Why is Rosa doing Annies Job

1
Why is Rosa doing Annies Job?

• By Henry Ward

2
Annies Profile

• Annie is married with 2 children.
• Annie is currently unemployed.
• Annie is a skilled sewing machinist. But she is
  now looking for a job outside the clothing
  business.

• Annie lives in Cheshire, UK.
• Annie used to work for Dewhirst Fabrics.
• At one time 90 of Dewhirst Fabrics trade was
  with MS.

3
Rosas Profile

• Rosa is 16, and she left her home village 5
  months ago.
• She now works in a factory with 500 other
  machinists.
• Rosa has moved because her village is 310 miles
  away from Manila.

• Manila is the capital of the Philippines.
• Rosa sews clothing for a living. She works for
  Manila Fabrics, 6 days a week.
• She earns 4 for a 12-hour day and is struggling
  to live.

4
Dewhirst Fabrics

• To survive, Dewhirst Fabrics has now moved its
  production overseas, where costs are cheaper.
• Dewhirst Fabrics in Cheshire closed in 2000.

• The factory had made jackets, skirts, and
  trousers for MS.

5
Marks Spencer

• In 1990, 75 of clothes sold in MS were made in
  the U.K. Now its only 30 and still dropping
• MS needs to keep its prices lower, so more of
  its clothes are made in LEDCs like the
  Philippines.

• MS profits were steadily dropping for years and
  their stockholders were getting annoyed.
• But now, MS clothes are cheaper, sales are
  increasing and the company is rising in profit.

6
The U.K Work Conditions

• The U.K is an MEDC.
• Most solid employment is now founded in tertiary
  quaternary industry.
• There are very stringent minimum wage laws,
  making workers expensive.

• People are not desperate and will not work for
  tiny amounts of money.
• Office/Factories are healthier and safer.
• Health and Safety laws make workplaces safe.

7
The Philippines Working Conditions

• The Philippines is an LEDC.
• People still work in primary/ secondary industry
  which make less money.
• There are less laws on Safety, Wages, Child
  Labour etc.

• Companies are more free and corrupt and workers
  are treated badly.
• Pay is much less and work is harder and more
  dangerous.

8
Why did Dewhirst close British branches?

• As we can see, Dewhirst were wise (from a
  business perspective) to close the British
  branches.
• The labour in LEDCs is a lot cheaper.

• This way they can make a bigger profit themselves.

9
Why are Dewhirst buying clothes for MS from
Manila Fabrics Inc?

• Dewhirst are now buying clothes from Manila
  Fabrics Inc. in the Philippines and selling them
  to MS.
• Manila Fabrics get cheap labour from people like
  Rosa.

• This way all the companies ranging Manila
  Fabrics, Dewhirst Fabrics and then MS make
  bigger profits.

10
So, Why is Rosa doing Annies Job?

• The reason is because companies exploit the
  workers in LEDCs for their own benefit.
• Because they can pay less to workers. There costs
  are reduced, which increases profit.

• Annie and other workers were costing more money
  for their work.
• Now however, they are making use of the
  desperation and under-development of these LEDCs.

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Examples of other REAL exploitation.

• Nike Nike has been criticized for contracting
  with factories that allegedly use sweatshop
  labour in countries such as China, Vietnam,
  Indonesia and Mexico. The company has been
  subject to much critical coverage of the often
  poor working conditions and exploitation of cheap
  overseas labour employed in the free trade zones
  where their goods are typically manufactured.
  Sources of this criticism include Naomi Klein's
  book No Logo and Michael Moore's documentaries.

• Nike has been criticised for the working
  conditions and production methods in the overseas
  factories with which it contracts.
• These campaigns have been taken up by many
  college and universities, especially
  anti-globalisation groups as well as several
  anti-sweatshop groups such as the United Students
  Against Sweatshops.

12
My View

• I feel that the current recurring system is
  an unfair one. Both sides are adversely affected.
  More and more unemployed people appear in MEDCs,
  while more and more very bad, laborious jobs
  appear in the LEDCs. People in the LEDCs are
  exploited. But in some ways, it benefits the
  poorer people in giving them jobs (however bad).
  Solving the problem is very difficult though.
  Doing as much as possible to help the problem is
  the best course of action. Fair-trade and Child
  protection laws can do something to please both
  sides of the problem.