Exploitation of China's Workers

There is no doubt that China has a true competitive advantage in the global economy, but the question is at what cost does this come? This competitive advantage benefits other consumerist countries like the United States, in which one estimate claims “products made in China have saved the average American family $500 a year.” (Harney 2) With the China Price, China’s “share (of the world’s manufacturing output by value added) had grown to 12.1 percent, making China the world’s third-largest producer after America and Japan.” (Harney 4) So how does China achieve this competitive advantage? It achieves it by the exploitation of their workers. While these workers continue to slave away in harsh conditions and face physical costs, their plight remains unknown by many consumers which benefit from their hardships. Not only is the treatment of Chinese workers unethical, but it is also imperative that consumer and foreign corporations alike understand the roles they play in perpetuating these conditions. Who belongs to the group of Chinese workers that continually face unbearable hardships? The largest group exploited workers is migrant workers, which is made up of men, children, but mostly women. But it is not only the migrant workers that are facing this plight. Anita Chan, author of China’s Workers Under Assault, discusses these other workers facing poor conditions. Chan explains that “For many formerly privileged workers in the state-owned industrial sector, working conditions, benefits and job security have declined precipitously over the past fifteen years.” (Chan 13) No matter who belongs to this group of mistreated workers they all face similar harsh conditions within their respective factories. Workers work for extremely low wages, often for a hundred hours a week, all the while receiving poor benefits. These low wages are commonly below the minimum wage which the Chinese government set in the Labor Law. In fact “In 1997, for a forty-four-hour week, the

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