An Argument in Support of Minimum International Essay Example

An Argument in Support of Minimum International Essay Example An Argument in Support of Minimum International Essay An Argument in Support of Minimum International Essay An Argument in Support of Minimum International Labor Standards Whether you support international labour criterions depends, to a certain extent, on your positions of both economic sciences and human nature. International criterions, much like the minimal pay and worker safety Torahs, were enacted to maintain corporate entities from yielding to their worst urges and surpluss. Britain enacted minimal pay Torahs in 1901. ( DeLeon, 2007. ) However, they did non go lawfully binding- that is enforced by the government- until 1999. ( BBC, 1999. ) Britain, along with Australia and the United States- and much of Western Europe- enacted these pay Torahs to â€Å"protect [ ed ] groupsofworkers, particularlywomenandchildren, inlow ­ wageindustries† and besides for the intent of â€Å"preventingtheâ€Å"corruption†ofwomenandtheprotectionofemployersfromlower  ­payingcompetitors.† ( Haussamen, 2007. ) Hence, the lower limit pay was non merely a sop to the brotherhoods, nor was it meant to merely protect the workers- it was besides desi gned to supply a pay floor so that rivals within an industry couldn’t merely lower their rewards, engage the cheapest employees and hence drastically cut their monetary values while protecting their net incomes. Otherwise, monetary value wars would hold been changeless and concerns would hold been left with no fiscal means to honor good workers. This last point is particularly of import in a planetary economic system. Minimal economic criterions every bit good as minimal criterions for worker intervention non merely protect the workers but besides their employers. How so? As the economic system becomes more globalised it has besides become more dependent on China and India, every bit good as, to a lesser extent, Russia and Brazil. China is good known for its low rewards and deficiency of worker safety. In fact, China merely instituted a minimal pay in 2004 and the linguistic communication of the legislative act, as relayed by the Chinese Embassy in the United States was maddeningly obscure, discoursing how â€Å"monthly minimal pay should take into history factors such as a worker and his dependants lower limit life cost, the urban occupant ingestion monetary value index, societal security and lodging accretion fund fees, mean wage, economic development degree and employment situation.† All the piece, China besides s et an hourly lower limit pay which â€Å"should take into history the local monthly lower limit pay, retirement pension and medical insurance fees, working conditions and strength, work stableness and public assistance of non parttime workers, harmonizing to the regulation.† All this is farther complicated by the fact that the Chinese minimal pay jurisprudence would let â€Å"different criterions between countries within a individual state, municipality or independent regionâ€Å" . ( Chinese Embassy, 2004. ) Hence, the Chinese minimal pay is non a minimal pay at all- given all the ambiguity, it is simply a suggestion. Nevertheless, difficult Numberss can be had with a small research. For case, in June 2006, the monthly lower limit pay in Beijing was a shadiness over 72 U.S. Dollars. This is rather fine-looking in comparing to Gansu state where the lower limit pay was merely over 40 U.S. Dollars per month. ( China Labor Watch, 2006. ) How can a British house compete with re wards that are a shadiness over 20 British pounds per month? And how can they offer the safety and quality of their products- and their name behind those products- if they are produced in the sort of conditions that people working for 20 Pounds a month doubtless have to digest? This is no mere exaggeration. As one might anticipate, if rewards are held to a bare lower limit, so are worker and merchandise safety criterions as the bottom line reigns supreme. The list of corrupt merchandises which were exported to Western states and their effects are drawn-out: they include, â€Å"Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the chemical cyanuramide â€Å" which â€Å"was blamed for Canis familiaris and cat deceases in North America† , every bit good as â€Å"toxic monkfish, frozen eel and juice made with insecure colour additives† and â€Å"Chinese-made toothpaste†- and those are merely exports. Domestically, Chinese clients contend with â€Å" [ R ] eports of nutrient toxic conditions or tainted food† , such as â€Å" [ the ] company [ which ] was ordered to halt production after it was found to be repackaging the filling from two-year-old rice dumplings.† ( AP, 2007. ) Bear in head, that the foregoing came from a individual intelligence report- a brief internet hunt reveals legion such incidences. Worker safety is an issue every bit good. Here excessively, the Numberss tell the narrative. Harmonizing to the Chinese authorities, in the first half of 2004, more than 362,000 people were injured and over 63,000 died while on the occupation. ( UPI, 2004 ) This is non exceeding. Indeed, China averages 6,000 worker deceasesper twelvemonthin its coal mines entirely. [ Said mines produce about 2 billion dozenss of coal per year- two-base hit the sum that they did in 2000. ( McLaughlin, 2006 ) It need non be this manner but from an economic position these 6,000 human deaths are sensible- given that the household of the mineworker can be compensated up to, but non transcending 1200 Pounds per decease, it is â€Å"cheaper to allow mineworkers, who might gain approximately $ 150 each month, take lifelessly risks.† ( McLaughlin, 2006 ) It is a basic maxim that a concern needs customers- farther ; they need repetition clients who speak positively of their experiences. And of class, all concerns need employees. While it is surely cheering to hear that consumers do non normally perish from devouring Chinese imports, higher criterions are decidedly called for. And while it would be optimum to hold concerns put the higher criterions for themselves, as we have seen through the brief treasure of the company that was restuffing dumplings with old ages old filling, this is non ever the instance. We do non intend to state of class that all companies are bad or that none are to be trusted. But we do believe that, left to their ain devices, most will take economic sciences over precautions, if forced to postulate with such a pick. A set of realistic, enforceable, unvarying international labour criterions is clearly necessary to protect the consumer, the worker and the concern itself. We do non recommend any set of criterions. Nor do we seek to enforce uniformity across continents and industries. It is understood that different companies and industries have different demands. It is clear that different states and civilizations have a broad array of positions. But we do believe that holding criterions in labour is critical for all those who profit from, utilize the resources of and of class produce the work which sustains the planetary economic system. Mentions: AP ( 2007 ) â€Å"China to Better Food Safety Standards, †Associated Press, 20 June 2007, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //wbztv.com/business/China.food.safety.2.285224.html on 11 April 2008. BBC ( 1999 ) â€Å"Britain gets first minimal pay, †BBC.CO.UK, 1 April 1999, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2465000/2465397.stm on 10 April 2008. China Labor Watch. ( 2006 ) â€Å"Minimum Monthly Wage Standards in Selected Provinces/Municipalities/Cities in China 1, † July 2006, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //www.chinalaborwatch.org/2006 % 20Editorials/07-24-2006 % 20Minimum % 20Wage % 20Chart.htm on 10 April 2008. DeLeon, J.M. ( 2007 ) â€Å"A history of the minimal pay, †Frederick News-Post, 11 February 2007, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29635285_ITM on 10 April 2008. Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America. ( 2004 ) â€Å"China Sets Minimum Wage Rules, † 24 June 2004, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //www.china-embassy.org/eng/gyzg/t63347.htm on 10 April 2008. Haussamen, B. ( 2007 ) â€Å"Raising the Minimum Wage, †The Northwest Progressive Institute, 4 January 2007, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nwprogressive.org/vault/reports/JAN07MinimumWage.pdf on 10 April 2008. McLaughlin, K.E. ( 2006 ) â€Å"In China: Energy Needs v. Mine Safety, †The Christian Science Monitor, 26 January 2006, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //www.csmonitor.com/2006/0126/p07s02-woap.html on 11 April 2008. UPI ( 2004 ) â€Å"China Says Worker Safety Situation Stable, †United Press International, 20 July 2004, accessed via hypertext transfer protocol: //www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9011909_ITM on 11 April 2008.