Part 4: Impact on Labor in Developing Nations
One of the most contentious issues surrounding globalization is the impact it has on labor, particularly when the trade takes place between developed and developing nations. Critics argues that trade with developing nations results in the outsourcing of American jobs to laborers in the Third World who are "forced" to work in sweatshops that abuse their basic human rights.
AUDIO CLIPS: The following audio clips present the arguments against outsourcing.
Proponents, on the other hand, argue that such relocation is a natural progression of economic growth that, ultimately, will lead to higher living standards for all.
The anti-sweatshop movement (e.g. Scholars Against Sweatshop Labor, Sweatshop Watch) in the United States has received headline coverage by exposing the working conditions in factories where many celebrity icons' clothing lines are produced. For example, they showed that Kathie Lee Gifford's clothing company had employed Honduran sweatshop workers to produce her line of clothing for Wal-Mart. According to their evidence, the typical workweek in these factories was 75 hours, and nearly 10% of those employed were between the ages of 13 and 15.
WEBSITE: Scholars Against Sweatshop Labor
WEBSITE: Sweatshop Watch
Several organizations have been created or have expanded their roles in hopes of addressing the concerns raised by the anti-sweatshop activists (and general public). The Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), the Fair Labor Association (FLA), and the International Labor Organization (ILO) all serve to monitor working conditions in less developed countries.
WEBSITE: Workers Rights Consortium (WRC):
WEBSITE: Fair Labor Association ( FLA )
WEBSITE: International Labor Organization (ILO)
Many anti-sweatshop advocates encourage boycotts of items produced in sweatshop working conditions, arguing that such boycotts will force foreign companies to improve pay and working conditions. The opponents, however, argue that workers freely choose to work in sweatshops, and that consumer behaviors which reduce demand for the products produced in these factories will simply reduce the demand for labor in these economies, resulting in lower wages.
WEBSITE: For information in the relation between the WTO and labor visit:
Harvard University Center for International Development
VIDEO: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is If You Want Change
