Essay plan
Topic: the exploitation of adult workers in developed countries. I. Introduction: Thesis statement: This essay discusses two major reasons that brings about the exploitation of workers in developed countries, including workers’ educational level and labor legislation, and it provides two suggestions to solve the issue in terms of education of workers and government policies. II. Body: A. Causes a. Illiteracy and low level of education 1. ↓Level of education →↑risk of exploitation (Núnez & Livanos,2010) 2. Illiteracy →easier to accept exploitation (Chan,2004) 3. ↓Knowledge of laws→inability to protect themselves from exploitation (Lenard & Straehle, 2010) b. Poor labor legislation 1. Host countries restrict immigration →immigration laws unfavorable to immigrant workers (Misra, 2007) → ↑exploitation 2. Loopholes in law → being taken advantage of by employers (Gomberg-Munoz & Nussbaum-Barberena, 2011) 3. Flexible labor market → insufficient restriction (Miller, 2012)

B. Solutions a. Education 1. ↑Educational level (e.g. Italy, Fullin & Reyneri ,2011) ↘ 2. ↑Practical skills → less exploitation of workers 3. ↑ Knowledge about labor laws (Zhang,2010) ↗ b. Developing labor laws and policies 1. Immigration laws and policies → more migrant-based (Misra ,2007) 2. Reasonable wages and working condition + more pressure on employers (Pines & Meyer, 2005). 3. ↓Loopholes of laws → protect workers’ rights

III. Conclusion low education ↑level of education causes →↑exploitation + solutions →↓exploitation (future) poor laws improve laws
Essay
The exploitation of adult workers in developed countries

Recently, human rights have became one major
In recent years, with rapid growth of global economy, the demand for labor has largely increased in developed countries. This leads to a significant flow of adult workers from developing countries to developed countries in search of work. The supply of these immigrant workers exceeds the demand for labor in developed countries, resulting in exploitation of these adult workers. The exploitation of workers has become a severe issue, such as working long hours for little pay, being unreasonably punished with physical violence and being forced to do different jobs to what was expected. This essay discusses two major reasons that brings about the exploitation of workers in developed countries, including workers’ educational level and labor legislation. Afterwards, it provides two suggestions to solve the issue in terms of education of workers and government policies.

One major cause of exploitation of workers in developed countries is illiteracy and low educational level of workers. It is difficult for workers without basic knowledge or skills to find decent jobs, which leads to a high risk of exploitation. Núnez & Livanos (2010) pointed out that in Europe, lower educational level correlates with higher unemployment rate, and the unemployment rate of people with lower educational level is nearly twice of those with higher educational level. Faced with unemployment, workers have to look for underpay jobs that do not require much knowledge or skills which make them vulnerable to exploitation. Chan (2004) stated that large amounts of people looking for low-end jobs drives down wages and working conditions, and allows employers to exploit workers. What is more, illiteracy makes most immigrant workers fearful of losing their job or of being fired if they complain about their work conditions, thus they accept to be victims of exploitation and do not take action to change their situation. Furthermore, due to lack of information and knowledge concerning their rights in the law, immigrant workers have no ability to protect themselves from exploitation (Lenard & Straehle, 2010). In other words, these workers are lack of awareness of violation protection, which correlates with exploitation. these workers are unawareness of protecting them from violation, which correlates with exploitation.

The other main reason for labor exploitation is related to poor labor legislation. The restriction on immigration, the defect of labor laws and inefficient restrictions are significant factors leading to exploitation. In spite of great contribution made by immigrant workers to economic growth of developed countries, these host countries use a variety of policies to limit the citizenship rights of immigrant workers (Misra, 2007). It means that laws and policies are very limited to protect workers’ rights due to host governments’ restrictions on immigration. Furthermore, even though there is legislation to protect labor rights, laws have loopholes that are taken advantage of by employers to exploit workers. For example, in the United States, there is legislation for labor rights, but some sweatshops employ undocumented immigrants with underpaid who are excluded from the law (Gomberg-Munoz & Nussbaum-Barberena, 2011). In addition, flexible labor market without efficient restriction has inevitably eroded the workers’ rights, which leads to prevalent phenomenon of exploitation (Miller, 2012).conclusion!

Based on the serious problem of labor exploitation in developed countries, it is urgent to find out some solutions to deal with the issue. One efficient measure is to improve the quality of workers in terms of education. A relatively higher educational level can help workers stay away from unemployment and low-end jobs. Fullin & Reyneri (2011) reported that the new immigrants in Italy who are highly-educated workers have lower unemployment rates and that rates are nearly halved in the period from 1990 to 2006. It is also feasible to train works to possess specific skills which may enable them to find decent jobs. In addition, it is necessary to enlarge workers’ knowledge, especially knowledge concerning labor law. Zhang (2010) indicated that educating migrant women workers could help them to understand their rights at work in law and how to protect their benefits. With higher educational level or practical skills, it is less possible for workers to be employed in low-end jobs. With richer knowledge in law, workers will have stronger awareness for self-protection. Both will lead to less exploitation of workers.

Another possible way to cope with the issue is to improve laws and policies to protect immigrant workers. Misra (2007) suggested developing immigration laws and policies that take into account economic realities, focusing on job creation where people live and creating safe migration processes. Immigration laws and policies need to be more migrant-based which take into worker’s rights. Moreover, it is necessary for governments to pass and enforce laws and policies that create reasonable wages and decent working condition (Pines & Meyer, 2005). Laws and policies should put more pressure on employers to guarantee the enforcement of rules as well as the protection of workers’ rights. Severe punishment could be employed for exploiters to reduce exploitation of workers. Finally, governments should take actions to remedy any loopholes in the law to prevent employers taking advantage of them for labor exploitation. Laws and policies, if reasonably adopted, can efficiently reduce exploitation of immigrant workers in developed countries.

In conclusion, with a deluge of immigrant workers in developed countries, the exploitation of workers has become a serious issue. Through a careful examination of the issue, two vital causes of exploitation are found. Low educational level of workers and lack of efficient labor legislation make workers vulnerable to exploitation. To solve the problem, it is necessary to educate citizens and enlarge their knowledge, as well to improve labor laws and policies. With these solutions effectively adopted, it is probable that the exploitation of adult workers will be reduced in the future.

Reference
Chan, A. (2004). Exploitation of Migrant Workers in China's Export Manufacturing Sector. Perspectives on Work: Online Companion. http://www.lera.uiuc.edu/Pubs/Perspectives/onlinecompanion/fall04-chan.html (accessed May 18, 2013)

Fullin, G., & Reyneri, E. (2011). Low unemployment and bad jobs for new immigrants in Italy. International migration, 49(1), 118-147.

Gomberg-Munoz, R., & Nussbaum-Barberena, L. (2011). Is Immigration Policy Labor Policy?: Immigration Enforcement, Undocumented Workers, and the State. Human Organization, 70(4), 366-375.

Lenard, P. T., & Straehle, C. (2010). Temporary labor migration: exploitation, tool of development, or both?. Policy and Society, 29(4), 283-294.

Miller, C. M. (2012). Fresh Cut Flowers and Exploitation. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 11(1), 88-98.

Misra, N. (2007). The Push & Pull of Globalization: How the Global Economy Makes Migrant Workers Vulnerable to Exploitation. Human Rights Brief, 14(3), 1.

Núñez, I., & Livanos, I. (2010). Higher education and unemployment in Europe: an analysis of the academic subject and national effects. Higher Education, 59(4), 475-487.

Pines, G. L., & Meyer, D. G. (2005). Stopping the exploitation of workers: An analysis of the effective application of consumer or socio-political pressure. Journal of Business Ethics, 59(1-2), 155-162.

Zhang, A. (2010). Will the Fair Work Act bring improvements for migrant women workers?. Economic and Labor Relations Review, 21(1), 69.