N8907421RT

Fair pay for fair work



2.The cultural artefact i have chosen to represent an area in the sweat shop industry is a cartoon created by the socialist webzine, this __cartoon depicts__ a man and a woman leaving there place of work (sweatshop) after a days work, with a speech bubble of the man saying "another day another dollar" the woman’s speech bubble then reads "we got a raise?". This cartoon depiction although being a person’s art also depicts the horrendous wages that people in sweatshops are forced to work for. Simply the fact that the lady is excited by the thought of earning a single Australian dollar for a days work depicts the need for this issue to be brought to the forefront of people minds and addressed and treated as the serious issue that it is.

3.This artefact represents the thoughts and desires off most if not all sweatshop workers globally. The public health issue present is clearly that the workers are being paid well under minimum wage. Throughout this assignment there are numerous areas that will be covered and explained, firstly that the workers are being exploited due to there being minimal work available and as a result of this are forced to except what ever wage they are offered. Secondly to this there is that op top of __ t __ he less then minimum wages being recieved by workers they are also forced to work free days, work unpaid over time and recieve no benefits or health cover. These people deserve to have there human rights protected and respected not only by the people who force them to work in these conditions but all people who are customers and consumers of these products and brands.

4.Consistent throughout the data that can be collected with regards to sweatshops it can be seen that the most consistent thing is that workers receive less then minimal wage for doing work that is deserving of fair pay. Workers in sweatshops often work up to 60-80 hour weeks and will only receive the equevelant of a few Australian cents pay per day. These workers are given no choice but to accept being paid this minimal wage as in many cases the only work they can find is in a sweatshop, so the choice they are faced with is either accept less then minimal wage and work in horrible conditions or have no job and no income. Sweat shop workers will very rarely if not never earn enough to cover the cost of basic needs, such as food, shelter, and health care.

5. The society and culture surrounding the sweatshop chain are crucial assets that need to be utilised when making an attempt to improve not only the pay for sweatshop workers but also their working conditions and all round health. Firstly by creating a culture that would support sweatshop workers and stand up for them and fight for their rights it would not only put pressure on the companies supporting sweat shops to give fair pay and better working conditions it would also allow the workers to feel some what secure in perusing fair pay. This is an issue as currently sweatshop workers have the ability to fire workers with no notice at all, this results in the worker having no choice but to accept the conditions or go without work and an income. Also the culture involved with consuming and partaking in the purchasing of products manufactured by sweatshops needs to be addressed, if the consumers took a stand it would give the companies little choice but to improve where their product comes from. The society amongst the areas upon which these sweatshops are, are commonly low socioeconomic areas that are over populated and there is little work available. There is a bigger picture that also needs to be addressed inorder for the sweatshop chain to be broken and the workers to receive fair pay and their general human rights. The communities in these areas are commonly not well taken care of by their governments and often the people who’s job it is to do routine inspections in these factories are easily bribed or the standard to get a satisfactory for the factory is very low. If the countries involved were able to find a way to create more jobs for their people and find a way to monitor and ensure all places of work are operating fairly and within the laws it would go an extremely long way to fixing the issue. There are numerous groups out there already trying to fix many of these issues throughout the world. One of these groups is called the “Clean clothes campaign” their goal is to improve working conditions throughout the global garment industry. One of there plans to tackle this issue has taken the form of the living wage action week, this is a week run in October where activists across Europe take to their streets and shopping centres to call on clothing brands and governments to ensure workers are paid a living wage. This is just one way a group is trying to tackle this issue globally. Awareness not only about sweatshops and there less then minimal wage pay but also their horrific working conditions needs to be addressed and managed in a swift manner as all people deserve and should have the respect of not just their employer but their government and fellow man. These workers are being deprived of this and as a result are having their lives controlled and future look not so bright but there is so much that people can do to help this issue, firstly a customer should always ask questions, the consumer should know where the product is coming from and who made it. Communities should encourage their local businesses to source sweatshop free products. By putting an end to the power companies having control and with the consumer saying no it will give the companies no choice but to give in to consumer demand and pay their workers fairly and put them in a safe working environment.

6. The artefact I originally chose is a good case in point to represent sweatshops and Inparticular the fact that workers are forced to accept less then minimal wage. The cartoon depiction breaks the seriousness of the issue down and helps make it something people will actually read and it gets across to people of the world that sweat shop workers actually do get paid less then one Australian dollar per day in some cases. By showing the lady being gullible and asking if they got a pay raise it has an underlying meaning that shows how the workers not only are unaware of ohm much they get paid but also it shows how little control the workers themselves actually have. Personally before this assessment task I was quite unaware of how people were treated and the working conditions they are forced to endure, but the most shocking thing I encountered was finding that some people earn less then ten cents per days work. To me personally that was most alarming as I have grown up in Australia my whole life and have never seem of heard of such things. This assessment item has helped me to learn that people from sweashops need help from people outside of their country as it has become quite clear that there governments simply don’t care. My personal reaction to this opened my eyes to that a simple decision like which shirt to buy and wear can become a life changing choice for someone across the world, but only if more people follow suit and as a world we say no to sweatshops.

Refernces: Allen, J., & Thompson, G. (1997). Think Global, Then Think Again-economic Globalization In Context. //Area//, //29//(3), 213-227. America, G. (2013). 11 facts about sweatshops. Retrieved from [] Arnold, D. G., & “ Hartman, L. P. (2005). Beyond Sweatshops: Positive Deviancy And Global Labour Practices. //Business Ethics: A European Review//, //14//(3), 206-222. Brooks, E. C. (2007). Unraveling the garment industry: Transnational Organizing and Women’s Work//.// //Canadian Journal of Sociology.// Retrieved from [] Chan, E. (2008, December 4). Child Labour & Sweatshops [web log post]. Retrieved from [] College, N. (2009, October 12). Love fashion hate sweatshops [web log post]. Retrieved from http://gilanorthern.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/war-on-want/ Cox, M. W., & Ruffin, R. J. (2010). Variety, Globalization, and Social Efficiency. //Southern Economic Journal// //, 76// (4), 1064-1075. Do Something (2013). Background on Sweatshops. Retrieved from: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-sweatshops Evans, J. and Block, W. (2002). Labor union policies: gains or pains?, //Cross Cultural Management//, //9//(1), 71-79 Greene, Z., Henry, S., Nathanson, C., & Block, W. (2007). Negative Impacts Of Minimum Wage And Anti Sweatshop Legislation. //Humanomics//, //23//(2), 83-92. Iammarino, S., & Michie, J. (1998). The Scope of Technological Globalisation. //International Journal of the Economics of Business, 5//(3), 335-353. J. (2013, August 14). Property dispute [Web log post]. Retrieved from [] JP, L. (2011, May 12). Fair Trade and Ethical Shopping [web log post]. Retrieved from []

Kumar, A. (2007). Capital Tax, Minimum Wage, And Labor Market Outcomes. //Review of Economic Dynamics//, //11//(1), 133-154. Marion, T. J., & Friar, J. H. (2012). Managing Global Outsourcing to Enhance Lean Innovation. //Research Technology Management// //, 55// (5), 44-50. Mayer, R. (2007). Sweatshops, Exploitation, and Moral Responsibility. //Journal of Social Philosophy//, //38//(4), 605-619. Mazlish, B. (2011). Social Bonding, Globalization, and Humanity. //New Global Studies// //, 5// (3), 1-8. Mazzarella, W. (2004). CULTURE, GLOBALIZATION, MEDIATION. //Annual Review of Anthropology,// 33(4), 345-367. Retrieved from []. McNally, P. (1972). Marxist Ideology And The Soviet Economy. //Studies in Soviet Thought//, //12//(3), 255-269. Meyers, C. (2004). Wrongful Beneficence: Exploitation And Third World Sweatshops. //Journal of Social Philosophy//, //35//(3), 319-333. Mohan, G. (2000). Dislocating Power, Politics and Global Change. //Geography//, //85//(2), 121-133.

Reflection 1. http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/share/view/64708990

2. http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/share/view/64709048