparel brands. This stand is being known as the RSN Cotton Pledge. Uzbekistan is one of the worlds' leading cotton producers and heavily relies on manual labor from children. Uzbekistan made a statement back in 2012 that they would aim to reduce their child labor force, yet have made no significant effort in doing so. Finally, several apparel brands are standing up and forcing Uzbekistan to stand by their word. The growing support for the Pledge is also sparking consumer awareness and rejection of the situation in Uzbekistan.
Again I raise the question: Do you think companies are taking a big enough stand to improve their overseas operations or just sweeping it under the rug? I want to hear everyone else's views on the subject and how you believe international trade is affected by corporations not being responsible and using child labor or unethical pollution.
I believe corporations that have overseas operations are exploiting the lower standards of other countries. Although 163 companies have pledge against the forced labor of cotton picking in Uzbekistan, they continue to use their cotton. I view the RSN Cotton Pledge to be nothing more than a marketing strategy to give these companies a better image. It also would not surprise me that many corporations do not even realize that child labor is used to manufacture their products. Another problem of unethical behavior in foreign countries has surfaced in China’s fast food restaurants. The problem came from McDonalds and YUM! Brands using expired meat from a Shanghai supplier. It is believed that there was a lack of regulation of the meat that was being supplied to the fast food chains. The best way to eradicate these unethical problems is through a more strict regulation of the raw materials that companies blindly purchase because of lower costs.
ReplyDeleteThis problem is similar to environment standards across international boundaries. While companies in the U.S. have been held to stricter environmental standards as of late, when they offshore, some of those foreign places of production (such as Vietnam) have much more lax environmental policies. Therefore these corporations can exploit this and it brings up the issue of whether its ethical and further legal to do so. In terms of child labor and plant conditions, the vast market of China make it impossible for most large corporations to say no to producing and distributing within the country and therefore I feel as though it is their responsibility to uphold the highest standards across the board as it would be unethical to do otherwise even if foreign law permits such actions.
ReplyDeleteSamsung is a company that has focused a lot on child labor. They continuously monitor their overseas labor force and even send in undercover workers to catch older children who may look old enough to be working. The catch to this is that if the children aren't working then they typically aren't doing anything. There are not education opportunities available for a majority of children in developing countries. The question is if there aren't educational opportunities then why not give them the opportunity to at least help support their families? When attempting to rid manufacturing plants of child labor it isn't actually solving anything. People say children shouldn't be working, but then they don't do anything to provide other opportunities for them. Unless we solve the root of the problem (providing education) then nothing will change.
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