...The US Department of Labor defines a sweatshop as being a factory that violates two or more labor laws. Sweat shops in America slip under the radar but are not as common as those in under developed countries. This being said many of the successful fashion companies utililize sweatshop labor from the under developed countries. One of the largest sweat shop capitals is located in Indonesia, where women and children are forced to work unreasonable hours and paid unfair wages with poor working conditions. The list of violations are endless. It is unethical to use women and children as well as men in these sweat shops to reproduce a product that is going to give the CEO’s and upper management great financial gains. On average a worker is paid .24 per NBA Jersey they produce, that same garment is sold in the USA for more than $140. Studies have shown that when a sweat shop worker wages are doubled, the product would increase the cost to the consumer by only 1.8%. Many of those consumers would be willing to pay up to 15% more to ensure that fair and ethical conditions and regulations were instilled during the manufacturing of the product they are purchasing. Companies have a duty to the consumer to provide ethical business practices, thus giving the business and or brand a reputation that stands for conditions that are humane while the product is being produced. A company can stand behind their ethical business practices by setting higher standards for factories they are...
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...Compare and contrast the Haymarket Riot, the Homestead Strike, and the Pullman Strike. On balance, what was their effect on the organized labor movement? The Haymaker Square riot was an outbreak of violence in Chicago on May 4, 1886. The American workers were demanded for 8-hour workdays in that time. 1,500 or so people gathered at Haymarket Square and when police attempted to break up the meeting, a bomb exploded and police then opened fire on the crowd. Seven policemen were killed and more than 100 persons were wounded. They are still unsure who created the bomb and there was no evidence pointing the police in the correct direction. The Homestead Strike was another labor dispute. On June 29, 1892 workers belonging to the Amalgamated Association of Iron and steel workers were protesting a proposed wage cut. The Company’s general manager then hired 300 detectives to protect the plant from the strikers. On July 6th, several men were killed or wounded due to an armed battle between the workers and detectives, the governor had to call out the state militia. The plant reopened and the non-union workers stayed on the job and kept it around. It led to a weakening of unionism in the steel industry thereafter. The most famous and far-reaching labor conflict in a period of severe economic depression, the Pullman strike began roughly on May 11, 1894. The negotiations over declining wages failed. The workers then appealed for support to the American Railway Union. The boycott, centered...
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...When there is a dispute between two parties one of the fastest the way to handle a dispute are to use a arbitrator. Arbitrator acts as a judge and the jury with out being inside a courtroom. Arbitrator main goal is to settle a dispute between two parties reviewing and listening to all evidence to make a fair decision. As a attorney for Bainbridge Borough I would support their decision on rejecting Mrs. Carol Ferns request because after rejecting her initial request Bainbridge Borough also gave her the option to take two consecutive ninety day reasonable purpose leaves. Maternity leave is mainly for mother’s full recovery from their pregnancies and to build a stronger mother to child bond. According to the FMLA a mother only gets twelve weeks of unpaid leave, which Carol is still short of her request, Bainbridge Borough offered her two reasonable purpose leave which covers her request. Also Mrs. Carol Fern had already taken two weeks of leave of paid vacation that can also count towards her maternity leave. Additionally Mrs. Carol Fern gave a short notice on when she needed to take her maternity leave, she informed Bainbridge Borough a day before her paid leave expired that she need to take an additional six months of paternity. According to the Department of Labor she need to provide the request at least five business days before. As an attorney for AFSCME Local 10. I would say Mrs. Carol Fern maternity leave request rejection violated the collective bargaining agreement...
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...Labor Relations HRM 330 Rasaan Lide DeVry University Online Introduction When there is a dispute between two parties one of the fastest the way to handle a dispute are to use a arbitrator. Arbitrator acts as a judge and the jury with out being inside a courtroom. Arbitrator main goal is to settle a dispute between two parties reviewing and listening to all evidence to make a fair decision. As a attorney for Bainbridge Borough I would support their decision on rejecting Mrs. Carol Ferns request because after rejecting her initial request Bainbridge Borough also gave her the option to take two consecutive ninety day reasonable purpose leaves. Maternity leave is mainly for mother’s full recovery from their pregnancies and to build a stronger mother to child bond. According to the FMLA a mother only gets twelve weeks of unpaid leave, which Carol is still short of her request, Bainbridge Borough offered her two reasonable purpose leave which covers her request. Also Mrs. Carol Fern had already taken two weeks of leave of paid vacation that can also count towards her maternity leave. Additionally Mrs. Carol Fern gave a short notice on when she needed to take her maternity leave, she informed Bainbridge Borough a day before her paid leave expired that she need to take an additional six months of paternity. According to the Department of Labor she need to provide the request at least five business days before. As an attorney for AFSCME Local 10. I would say Mrs. Carol...
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...contradiction between leaders and labors has become a world-wide problem. In China, a series of employees’ suicides attracted the public and media’s concentration to consider this problem. A Taiwanese electronics corporation, is acting as the protagonist in this issue and now earning an internationally notorious reputation of running sweatshops. This paper analyze the cause of ongoing trend of exploitation of workers in China with the example of Foxconn, and examine the reasons behind those suicides from the perspective of management, workers and related laws. Based on the fundamental information of China, to illustrate my own analysis about this case from ethical and legal point, and to criticize Foxconn’s management strategy, industrial relations and the gaps of Chinese laws. Keywords: workers’ exploitation, China, Foxconn, suicides, inustrial relations 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and significance of the topic With the rapid development of Chinese economy and the increasing globalization of business competition, the various types of enterprises in China have been booming development, rapid increases in the number and size of foreign investment in China to hire to do business, and further reform of state-owned enterprises increase, the private sector, the number and the number of employees of private enterprises in recent years, is also rising, along with the development of enterprises to expand and hire-scale, labor disputes occurred in the number of enterprises...
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...When speak of the labor supply decision, first of all, let me briefly introduce the trend in current labor force. The first phenomenon is aging, say, when population was 282,194,000 in 2000, the total size of the labor force was 142,583,000 while 17% of labor force was people who aged at least 55. By 2020, the estimated share of the labor force held by those who 55 years old and older is projected to be nearly 24%. However, in 2050, the population is expected to be 322, 600, 00 while the total size of labor force is 194,757, 000. One thing that needs to be noticed is that the people aged 55 or above possess nearly 27% of labor force. The aging of the labor force results in a slowing down of the growth rate of the labor force. Significant numbers of the older age groups in the labor force will be retiring, resulting in a loss of much- needed skills and significant amounts of institutional knowledge. You may want to ask that why those senior people choose to continue to work rather than relax at home while the answer is with the downward of economy, the government is under a heavy burden so that it is not able to accommodate sufficient pension as well as social security welfare, under which elder people have to enter the job market despite of their senior age. The second problem is that the work force is becoming more and more diverse as increasing number of woman entered the job market, meanwhile the proportion of the group including black, Hispanic and Asian is expanding nowadays...
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...employee can and can’t date. Argument for the use of CRA’s In my office there are five people that work in this one office space which has three desks with three computers. Most times we share desks due to the lack of space, desks and computers. I definitely feel that the use of Consensual Relationship Agreements (CRA’s) would be beneficial in our situation. By an employee signing the CRA’s it is basically saying they entered in the relationship freely, consensually and unrelated to the company: the couple is aware of the sexual harassment policy and know how to use it. Finally, they agree to settle any relationship disputes through arbitration, not lawsuit (Employment Practices Solution, 2005). Also, the CRA’s would advise them of acting professionally while in the work area. With more women in the work force, in 2003, women composed 46.6% of the labor force (Amaral, 2003), and the longer hours that everyone works, on the job relationships do happen. Gautier states in the article, that there are several reasons why they have relationships at work. Some of the reasons are because of their similarities with their coworkers such as similar beliefs, attitudes, education and backgrounds as a root of attraction between coworkers (Gautier, 2007). It is good to...
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...HUMAN RESOURCING: A MOMENTOUS INGREDIENT DICTATING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR In October 2002, after a recent departure of two trainee employees, problems in human resourcing were re-asserted. The current events in the organization were not adequate to sustain the workers and hence not ensuring an organizational behavior leading to substantial success. My paper will be consisting of two parts. In the first part, I will be weighing the existing conditions & their repercussions. The first part will be highlighting three crucial aspects. While in the second part I will be formulating a transformation in the organizational strategy assisting to resolute the contemporary problems. STATUS QUO AT ASGM Organization configuration & dynamics responsible for achievements till now Ashraf Silk and General Mills had been a family oriented business since the start. Being initiated in 1951 and till 2002 it has been led by one of the Khawajas. They have been observing a ‘Paternalistic’ or ‘Benevolent Autocracy’ style of operational management. Decision making is centralized at the top & the employees are not involved in planning and decision making. The behavior of the management is decent and kind towards the workers and they expect employees to be loyal, sub-servant, compliant and co-operative to management. It was observed that they let the option of expansion at current place go for the reason that it would complexity the operations due to larger work force and the unions involved...
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...Human Resource Management Project Report on Expectations of Foreign Investors in terms of Labor Laws India, like other countries worldwide, is experiencing the effects of globalization. In order to make conditions friendlier for investors, there is a need for adaptability. Labor legislation, such as the Indian Disputes Act and Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, are now under debate, along with issues concerning special economic zones. Submitted by: Introduction There has been a steady expansion of foreign investment in recent decades. The upward trend is particularly strong for less developed countries, signifying the increased importance for these countries of FDI, as well as the increased presence of multinational firms. Alongside the expansion of FDI have risen concerns regarding competition between countries or regions to attract FDI. After adopting new economic policy by government of India in July 1991 many foreign investors came in the Indian economic scene because the government of India gave many incentives to the foreign investors. So it is clear that government opened the doors of Indian market to foreign investors. With more companies operating internationally, the impact on various business functions and labour laws in India is becoming more pronounced. Globalization...
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...ISBN 978-92-64-04632-0 OECD Employment Outlook © OECD 2008 Chapter 3 The Price of Prejudice: Labour Market Discrimination on the Grounds of Gender and Ethnicity Despite some progress, there is still evidence of discrimination on the grounds of gender and ethnic or racial origins in OECD labour markets. Field experiments show pervasive ethnic discrimination in many countries. Indirect evidence shows that on average at least 8% of the gender employment gap and a larger proportion of the gender wage gap can be attributed to discrimination. Virtually all OECD countries have enacted anti-discrimination laws in recent decades, and evaluations as well as cross-country analysis suggest that, if well-designed, these laws can be effective in reducing disparities in labour market outcomes. However, enforcement of antidiscrimination legislation is essentially based on victims’ willingness to claim their rights. Thus, public awareness of legal rules and their expected consequences (notably, victims’ costs and benefits of lodging complaints) is a crucial element of an effective policy strategy to establish a culture of equal treatment. Moreover, legal rules are likely to have more impact if the enforcement is not exclusively dependent on individuals. In this respect, specific agencies may play a key role. 139 3. THE PRICE OF PREJUDICE: LABOUR MARKET DISCRIMINATION ON THE GROUNDS OF GENDER AND ETHNICITY Introduction Employment outcomes are far from being evenly distributed...
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...14 4th January 2012 Child Labor Is Child Labor Acceptable in Pakistan? Child labor is a global phenomenon that is defined as the children working under the age of 14 or 16 years. While most of the developed world has been able to overcome with this so-called social evil, child labor has been prevailing in almost all of the developing countries. The International Labor Organization (ILO) and Human Rights Organizations have been active in eliminating the practice of child labor through the agreement on the protection of the rights of children and the labor. The issue of child labor came into consideration in Pakistan when most of the European countries in 1990s declared a boycott on the goods exported by developing countries that involved child labor. As a result, child labor laws were passed in Pakistan in 1991 which banned child labor in certain manufacturing sectors. According to Federal Bureau of Statistics, a survey funded by IPEC (International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor) showed that in 2010, the working children in Pakistan numbered to 3.8 million (Arshad n.p). Although it is argued that child labor deprives children from education and leads to immoral acts such as exploitation and child abuse, it can be justified in Pakistan considering the current economic situation and educational infrastructure in the country and because it could give some economic and social benefits to the nation; therefore, the ban against child labor may have drastic effects on...
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...in turn has led to dramatic increases in wages for individuals with these skills.13 Employers that adopt new technology for any aspect of their operations will also have to consider how to tap into labor markets that have these new skills. Labor Unions Labor unions are legally protected entities that organize employees and bargain with management to establish terms and conditions of employment via a labor contract. About 12% of the labor force is unionized, with 7.4% unionization in the private sector and 36% in the public sector.14 Trends suggest a continued decline in private sector unionization as well as an increasing level of public sector unionization.15 Labor and management are required to bargain in good faith to try to reach agreement on the contract. Many staffing issues may be bargained, including staffing levels, location of facilities, overtime and work schedules, job descriptions and classifications, seniority provisions, promotions and transfers, layoffs and terminations, hiring pools, KSAO requirements, grievance procedures, alternative dispute resolution procedures, employment discrimination protection, and, very important, pay and benefits. Virtually all aspects of the staffing process are thus affected by negotiations and the resultant labor agreement. Labor unions thus have direct and powerful impacts on staffing and other HR systems. Even in nonunion situations the union influence can be felt through "spillover effects" in which management tries to emulate...
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...CHAPTER 9 LABOUR PRACTICES AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN TNCS: THE CASE OF TOYOTA KIRLOSKAR IN INDIA KRISHNA SHEKHAR LAL DAS & SOBIN GEORGE 1. INTRODUCTION The study on the working conditions and labour practices in Toyota Kirloskar in India is part of the network research on Transnational Corporation Monitoring in Asia. Since 2002 the Asian Transnational Corporation (ATNC) Monitoring Network has been operational to build up a regional network through which labour organisations in different Asian countries can pursue concrete solidarity actions to improve working conditions of workers employed in transnational corporations (TNC). Against this backdrop, it is aimed to have a closer look at the labour management and forms of employment in automobile and electronics sectors invested by Asian TNCs in Asia. As part of this endeavour, the Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), New Delhi collaborated with the network research coordinated by Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC), Hong Kong to observe the labour practices of Asian TNCs invested in India. In the first phase the network research focused on the movement of capital and its impact on labour by engaging desk research on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows and related aspects. In the current phase, emphasis is on specific cases of labour practices and labour conditions in selected ATNCs. 1.1 Methodology The present study is situated in the wider context of the dichotomy between labour and capital. The changes of production...
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...25 Updated December 2009 Strengthening Democracy and Democratic Institutions in Pakistan UNDERSTANDING LABOUR ISSUES IN PAKISTAN PILDAT is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit indigenous research and training institution with the mission to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in Pakistan. PILDAT is a registered non-profit entity under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860, Pakistan. ©Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency - PILDAT All rights Reserved Revised Edition: December 2009 First Published: June 2005 Second Published: November 2006 ISBN: 978-969-558-147-6 978-969-558-021-1 978-969-558-021-9 Any part of this publication can be used or cited with a clear reference of this publication and PILDAT Published by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency No. 7, 9th Avenue, F-8/1, Islamabad, Pakistan Tel: (+92-51) 111-123-345; Fax: (+92-51) 226-3078 E-mail: info@pildat.org; URL: www.pildat.org P I L D AT BRIEFING PAPER FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS UNDERSTANDING LABOUR ISSUES IN PAKISTAN CONTENTS Foreword Profile of the Author Overview Labour in the Informal Economy Wages and Workers Finance Bill 2006 and Anti Labour Legislation Finance Bill 2008 and Labour Legislation Industrial Relations Act 2008 Strengths Weaknesses State of Trade Unionism in Pakistan Impact of globalization and economic growth on labour in Pakistan State Institutions State Tripartite Institutional Arrangements Pakistan Tripartite Labour...
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...Eloïse Stark Midterm Essay How to explain that women still get lower wages than men in the OECD countries? In western countries since the Second World War, women’s growing participation on the labor market has been one of the most profound transformations not only of the economy but also of society as a whole. Dual income families have become the norm and in a bid for sexual equality, most OECD countries have created laws to protect pay equality for men and women, such as the Equal Pay Act in 1963 in the US, or the article 119 of the EEC treaty. Nonetheless, women continue to earn less than men in all OECD countries. There are different ways of measuring this. Comparing annual or monthly earnings shows the difference between what both sexes “take home”, which is interesting from a sociological perspective. However we shall focus on the “gender pay gap”, defined as the “the relative difference in the average gross hourly earnings of women and men working full time”. This shows the difference between the actual “price” of women and men’s labor, taking into consideration the fact that men work more hours on average. How does the gender gap stand today? Despite differences between countries the gender pay gap remains a persistent characteristic of OECD labor markets. In 2006, women earned an average of 16% less than men, per hour worked. … Although we can see a slow but continuous drop over the past few decades in all countries In OECD countries, which are...
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