Exploitation of Workers: Causes and Solutions
Exploitation of Workers: Causes and Solutions
In 2010, Foxconn became more famous not for its products but for the series of suicides among its workers in China. At least 14 people died, most of whom were adolescents coming from rural areas, trying to make more money in order to have a better life. However, the exploitation broke their dreams. Exploitation of workers occurs all over the world, especially in recent years, with lots of workers from less developed areas to the relatively developed areas, the exploitation is more severe. They are forced to do more work than they are paid for and may suffer other kinds of unfair treatments. Even children are involved in labour exploitation. According to the statistics from International Labour Organization (ILO, 2013), the number of child labours has already reached 215 million. This article aims to discuss two major causes of the labour exploitation, the economic imbalance and the imperfectness of justice system, and offer two corresponding solutions to tackle it.
Economic imbalance may be one of the most important causes engendering the exploitation. To some extent, the wage gap has enhanced the exploitation of labours, both regionally and nationally. The most attractive aspect of working in the developed regions is that the wages are much more higher than those in rural areas. Therefore, the workers may earn more, but also be exploited. To take Foxconn as an example, the workers have to do extra work for overtime fees to earn more. According to Ngai and Chan (2012), the basic monthly wage of the workers in Foxconn factories was about 950 RMB (or US$147) to 1200 RMB (or US$186), with 40 hours normal work, but the workers can get about 1600 RMB to 2000 RMB per month by working overtime, sometimes up to 120 hours per month. Although the basic salaries are already higher than those in the rural areas, they are still not enough for living in the cities and supporting their families out of poverty at the same time.
In 2010, Foxconn became more famous not for its products but for the series of suicides among its workers in China. At least 14 people died, most of whom were adolescents coming from rural areas, trying to make more money in order to have a better life. However, the exploitation broke their dreams. Exploitation of workers occurs all over the world, especially in recent years, with lots of workers from less developed areas to the relatively developed areas, the exploitation is more severe. They are forced to do more work than they are paid for and may suffer other kinds of unfair treatments. Even children are involved in labour exploitation. According to the statistics from International Labour Organization (ILO, 2013), the number of child labours has already reached 215 million. This article aims to discuss two major causes of the labour exploitation, the economic imbalance and the imperfectness of justice system, and offer two corresponding solutions to tackle it.
Economic imbalance may be one of the most important causes engendering the exploitation. To some extent, the wage gap has enhanced the exploitation of labours, both regionally and nationally. The most attractive aspect of working in the developed regions is that the wages are much more higher than those in rural areas. Therefore, the workers may earn more, but also be exploited. To take Foxconn as an example, the workers have to do extra work for overtime fees to earn more. According to Ngai and Chan (2012), the basic monthly wage of the workers in Foxconn factories was about 950 RMB (or US$147) to 1200 RMB (or US$186), with 40 hours normal work, but the workers can get about 1600 RMB to 2000 RMB per month by working overtime, sometimes up to 120 hours per month. Although the basic salaries are already higher than those in the rural areas, they are still not enough for living in the cities and supporting their families out of poverty at the same time.