Asia’s Economic Rise Fueled by Sweatshop Labor

By N. GUNASEKARAN

The majority of workers in Asian countries are selling their labor under the worst, inhuman sweatshop conditions. They get only the lowest average salaries. People in underdeveloped economies are leading very low quality of life due to their low earnings. Workers in poor Asian countries are compelled to work for long hours. Also, they are under severe stress due to lack of regular contracts.

Currently, 61% of the global workforce are employed in insecure, informal jobs. In South Asia, the proportion of workers in the informal sector is 87%, and in East Asia it is 50%. More than 64% of women workers are in informal employment. The workers in informal sectors do not have access to decent work, fair wages, care services or other social protections.

Regarding the woeful conditions of working women, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said: “On average, women in the region worked 7.7 hours daily, of which only 3.3 hours are paid, and the rest are dedicated to unpaid care work. If included in measurement of GDP, unpaid care work undertaken by women in Asia Pacific would add 3.8 trillion USD to the regional total GDP.”

Why do women seek informal jobs? The International Labour Organization (ILO) explained it.“The need for flexible arrangements between home and work drive women to look for jobs that are accommodating and therefore, become employed in the informal sector which offer flexibility, but at the cost of vulnerable conditions of work and pay.”

In Bangladesh, the garment industry, with 4,000 factories employing 4 million workers, is notorious for low wages. Bangladesh has the lowest wages in the world and its minimum wage was $73 per month in 2022. The average monthly salary in Bangladesh is $235. Last year, demanding higher pay in garment industry, the workers held massive protests, which led to clashes with police. Two workers were killed and dozens of workers wounded.The government formed a panel of factory owners, union leaders and officials to take decision on higher pay. Pakistan has an average monthly minimum wage of $172.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand, the second-largest economy in the region, is considered an emerging market. However, the minimum wage in Thailand was $207 per month in 2023, and its average monthly wage in 2023 was only $431.

Even after retirement, workers could not lead a life of dignity. In Malaysia, the Finance Ministry last year informed Parliament that around 6.3 million private-sector workers below 55 had less than $2,125 as retirement savings.Millions of Malaysians had only $8.92 per month to survive in their old age.

The voice of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reflected the realities in poor Asian countries. He said: “A company with a profit of 1 billion ringgit (Malaysian currency), yet paying its workers between 1,800 ringgit and 2,000 ringgit, is inconsistent with Madani values,” (“Madani” refers to Malay acronym for SCRIPT, which stands for sustainability, care and compassion, respect, innovation, prosperity, and trust.)

While the workers are struggling to meet their basic needs, the big corporations are reaping huge profits. Asia’s economic growth was attained, thanks to the labor of workers in factories and in the informal sectors. However, the prosperity is not shared with workers in the form of increased wages, better benefits and safer work environment.

Vulnerable workers sell their labor, working in very hazardous conditions which lead to fatal accidents and hundreds of deaths. Toiling in dangerous garment factories or mines, exposed to toxic chemicals or deadly asbestos, about 1.2 million workers lose their lives every year due to work-related diseases and accidents in Asia Pacific. For instance, furnace explosion accidents occur in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, the fast-growing nickel processing industry.

Conditions of migrant workers are more miserable than domestic workers and they work under more unsafe conditions. They are almost three times more likely to die in industrial accidents. Recently, a deadly blaze killed 23 workers in South Korea at the plant packing lithium batteries, run by a South Korea-based company, Aricell.

Only when the accidents happen, the global media report them, but they are not interested in reporting the poor working conditions of the workers.The hot temperatures and poor ventilation in factories affect the health of workers and they are deprived of immediate medical help.

The working population in Asia is more and more suppressed in the face of rising inequality in people’s opportunities to develop their human capital and income-earning capacity.

Moreover, the workers in many countries in Asia were deprived of the rights for freedom of association and the rights to organize and bargain collectively for the improvement of their living conditions.In manufacturing companies. Workers have to face daunting obstacles to form unions. The union activists were fired and blacklisted, and they could never find another job.

In spite of such adverse situations, Asian workers have to tackle all obstacles and, united, raise their voices for the effective implementation of fundamental workers’ rights, including safety and healthy workplaces.

N. Gunasekaran is a political activist and writer based in Chennai, India.

From The Progressive Populist, August 1, 2024

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