I agree with Micheal. Workers earning their livings in sweatshops do not
even get a living wage. Let's not make the situation look better.
Particulary, women workers are more vulnerable to exploitation in this
process.It is true that most of the women in this part of the world come
to cities to find jobs in order to escape themselves from old fashioned
rural patriarchy. Yes, they prefer to work in Nike rather than in rice
fields. What happens is that they are now exploited by capitalist bosses
who use them as slave labor. This is particulary true in apparel industry
in the pacific rim. Some of the studies I have seen indicate that in some
industries (foreign based) Malaysian women earn like $50-100 a month,
prodividing cheap labor for US manufacturing companies located in free
trade zones ( the same is true for Latin Aemrica and Caribbean too). In
Dominican republic, for example, wages in export processing stay at $0.50
an hour which is lowest of any carribean basis country(Helen Safa, "Export
Manufacturing, State Policy and Women Workers in the Dominican Republic"
in Global Production : The Apperel Industry In the Pacific Rim, p 249).
One can see a feminization of labor force from industrial labor dominated
by men to light industry based on female labor force, and in apparel
industry wpmen are used in assembly operations as unskilled and cheap
labor. Women are emancipated, but not liberated. Women find themselves in
a situation of patriarchal paradox, exploiated by local and foreing male
capitalists at the same time. According to Safa,"to attract foreing
capital, the Dominican state passed industrial incentive laws providing
tax holidays of 8 to 20 years, exemptions from import duties, and no
restrictions on profit repatriation.Labor control has been achieved by
outright repression or prohibition of unions in the
Dominican free trade zones, further increasing the vulnerability of
workers" (p.253).
Recently, garment firms employ a large female labor force (in 1992,
they were 67 percent of all firms in Dominican republic). The strategy is
to incorporate women to economic proccess and exploit them at the same
time. It is also interesting that, according to Safa, some women in
export manufacturing industries (38 percent) condider themselves "as major
economic providers". "Juna Santana for example, sustained her family of
three children on her weekly salary (about $20), covering food, rent, and
her expenses such as transportation and lunch.. Juana's situtation was
typical of what many women workers in the free trade zomes faced: low
wages, poor working conditions, lack of inexpensive and adequate child
care, few job alternatives, partners offering limited assistance or none
at all.Export manufacturers have shown a preference for wome workers
because they are cheaper to employ, less likely to unionize, and have
greater patience for the tedious, monotonous work employed in assembly
operations. Most of the women in the trade zones were young and had no
previous work experience,which increased their vulnarebility. In addtion,
78 percent of the women were rural migrants, more than half were married,
and one fourth were female heads of household, who carried the heaviest
financial responsibility as principal or sole economic providers. Two
thirds of our sample had young children to support, increasing their
financial burden".
Here are the stats. I don't know the situation of wome workers in Vietnam.
Women may prefer to work in Nike, but i don't think they are economically
well off. Perception is not the issue here. Many women think that they are
not even exploited. for example, do they make a living wage? what are
the objective indicators of this perception of well-being?
Minimum wage in selected Countries (Source: USITC, Annual Report on the
Impact of the Carribean BAsin Economic Recovery Act on US industries and
consumers, sixth report, 1990, pub no, 3432, washington DC, 1991).
Country US/hour ($)
Aruba 2.86
BAhamas 2.20-3.00
Trinidad and Tobago 2.14
Netherland Antilles 1.18-3.08
Antigua and BArbuda 1.10
St Kitts and Nevis 1.08
Belize 0.87
St Vincent 0.76
Dominica 0.75
Guatemale 0.75
Costa Rica 0.71-0.84
Panama 0.59-0.78
Dominican REp 0.50
El Salvador 0.50
Grenada 0.48
Haiti 0.39
Guyana 0.38
Honduras 0.33
Jamaica 0.27
Female and Male Labor force Participasion Rates in the Dominican Republic,
1960-1990 (National office of stats 1966, 1985, and in edited tables from
1970 census. 1990 figures from central bank of dominican rep, survey of
labor force, jan-march 1990).
1960 1970 1981 1990
Female 9.3 25.1 28.0 38.0
Male 75.9 72.6 72.0 72.2
Both 42.9 48.8 49.5 54.7
Mine Doyran
Phd student
Political Science
SUNY/Albany
>Michael Perelman
wrote:
>>All the reports that I get indicate that the sweatshop workers do not
get a
>>living wage. Their money wage may be greater than their parents, but
their
>>parents had access to the food production and the light that was not
priced
>>on the market. So the money wage is misleading.
>A friend of mine who spent 2 years as a wire service reporter in
>Vietnam - she opened Dow Jones's Hanoi bureau - said she interviewed
>lots of (mostly female) workers who much prefer working for Nike to
>working in the rice fields. They make more money, the work is less
>onerous, and they feel partly freed from rural patriarchy.
>Sorry, that's what she says.
>Doug
