Positive Impact Of The Unskilled Labor Scarcity
Rochana Cooray
GS301
Research Essay
Dr. Jayantha Jayman
Final Paper
Topic
Positive Impact Of The Unskilled Labor Scarcity: The Experiences Of Female BlueCollar Workers In The Sri Lankan Apparel Industry.
Introduction
Several dozen workers threatened mass suicide after Foxconn announced layoffs and transfers of workers, and purportedly reneged on severance pay in China. This is simply a snapshot of the dismal conditions within Export Production Zones (EPZs). EPZs are a direct result of the marriage of globalization with capitalism. Globalization accelerated during the industrial revolution and further sped up with the proliferation of air travel and the dawn of the information age, which in turn facilitated the expansion of free trade 1. In examining this historical chain of events it becomes evident that modern globalization has largely been lead by the more developed countries of the world. Thus it should come as no surprise that the global North holds much of the structural power in the global political economy (GPE). It is this control over capital, knowledge, security and production that allows the global North to expand the concept of free trade to the rest of the world ensuring that the system is beneficial to themselves. Since the expansion of the free-market, deregulation and the legal recognition of large corporations as individual have essentially transferred all of the structural power of the states to large multinational corporations (MNCs). As such in modern times it is the MNCs and large banks in the global north that hold a majority of the world’s structural power. These institutions ensure that the GPE is structured to facilitate profit maximization for corporate giants.
This paper examines Sri Lanka’s position within, and the impact of, the GPE through the lens of the Apparel Industry located within EPZs.
The expansion of the free market and increased capital mobility allowed MNCs access to the unskilled labor markets in developing nations such as
GS301
Research Essay
Dr. Jayantha Jayman
Final Paper
Topic
Positive Impact Of The Unskilled Labor Scarcity: The Experiences Of Female BlueCollar Workers In The Sri Lankan Apparel Industry.
Introduction
Several dozen workers threatened mass suicide after Foxconn announced layoffs and transfers of workers, and purportedly reneged on severance pay in China. This is simply a snapshot of the dismal conditions within Export Production Zones (EPZs). EPZs are a direct result of the marriage of globalization with capitalism. Globalization accelerated during the industrial revolution and further sped up with the proliferation of air travel and the dawn of the information age, which in turn facilitated the expansion of free trade 1. In examining this historical chain of events it becomes evident that modern globalization has largely been lead by the more developed countries of the world. Thus it should come as no surprise that the global North holds much of the structural power in the global political economy (GPE). It is this control over capital, knowledge, security and production that allows the global North to expand the concept of free trade to the rest of the world ensuring that the system is beneficial to themselves. Since the expansion of the free-market, deregulation and the legal recognition of large corporations as individual have essentially transferred all of the structural power of the states to large multinational corporations (MNCs). As such in modern times it is the MNCs and large banks in the global north that hold a majority of the world’s structural power. These institutions ensure that the GPE is structured to facilitate profit maximization for corporate giants.
This paper examines Sri Lanka’s position within, and the impact of, the GPE through the lens of the Apparel Industry located within EPZs.
The expansion of the free market and increased capital mobility allowed MNCs access to the unskilled labor markets in developing nations such as
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