It is almost an oxymoron to say that it is possible to walk into a store and find the merchandise, especially clothing, to have been manufactured in that country - be that store in London, New York, France or Australia.
Garment manufacturers "use" cheap, really cheap, labour to produce goods sold mainly in Western countries, with a whopping mark-up, .
France 24 reports on these workers, in this case, in Guatemala:
"Textile plants called maquilas are considered to be one of the main driving forces of Guatemala’s economy. But behind the factory doors lies a world of overworked and underpaid workers, with no job security and virtually no rights. A “maquiladora” gave us her account.
Guatemala exports more than $1.5 billion (1.08 billion euros) worth of garments every year, mostly to the United States and Europe. There are currently 156 listed maquilas in the country, most of which are Korean-owned. According to the Guatemalan texile and clothes industry commission (VESTEX), over 56,000 people are employed directly by maquilas.
However, despite a "code of conduct" elaborated by Vestex in 1996 to ensure fair working conditions for all maquiladoras (textile workers) and signed by over 120 maquilas, a study carried out by French NGO “Medecins du Monde” (MDM) in 2010 showed that many employers do not comply with the code’s required standards, which are voluntary, and not mandatory. Most maquiladoras work 11 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week, for less than the legal Guatemalan minimum wage. What’s more, MDM estimates that 90% of "maquiladoras" have been subjected to verbal or physical violence in their workplace at least once."
Continue reading the account of one of these maquilas here.
Garment manufacturers "use" cheap, really cheap, labour to produce goods sold mainly in Western countries, with a whopping mark-up, .
France 24 reports on these workers, in this case, in Guatemala:
"Textile plants called maquilas are considered to be one of the main driving forces of Guatemala’s economy. But behind the factory doors lies a world of overworked and underpaid workers, with no job security and virtually no rights. A “maquiladora” gave us her account.
Guatemala exports more than $1.5 billion (1.08 billion euros) worth of garments every year, mostly to the United States and Europe. There are currently 156 listed maquilas in the country, most of which are Korean-owned. According to the Guatemalan texile and clothes industry commission (VESTEX), over 56,000 people are employed directly by maquilas.
However, despite a "code of conduct" elaborated by Vestex in 1996 to ensure fair working conditions for all maquiladoras (textile workers) and signed by over 120 maquilas, a study carried out by French NGO “Medecins du Monde” (MDM) in 2010 showed that many employers do not comply with the code’s required standards, which are voluntary, and not mandatory. Most maquiladoras work 11 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week, for less than the legal Guatemalan minimum wage. What’s more, MDM estimates that 90% of "maquiladoras" have been subjected to verbal or physical violence in their workplace at least once."
Continue reading the account of one of these maquilas here.
Comments