Sweatshop+–+Maquilladora,+EPZ



‘Sweatshop’ is a 19th century term that was used to describe the conditions of workers in the factories of the Industrial Revolution. It applies today in the work place where it is commonly used to describe conditions anywhere but mostly in the Third World where workers are overworked, poorly paid and oppressed. Though poverty is found everywhere conditions in the sweatshops are remarkably similar. In most it is difficult to make a living wage that would cover the basics of existence. There are little benefits, poor and often unsafe working conditions and arbitrary rules. Often workers are in environments where they are exposed to hazardous material, extreme temperatures and where they are viewed as cogs in the production wheel, easily discarded should they break down. Most are women who are subject to long hours and paid ‘piece rate’ work (paid not by the hour but by how much they produce in a shift).The shops avoid paying taxes and dealing with health and safety issues by working in the underground economy or in ‘No Tax Zones.’
 * Background**

FTZ (free trade zone) or EPZ (export processing zone) are situated for the most part in developing countries. They are chosen areas where trade barriers like tariffs, duty and quotas are removed and eliminated. These zones are manufacturing and industrialized centers that are labour intensive. Here raw resources and equipment are imported and after becoming finished products are exported back to the country they came from.

Sweatshops exploit the poor, marginalized and the immigrant for the benefit of their immediate employers, foreign governments, corporate masters in the West and consumers throughout the world. Most people don’t intentionally wish people to work in sweatshops but the system is hidden. Consumers are largely concerned with the quality of the finished product and its price tag and give little thought as to how it arrived at their local shopping mall.
 * What They Do**

The apparel and textile industry is the single largest employer in the world. Over 23 million people work in the garment industry and close to 75% are women. This is a big business with corporate headquarters largely in the 30 wealthiest countries exploiting the poor in over 160 countries. Under economic globalization corporations are always searching for factories that can make their products cheaper to appeal to the consumer and increase their profits. Changes made under ‘free trade’ agreements such as NAFTA have given corporations reasons to re-locate to places like Mexico where wages are lower and unions are weak. This drives down the cost of production at the expense of the worker. The sweatshop system is akin to colonialism where natives and native workers were/are exploited to make cheap goods for their colonial masters and lost power and control in their own countries. The Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) are trying to enforce better conditions, trying to shine the light on conditions that people work under in attempts that consumers can see how things are done and what they are supporting by purchasing certain products. Anti-sweatshop activists and businesses such as the clothing company ‘No Sweat’ are stepping away from non-unionized workplaces and instead are incorporating unions and sweatshop free employees. As well different organizations and movements are trying to educate workers about their rights in the workplace.



Maquilladoras are factories in Mexico that bring in materials and equipment free of duty and tariffs and re-export the finished products back to the country it originally came from. They suffer low wages and are pressured to work hard in an environment prone to accidents and abuse. A movement started in 1994 to try and improve workers conditions in the Maquiladoras stated that things needed to be done in order to have better protection for the workers. A Maquiladora worker who later joined one of these movement groups’ talks about his life working at a Maquiladora factory, “They say work in the //maquiladoras// is the best paid work here in the city. But there’s not much difference from one factory to another. This is all just normal –the standard. Because of the time and money pressure, I have no ability to develop myself even as a worker, much less as a h uman being. I feel like my youth has passed me by.” (//The Story of a Maquiladora Worker//, Rethinking Globalization Article). With the rise of corporate power, driven by agreements like NAFTA (established in 1994), the percentage of maquilladoras has risen 15%.
 * Maquilladoras**


 * Corporate Social Responsibilities:** the moral responsibility that corporations have to treat their workers and the environment well, despite lost profits.

-Low wages -Long hours -No job security -Poor safety regulations -No benefits
 * Race to the Bottom:** in order to compete, countries offer/or companies demand, lower and lower standards. These include

Corporate Social Responsibility has to be encouraged. Currently in sweatshops people involved in the production end are devalued and corporations often abdicate moral responsibility in The Race to the Bottom