Archive for May, 2009
This post originated from CSRWire.com at www.csrwire.com/csrlive/commentary_detail/101-The-Human-Cost-of-Greening-the-Supply-Chain-
By Conrad MacKerron, As You Sow Foundation
The greening of corporate America has a darker side that seems to tolerate dangerous conditions for workers. The emerging solar and renewable energy industries will bring green collar jobs to areas of the U.S. in desperate need of them. But corporations are still paying scant attention to the needs of the people in the global supply chain emerging markets where most manufacturing has shifted.
Let's look at the revved up Chinese economy where so many of our goods are now made. China has an occupational safety law. But it's only five years old and honored more in the breach than the observance. And it shows in the toll on workers' lives. China has the highest rate of death from work-related illnesses of any country. According to the International Labor Organization, 380,000 Chinese workers died of occupational illness in 2005 and millions more live with fatal diseases or with limbs missing from job-related accidents.
The Toyota Prius has become one of the most visible symbols of environmental consciousness. But a recent report from the National Labor Committee alleged abusive working conditions in Japanese factories assembling the Prius. The report said a third of assembly line workers are poorly paid temps, and that its parts supply chain is "riddled with sweatshop abuse", including the trafficking of tens of thousands of foreign guest workers. Many of them are working 16-hour shifts. And two years ago, Bloomberg Markets linked Toyota, GM and Ford to slave labor conditions in making the pig iron for the steel that ends up in their vehicles.
Solar panel installation may produce good jobs here. But producing those panels involves dangerous chemicals. The Washington Post recently reported that a supplier to solar panel maker Suntech Power dumped poisonous silicon tetrachloride, a byproduct of polysilicon manufacture, onto fields in Henan Province in China, rather than recycling it.
As major companies from Wal-Mart to Dell to Nike serve up an array of promises to green their supply chains, we need to know who is paying attention to worker health and safety. U.S. firms often negotiate tough deals with suppliers at rates so low that goods can't be produced without resorting to abusive or unsafe working conditions. We're not just talking about discount retailers but also high end brands. It’s unclear if the multinationals are expecting factory owners to pay all the costs of improving safety and environmental conditions in their plants. Improvement is absolutely needed. But is it fair to put the onus on global suppliers in developing countries? Their profits are often already squeezed to the bone by their powerful customers. And what happens to their investment if a big U.S. brand decides to pull its contract and source from another factory the next year because labor is cheaper there?
Legislation has helped make the US workplace increasingly safe. In the last 35 years, workplace fatalities here have dropped by 60 percent. Injury rates have gone down by 40 percent. But many investors have basically looked the other way as Western companies pursued a generation of global outsourcing of labor without insisting that our hard-won U.S. rules of workplace safety and fairness be applied to the global supply chain. For the green technology juggernaut to have true social credibility, companies must insist on investing in best environmental practices, safeguarding the well being of workers by enforcing best labor practices, and public disclosure of progress on both fronts.
About Conrad MacKerron
Conrad MacKerron is the Director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program at the As You Sow Foundation based in San Francisco, CA.
By Liz Haight, ILRF Intern
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) presented their three-year study of the impact of DR-CAFTA on May 21. The report, entitled “DR-CAFTA and Worker’s Rights: Moving from Paper to Practice” evaluates the progress in the White Paper’s recommendations for improving labor rights in the DR-CAFTA countries.
DR-CAFTA is a free trade agreement that passed in 2005 between the US and Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic joined shortly thereafter. You can check out ILRF’s webpage dedicated to CAFTA for more specifics. It almost did not pass due to concerns over labor conditions. In fact, in 2005, ILRF testified on Capitol Hill about many concerns regarding CAFTA. To help secure a favorable vote in the Senate, US Trade Representatives supported funds that would be used for projects to strengthen trade capacity building and labor rights practice and enforcement based on recommendations outlined in the “White Paper,” which some saw as simply a tactic to get DR-CAFTA passed in Congress.
This White Paper report, titled “The Labor Dimension in Central America and the Dominican Republic- Building on Progress: Strengthening Compliance and Enhancing Capacity,” is a self assessment for the member countries of DR-CAFTA with recommendations on how they can improve labor rights and conditions in their respective countries. The countries agreed to make these improvements and wrote the White Paper. The White Paper identifies six areas of focus in order to improve the labor conditions and standards. The six “priority areas” are:
- Reforming labor laws and improving implementation
- Increasing the budget and personnel needs of the labor ministries
- Strengthening the judicial system for labor law
- Establishing protections against discrimination in the workplace
- Eliminating the worst forms of child labor
- Promoting a “culture of compliance”
From the outset WOLA and ILRF urged Congress to reject DR-CAFTA because it does not adequately promote respect and reform for labor rights. WOLA began monitoring DR-CAFTA, labor conditions, and the White Paper objectives in 2006. ILRF in conjunction with partners in Central America produced research concerning labor law implementation in Central America at the time that CAFTA was being debated. In addition, ILRF published, again with the support of partners in Central America, reports in 2006 regarding labor rights violations in the sugar industries in many of the Central American countries.
WOLA’s new study reports on the labor conditions that have not improved despite the objectives of the White Paper. The study evaluates the progress (or lack thereof) in the priority areas identified by the White Paper. In its research, WOLA found that, despite the stated commitment of the governments to implement the White Paper recommendations, abuses such as violence against unions and union leaders, illegal closure of factories, gender discrimination, child labor continue.
The report concludes that the funds invested were insufficient in resolving the long-standing labor problems and the impunity of the employers. It notes systematic violations that continue to infringe upon worker’s rights. There have been instances of intimidation against union leaders, high levels of impunity of employers, and declining numbers of unions. Even graver abuses include the assassination of union leaders in Guatemala.
The report concludes that labor conditions in DR-CAFTA countries have not improved based on years of study, a conclusion reiterated by interviews with union representatives, labor lawyers and human rights organizations. WOLA anticipates that the labor conditions will only worsen in Central America due to the current global economic crisis. WOLA’s report makes suggestions for the Obama Administration and Congress to impact labor conditions in these countries. The report recommends strengthening enforcement mechanisms through employer sanctions, providing direct support to labor unions, and urging the governments to establish laws that regulate employment subcontracting. WOLA hopes that their report will also be useful in the debates on pending trade agreements with Panama and Colombia.
