Breanna Fehr. February 25, 2008, 11:35 p.m. Labor Problems
The made in Italy label is a sign of tradition and standards. The label has a tradition of meaning, not only that it was made in Italy but that it was made the Italian way. This may no longer be true as the label no longer means what it used to. In Prato, legal Chinese residents make up 12% of the population but if you include illegal residents than they make up nearly 25% of the population. This is because the big-name clothing labels use Chinese staffed workshops as a way to keep costs down by supplying cheaply and quickly made products. Many of the factories “are nothing more than sweatshops with deplorable conditions and virtually indentured workers.”
Italian law governs the workplace safety by limiting the number of hours worked and setting a minimum wage but the law is often not enforced. Many of these workshops that have been reported have been shut down by the police because of the poor living conditions. The companies can’t produce papers for many workers because they claim they are just trying out and there temporarily. Chinese workers self-exploit themselves; they spend a lot of money to go there and than work undesirable hours for such low pay to try to pay their debts off.
It seems to be the case everywhere that companies are doing anything they can to compete in the market. These Chinese workers are doing the same things others in Italy are, only they are getting paid extremely less. Since the Chinese workers go in debt going to Italy to find work they have no choice but to work whenever they can; long hours up to fourteen hours a day, nights, and weekends. It doesn’t seem humane that anyone would let people work such long hours in sheds. Than when they are done working they return to small rooms right in the factory to sleep. I think it is good that the police occasionally do raids and shut down the factories that they find have illegitimate conditions for workers. However, it is probably more often that the factories get away with the things they are doing. I could never imagine being put in this kind of situation, these people need a voice and the governnment should have the man power to step into situations like this more often.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-madeinitaly20feb20,1,7453058.story?page=1&cset=true&ctrack=2
1 comment:
I was surprised to hear that Italy was partaking in the sweat shop regime that seems to be encircling the globe - I suppose I viewed Italy in the same light as I view Germany, the UK or other Western European nations that typically outsource their sweatshops. I guess this is a good wake up call that we shouldn't lose our critical eye on European countries or the United States as these sweatshops burgeon across the globe.
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