Sweatshops in Honduras
A maquiladora, or maquila, for short is described as a factory involved primarily in the apparel industry, and to a lesser degree in footwear and electronics assembly. Currently there are over two hundred of these maquilas in Honduras, employing hundreds-of-thousands of men, women and children (mostly women and children). The majority of these maquilas are considered to be sweatshops for all intensive purposes, so what is a sweatshop? Historically the word "sweatshop" originated in the 19th century to describe a subcontracting system in which the middlemen earned profit from the margin between the amount they received for a contract and the amount they paid to the workers. The margin was said to be "sweated" from the worker because they received minimal wages for excessive hours worked under unsatisfactory conditions. (Sweatshop Watch p.1-2) A more up-to-date definition describes a sweatshop as a workplace where workers are subject to: extreme exploitation - including the absence of a living wage and benefits - poor working conditions - such as health and safety hazards - and excessive or arbitrary discipline. To most this would sound atrocious, but where was
The protesters demanded an increase in wages, price controls on utilities and other basic services, job creation, and government action to ensure adequate staple foods at affordable prices (The Sweatshop Quandary p. So what is being done to change policy and prevent these mistreatments and inhumanities? The United States in Honduras' leading trade partner, supplying 46% on its imports and purchasing 49% of its exports including: bananas, coffee, shrimp, gold, silver and other minerals, fruit and vegetables. The code allows companies to choose their own monitoring (National Catholic Reporter p. 6) The country also has extensive forest, marine and mineral resources, but widespread "slash-and-burn" agricultural methods continue to destroy Honduran forests. * "Wal-Mart Sweatshops in Honduras" National Labor Committee November 2003 USA* "99% perspiration: Honduras. This government was the most productive thus far. One human rights worker critically stated that "the commission lacked any sincere commitment to solve problems" (The Sweatshop Quandary p. "Maquila neoslavery, under condition from bad to inhuman. Once Honduras figures out how its people need to be treated to enjoy working, and allow a forum where they are allowed to lobby for the things they want changed in the workplace, and a decent pay-rate can be agreed upon. Additionally the pregnant women are given tasks like ironing - which requires constant standing - in an attempt to make them quit, and allow the maquilas to avoid paying maternity benefits. directly invested over $840 million in Honduras, that is roughly two-thirds of total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of $1.
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