Facts and figures: isn't it the job of governments to be protecting workers rights?
Tuesday, 10 April 2007 13:24
Yes. It is the task of governments to provide good working conditions and to enforce them. Legislation often does exist, and many garment-producing nations have good labour rights legislation. The problem is that it isn't enforced properly.
Under pressure from Western governments and international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, developing countries have implemented policies that prioritise the creation of an environment that is attractive to foreign investment. Incentives for foreign investors include not only low wages, but also the suspension of certain workplace and environmental regulations. If a government does attempt to strictly enforce these regulations, it is likely that many investors will quickly pack their bags for another country that is even less strict and is more accommodating. As a result, all these countries compete against one another based on the lure of their bad working conditions – the so called race to the bottom.
It's wrong to assume that governments have absolutely no control over foreign investments: not all companies pack up and leave at the first signs of government regulations. So it is valuable to encourage governments to pressure companies to take responsibility for their labour policies and ensure their compliance. That said, it's also true that a government's power against (large) companies is limited. Bad working conditions are an international problem that will not be solved on a national level alone.
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