Workers in Developing Countries - Speech
Good morning fellow classmates and teachers. Have you ever taken a look at the labels attached to your clothing? You will find that most of our clothes are produced in underdeveloped countries such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Whenever we purchase items produced in these countries, we enable major corporations to continue to utilize malnourished, underpaid, and under aged workers. Most of these workers go to work every day with an empty stomach at workplaces that do not meet the basic standards of safety and cleanliness, and they are paid sometimes pennies a day. Today, I hope to spread awareness of the problem that affects us all.
These workers are not paid enough to meet their basic needs. For example, sweatshop workers earn as little as ½ to ¼ of what they need for basic nutrition, shelter, energy, clothing, education, and transportation. If major corporations were to double the salary of sweatshop workers, they would merely need to increase the consumer cost of an item by only 1.8 percent. Note that these workers are forced to work 14-hour days, seven days a week and are paid 5 cents an hour to assemble t shirts that retail for 20 dollars. Furthermore, when they fail to meet their quotas, they are often beaten.
Their working conditions are so poor that workers are coached to lie during inspections with the threat that they would lose their employment if they ever revealed the truth to the inspectors. On a daily basis, workers are harassed, intimidated, forced to work overtime, and made to work in dangerous and unhealthy environments. Each year over a million workers are injured at work and about 20,000 suffered from diseases due to their occupation.
Nevertheless, sweatshops are not the only places where workers struggle under very poor conditions. Construction workers also work under similar conditions. Take Dubai for example. Most people know Dubai for its towering skyscrapers and luxurious hotels, but few know that the city was built by
These workers are not paid enough to meet their basic needs. For example, sweatshop workers earn as little as ½ to ¼ of what they need for basic nutrition, shelter, energy, clothing, education, and transportation. If major corporations were to double the salary of sweatshop workers, they would merely need to increase the consumer cost of an item by only 1.8 percent. Note that these workers are forced to work 14-hour days, seven days a week and are paid 5 cents an hour to assemble t shirts that retail for 20 dollars. Furthermore, when they fail to meet their quotas, they are often beaten.
Their working conditions are so poor that workers are coached to lie during inspections with the threat that they would lose their employment if they ever revealed the truth to the inspectors. On a daily basis, workers are harassed, intimidated, forced to work overtime, and made to work in dangerous and unhealthy environments. Each year over a million workers are injured at work and about 20,000 suffered from diseases due to their occupation.
Nevertheless, sweatshops are not the only places where workers struggle under very poor conditions. Construction workers also work under similar conditions. Take Dubai for example. Most people know Dubai for its towering skyscrapers and luxurious hotels, but few know that the city was built by