Feb. 9— Global retailers, including British supermarkets, are systematically
inflicting poor working conditions on millions of women workers in order
to conduct price wars and feed ever-rising consumer expectations of
cheap produce, Oxfam said in a report released Feb. 8.
A study of employment conditions in 12 countries, which supply items
from jeans to gerberas to international brands such as Wal-mart and
Tesco, found that the largely female workforce in many suppliers is
working longer hours for low wages in unhealthy conditions and failing
to reap any benefit from globalization.
Women in developing countries are estimated to occupy between 60 and
90 percent of the jobs in the labor-intensive stages of the clothing
industry and the production of fresh fruit and vegetables, destined
for supermarket shelves in Europe and America.
Oxfam claims that the buying policies of the new breed of global retailers
which use competition between suppliers as far apart as Thailand and
Kenya, to demand lower prices and increased efficiencies, have resulted
in the worsening labor conditions on those at the bottom of the supply
chain.
Kate Raworth, the report’s author, said: “The majority of
workers performing these tasks -- picking fruit, sewing garments, cutting
flowers -- are women. But rather than their work providing the income
to lift their families out of poverty, these workers are commonly hired
on short contracts or, with no contract at all, they have no sick leave
and their insecurity and vulnerability is reinforced. Exploiting the
circumstances of vulnerable people, whether intentionally or not, is
at the heart of many employment strategies in global supply chains.”
Oxfam said its research in countries such as South Africa, Bangladesh,
Colombia, Honduras, and Thailand found that women workers were expected
to juggle the traditional responsibilities of housekeeping and child
rearing as well as bringing in an extra income.
As a result, they were exploited by employers who expect them to perform
“low skill” jobs at maximum efficiency. While many were receiving
the minimum wage from suppliers, the income was still not enough to
cover basic needs, Oxfam claims.
In Bangladesh, 98 percent of the workers approached by Oxfam were receiving
the legal minimum. But its level was set in 1994 and the price of staple
foodstuffs has doubled since.
In Morocco, staff in garment factories, supplying Spain’s El Cortes
department store chain, were expected to work up to 16-hours a day to
meet orders placed with seven days’ notice, but are paid barely
half of the overtime they accumulate.
The market is dominated by large companies which act as “gatekeepers”
between developing countries and lucrative western markets, according
to the report.
Retailers now hold “internet auctions” for suppliers to submit
the lowest bids for contracts and place “same-day” orders
for fresh produce to be packaged and shipped within 24 hours, placing
extra burdens on female pickers and packing workers.
Extra costs, such as specific packaging ordered by most UK supermarkets,
are also passed on to farmers whose margins, in turn, are so tight that
they have to pass on the financial burden to their workforce, it is
claimed in the report.
In South Africa, the export price for apples has fallen 33 percent since
1994. In Florida the real price paid for tomatoes, picked by women immigrant
laborers, has dropped by a quarter since 1992, while the price paid
in supermarkets by consumers in America has risen by 43 percent.
The study highlights Tesco, Britain’s biggest and most profitable
supermarket, which also sells in 10 other countries, as being among
retailers which allegedly pass on costs without paying more for the
end product.
Source: Independent (UK)
