Nike has been accused several times of using slave child labor in other countries. Their biggest case is the one of making shoes in Indonesia. It is said that they higher kids under the age of 16 in a regular bases paying them only the minimum wage or nothing. These children are forcefully put to work by family members and at times even sold to companies. So does Nike support slave child labor? The legal age to work in Indonesia is any child 14 years or older, and Indonesia has over 2.4 million children working in rural areas and a quarter million working in urban areas between the ages 10 and 14. There are many more children under the age of ten working in Indonesia. These children sometimes have nowhere to go and they finish living in the same factories they work in all day. Indonesian culture has ignored all the laws against child labor for many years. Recently, the minimum wage was raised so they could in some way help all the children forcefully working under the legal age and this too has been ignored by many employers. When a country takes no major actions against child slave labor is it still wrong for companies to come in, hire, and use children’s labor?
Of course it's still wrong. Unless these children are not being exploited, which research shows they are. It does not matter whether or not the government chooses to address the issue or not, or whether the idea of child laborers are engraved in a people's culture. When children are being enslaved against their will, how can that ever be seen as okay and excused?
ReplyDeleteAlthough Child labor is an immoral practice and form of modern slavery, international companies such as nike are able to establish factories in countries where child labor laws are either nonexistent or rarely enforced. To combat child labor in such countries, pressure must be put on their governments to create/enforce laws that protect children and their rights.
ReplyDeleteHas anybody been able to show evidence that Nike is using child slave labor, and if so what prosecution has Nike faced?
ReplyDeleteAlso when you say the minimum wage has been raised but employers ignore that, do you mean that the children are not getting paid anything or that they are getting paid bare minimum for their labor?
One thing we learned in class is that every country has anti-slavery laws on the books. So is it that Nike has too much power to be prosecuted in Indonesia, or is it police corruption tat prevents action? We know Indonesia has laws regarding child slavery because you mentioned the minimum working age.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dynah. Being a loyal customer of Nike, i find this quite disturbing. I agree, Nike must be held accountable for their illegal business practices. How many cases are there of Nike using child labor, only in Indonesia? Also, many people are condemning NIke, but what has Nike said in response to these accusations?
ReplyDeleteRoberto, It looks like you're going to have a lot to discuss in class!!
ReplyDelete