Naomi’s blog clued me in to this. It is so wrong that people should work in these conditions so we can wear something like a Disney T-shirt. I think if we knew where half our clothing was made, along with the conditions of the people who made it, we’d be sick. At the same time, I’m frugal and want to get quality merchandise at an inexpensive price. Oh, the conundrum. ::sigh::
Part of the problem with looking at the conditions under which another country labors is that we look at those conditions with Western eyes.
The fact is, many of the people employed overseas ARE getting paid pennies to do what we’d demand higher wages to do. For them, those pennies are akin to our fortunes.
A young girl working in a sweatshop overseas is likely to be better off than if she worked in an alternative industry - such as selling herself to whatever man was willing to meet her bargain price.
Beaten and abused? That may happen in some factories, but that isn’t necessarily the standard.
Sometimes the alternatives are far more frightening.
You make an excellent point, Joanie. It’s hard not to look at things with “west-colored glasses”, so to speak. I saw a show on TechTV about India and how hard people strive to work in call center jobs because they’re one of the few ways they can elevate themselves out of poverty. It was a real eye-opener.
At the call center I worked in here, I was appalled at the poor quality of employees hired. It was because of the Christmas season being so busy, and having bad phone people was a preferable alternative to customers being on hold too long and just going elsewhere with their business.
As I watched the show about Indian call centers, and everything the employees did to Westernize their speech habits and accents, I thought of how much better employees they must be than many of the kids we hired in.
We’ve got it great here, but we’re spoiled by it. Thanks for the thought-provoking comment.
…I totally understand.
Part of the problem with looking at the conditions under which another country labors is that we look at those conditions with Western eyes.
The fact is, many of the people employed overseas ARE getting paid pennies to do what we’d demand higher wages to do. For them, those pennies are akin to our fortunes.
A young girl working in a sweatshop overseas is likely to be better off than if she worked in an alternative industry - such as selling herself to whatever man was willing to meet her bargain price.
Beaten and abused? That may happen in some factories, but that isn’t necessarily the standard.
Sometimes the alternatives are far more frightening.
You make an excellent point, Joanie. It’s hard not to look at things with “west-colored glasses”, so to speak. I saw a show on TechTV about India and how hard people strive to work in call center jobs because they’re one of the few ways they can elevate themselves out of poverty. It was a real eye-opener.
At the call center I worked in here, I was appalled at the poor quality of employees hired. It was because of the Christmas season being so busy, and having bad phone people was a preferable alternative to customers being on hold too long and just going elsewhere with their business.
As I watched the show about Indian call centers, and everything the employees did to Westernize their speech habits and accents, I thought of how much better employees they must be than many of the kids we hired in.
We’ve got it great here, but we’re spoiled by it. Thanks for the thought-provoking comment.
Thanks for taking in the spirit in which it was offered.
Excellent, that was really well explained and helpful
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