COMMITTEE GUIDE. International Labor Organisation CHAIR: Kim Sonnenberg DEPUTY CHAIR: Yichen Cao

Transcription

1 COMMITTEE GUIDE International Labor Organisation CHAIR: Kim Sonnenberg DEPUTY CHAIR: Yichen Cao

2 Chair and Deputy Hi everybody, My name is Kim Sonnenberg and I am 15 years old. I am currently attending 10 th Grade in the International School of Stuttgart. I am not only going to school in Stuttgart but also have I lived here for my entire life. I do a lot of sports after school such as Dancing. I also love singing and to travel all around the world. I hang out with my friends a lot and enjoy being a part of MUN. This will be my fourth MUN experience and I am looking forward to be a chair of the committee ILO, the International Labor Organization, with my deputy chair Yichen Cao. I will do all my best to make you feel comfortable and have fun in our committee. We want this to be a special and unforgettable conference. I am looking forward to see all of you and get to know you a bit better!

3 Topic: Preventing the exploitation of sweatshop workers for transnational corporations in developing countries Table of Contents: Key Terms... 4 Issue Explanation... 5 Historical Background Previous attempts to solve the issue Media Contribution... 9 Bibliography... 10

4 Key Terms - Exploitation in the context of the ILO usually refers to occupational exploitation. Occupational Exploitation is also known as exploitation of labour. According to Article 3, paragraph a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs 1. Therefore, the exploitation of labour is, for example, forced labour, withholding wages, overworking, no rest days and forced prostitution. - Transnational Corporations: They are also known as Multinational Enterprises. From Art. 6 of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy by the ILO, these can be understood as Multinational enterprises include enterprises, whether they are of public, mixed or private ownership, which own or control production, distribution, services or other facilities outside the country in which they are based. 2 - Sweatshops: While an unanimously accepted definition of sweatshops or sweatshop conditions does not exist, the most common characteristic of sweatshops is poor working conditions. The Cambridge Dictionary, for example, defines a sweatshop as a small factory where workers are paid very little and work many hours in very bad conditions 3. Additionally, the United States General Accounting Office defines a sweatshop as an employer that violates more than one federal or state labor law governing minimum wage and overtime, child labor, industrial homework, occupational safety and health, workers compensation, or industry registration. 4 - Developing Countries: As the Dictionary.com states a Developing Country is a country having a standard of living or level of industrial production well below that possible with financial or technical aid; a country that is not yet highly industrialized. 5 It is the opposite of a developed country. Some examples are Afghanistan, Colombia and China, however there are many more

5 Issue Explanation Preventing the exploitation of sweatshop workers for transnational corporations in developing countries is one of the most prominent topics in the ILO. In the context of globalization, many western corporations have outsourced their production and manufacturing processes to low-income countries. Many of these countries are located in South-East Asia, although some countries in Eastern Europe and the Americas are also affected. However, sweatshops conditions have also been reported in countries such as the USA 5. The production is often not only located in low-income countries but also outsourced to local companies as contractors or sub-contractors. Besides being countries with lower incomes, these countries also have less stringent health and safety regulations than the countries the companies are headquartered in. Lower health and safety regulation as well as enforced labor laws or even the lack of these leads to unsafe working conditions for the employees, conditions that are commonly called sweatshop conditions. Sweatshop conditions are a generic term for low wages and dangerous conditions and can be varied. Commonly these include the exploitation of workers, lacking health and safety regulations and the absence of basic labor principles. In some cases, sweatshop conditions can also include forced labor, the withholding of wages, bonded labor, child labor and can amount to modern slavery. Sweatshop conditions can occur in a variety of industries but is most prevalent in the manufacturing industry, especially in the textile industry. However, other example can include factories like the food industry. The most well know examples of sweatshops come from the fast fashion sector. A hurdle for the systematic eradication of sweatshops worldwide, is the high mobility of these. As working conditions improve and labor laws as well as health and safety regulations are being enforced and as incomes rise and working conditions improve the price of manufactured goods also increases and prompts many companies to move their production to other, even cheaper, countries. Examples like these include Primark, United Colors of Benetto and Walmart. One of the main reasons for the prevalence of sweatshop conditions is the demand for low prices by consumers in western countries. The issue of sweatshop conditions include a wealth of other labor issues, primarily the exploitation of workers and the lack of basic enforced labor principles. Today many companies have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies that aim to make a positive contribution to the society and environment. However, these are voluntary and do not include legal bindings. Additionally, 5

6 Historical Background - Timeline Sweatshop conditions as we know them today were first reported during the Industrial Revolution, starting around Sweatshops, especially the high prevalence of accidents, have been amongst the chief reasons for the development of workplace safety regulations and labor laws Sweatshops were originated in the early 1800 s Immigrants from western and eastern Europe were the main laborers for the early sweatshops The number of sweatshops increased massively and it reached countries all over the world. The speed went up rapidly until the end of WWII In 1945 Sweatshops around the world took a big hit due to Governments creating rules and regulations about the treatment of the laborers in the Sweatshops Sweatshops have made a return back into society in the Late 90's and big companies like Nike, Joe Fresh, Walmart, and many others have taken advantage of low wage paid laborers A 12 year old boy called Iqbal stood out and was the voice for all children. He was working in a sweatshop. He had many followers Nike ran one of the biggest sporting goods manufactures around the world. This involved Pakistan, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia although all were victims of Sweatshops Pakistan netted 385 million dollars into Pakistan economy. Although they were making plenty of money Nike also had many children working for them some were working on the line and they were only four or maybe five. Many adults were paid on $5 a day which is extremely touch to live on. It wasn't till later that people then noticed what was happening Iqbal had the influence of 3000 children escaping the labor in the sweatshops Craig read about this young boy the same age as him and decided to make a difference. Craig was only 12 at the time and it seem crazy for this young boy to take such an interest another young boys life. It was one day Craig was looking through the news paper for comics and stumbled upon this article about this boy in Pakistan Kathie Lee was exposed and sued for her Sweatshops that she has been operating in Honduras. Her Sweatshops produced a clothing line for Walmart and netted 300 million dollars Nike was a scandal again. Life magazine came out with an article about child Labour in Pakistan. The image from the article was a 12 year old boy named Tariq from Pakistan. The image also had a whole bunch of Nike soccer balls that he had been doing the stitchings 6 olicy_the_origins_of_the_trade_boards_act.pdf 7

7 for, he would be doing this day in and day out for 60 cents. Many people got aware of the bad conditions of the people producing the Nike products Kathie Lee was accused another time. This time for running sweatshops in El Salvador. After firing two employees they went and began speaking out about the problems in those Sweatshops, for instance Women Being made to work overtime without pay, and also women being harassed in these types of environments If Iqbal was there to thank Craig he would, Criag continued exactly what Iqbal was doing and that was voicing his voice and making sure people heard what it was he wanted to say. Craig did that and more this boy had National spotlight on him, Cameras flashing, microphones always near him, and interview after interview for different famous TV news channels, for example CNN, and Good Morning News along with a bunch of others. The main thing is that he is getting the some what of the same attention Iqbal was and they are both raising the same issues in society. Iqbal has differently left his foot print in this world Craig and his family launched an Organization called ME to WE ME to WE donated more then 8.5 million dollars to We charity in cash and kind donations 2014 In 2014, more than 130,000 youth were inspired through ME to WE leadership programs. 7

8 Previous attempts to solve the issue Since the mid-19 th century there have been multiple attempts to prevent the exploitation of workers in sweatshops. The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and Its Follow-Up is the official International Catalogue to ensure social progress goes hand in hand with economic progress and thus aims to ensure sustainable working conditions in the framework of globalization. It includes basic principles such as the prohibition of forced labor and child labor, the freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, equal remuneration for work of equal value and the elimination of discrimination in employment. These core labor standards need to be at the core of any future or following attempts to codify international labor laws. A key point in the declaration is that it includes a clause that recognizes that States who have not ratified the Declaration still have an obligation to respect in good faith and in accordance with the Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamental rights which are the subject of those Conventions 7. The declaration as such embodies a social minimum at the global level to respond to globalization. Some countries have also introduced legislation providing penalties for companies that subject workers to conditions that are degrading or incompatible with human dignity. 8 Most of these attempts, however, have been on national levels, which can create complications in today s globalized world. To simplify the work with transnational corporation, also called multinational enterprises, the ILO has introduced the Multinational Enterprises and Enterprise Engagement Unit (ENT/MULTI) as a tool to promote labor standards and principles in the corporate world declaration/documents/publication/wcms_ pdf

9 Media Contribution The issue of sweatshop workers and their exploitation is an issue that is frequently covered by the media, especially after disasters such as the Ranan Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. Not only are many online articles written about this issue, but also in magazines you can find titles related to sweatshops and videos like documentaries are also filmed. Media coverage of the issue of sweatshops is often very sensationalist and can be misleading. In some articles it can appear that sweatshops are synonymous with forced labor conditions, even if in specific cases low wages and poor or even dangerous working conditions can be proven, these cases only become forced labor if the employment includes certain instances of coercion 10. This wrongful coverage is harmful to the public s information of either topic. Sweatshops workers are not necessarily in forced labor and not all forced labor is done in sweatshops. 11 There are many articles about the different companies which are producing the products in sweatshops. These are some companies that nobody would have thought of

10 Bibliography Bangladesh: Garment Workers' Union Rights Bleak. Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch, 28 Apr. 2016, Blackburn, Sheila. Ideology and Social Policy: the Origins of the Trade Boards Act. The Historical Journal, vol. 34, no. 1, 1 Feb. 2009, pp , Chance, Clifford. Eradicating Forced Labour: International Labour Organization ILO, International Labour Organization ILO, 1 May 2008, ILO Meeting Targets Sweatshops in Footwear, Textiles and Clothing; Adopts Resolution on Child Labour. International Labour Organization ILO, International Labour Organization ILO, 1 Nov. 1996, International Labour Standards on Forced Labour. International Labour Organization ILO, International Labour Organization ILO, PROTOCOL TO PREVENT, SUPPRESS AND PUNISH TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, SUPPLEMENTING THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME. OSCE, 2000, Sweatshops. Preceden, Preceden LLC, Why Apparel Sweatshops Are Re-Emerging in the United States and Lessons from Europe about What Can Be Done. International Labour Organization ILO, International

11 Labour Organization ILO, 2 Nov. 2010, Further reading: