Custom essays on NIKE Inc.

NIKE is the giant of sportswear industry and its incomes amount to billions of dollars every year. But mainly, all these huge profits are based on thoroughly exploitation of workers.
Therefore NIKE Inc. was accused by Aid Abroad-Oxfam Australia Community of treating workers like machines.
“Factory managers abuse and harass us because they think it will increase our productivity. They don’t understand that people work better when they are treated in a way that respects their needs. You should do research into that. Maybe then they will stop treating us like machines. All you need to do is turn on a machine and it works automatically. Humans cannot work like that. We are not machines.” (Connor, 2002)
This was one of two epigraphs, which begins “We are not machines” report, based on original interviews and focus group researches with a total of thirty-five workers from four Indonesian factories producing for Nike. It was released internationally March 7, 2002, and chronicles the working conditions facing Indonesian Nike workers.
Threat of dismissal, jail and physical assault, physical and psychological pressure, abnormal working conditions made people fear for their lives. People must work 11-12 hours every day and usually don’t have any vacations.
“Workers are still shouted at when they work too slowly, and in some factories they are still humiliated by having their intelligence insulted or being compared to animals such as dogs or monkeys. Considerable obstacles are placed in the way of taking legally-mandated annual leave, and workers are often prevented from taking leave to which they are entitled. Respiratory illnesses associated with inhaling vapours from toxic chemicals are still occurring, albeit less often.”(Connor, 2002)
In spite of such terrible working conditions, the wages of workers are well below the legal minimum working wage – near $US2 per day, $US60 per month. These fact forces people to live in extreme poverty, because this money is hardly enough to pay for basic goods: rice, water, kerosene, palm oil. The cause of such situation is also high prices on market. “In January 2002 a focus group of six single workers from the same factory responded to a question about how much they were able to save with ironic laughter. They instead described how it had become necessary to borrow money towards the end of each month until their pay came through.” (Connor, 2002)
Hence, NIKE Company exploited workers from developing countries. Exploitation of people means using them, with little or no consideration of their well-being, directly or indirectly forcing them to work. It is very hard to find job in Indonesia and NIKE Inc. takes advantage from this. It gives working places on their factories, which are situated in this country and absolutely doesn’t care about workers, but quite the opposite, thinks that gives people chance to live.
Such critical situation forces children under 16 years old, not only from Indonesia but from Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Pakistan and Mexico, to work on NIKE factories too. Most children, who work on factories don’t have any education, because often don’t have money even to buy food. So they need to work, on plants and factories of multinationals to get some money for themselves and for thief families.
A lot of other multinational companies also don’t have enough clean hands in respect of child labor. Having clean hands, in this case, means not using child labor at all, because, for example, the U.S constitution states that child labor is an illegal and inhumane practice and any U.S. company found guilty practicing and encouraging it will be prosecuted. The similar paragraph is included to other countries constitutions.

However, multinationals shut their eyes to this paragraph and actively use child labor on their factories in the delivering countries, where it is widely practiced and local government takes very little action to combat it. It is much cheaper to have a lot of poorly-paid children and adult workers there, than to engage adult workers from delivered countries, where GATT, WTO and different trade unions prohibit violation of human rights more sternly. Of course, these organizations are trying to stop using child labor in the whole world, but they haven’t reached any considerable results yet, because this will disrupt economics not only delivering but delivered countries too. The only result of worldwide Anti Child Labor Company is that some delivered countries refuse to give a permission for export goods of companies, which exploits children. Nike is #1 in black-list of majority of delivered countries.
The city of Franca, Brazil is one of the main manufactures of leather mail shoes in the world and is the second largest shoe manufacturing region of Brazil. It produces thirty three million pairs annually; six million pars are exported, generating around one hundred million dollars in trade. Adult footwear-workers of this town have better conditions of work and life than in Indonesia, Vietnam, China etc. But the work on footwear factories here is also dangerous for health. There are potential issues, which includes exposure to dangerous chemicals, respiratory illnesses, musculoskeletal hazards (such as repetitive motion injuries and back injury from heavy lifting), acute injury hazards (such as lacerations, amputations, crush injuries or falls), exposure to excessive heat or noise and dangers to workers’ eyes.
However, not only adult footwear-workers are exposed the threats. Child labor exploitation is also widespread there. Based on researchers collected in Franca, most children often combine school with work in the shoe industry. Such life had negative influence on children’s health and studies.
Brazil’s government, with the support of international and nongovernmental organizations, since the 1990s has made a concerted effort to eradicate child labor and with the help of the International Labor Organization (ILO), local businesses and corporations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) has cut the number of children at work by 50 percent.
But the government of majority of delivering countries doesn’t want to fight openly with fact of children employment in their countries. They also don’t want to watch over wages and working conditions of their citizen. In that case, multinational companies will continue humble and exploit their workers.

 
References
Connon, Timothy. We are not machines. Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, 2002.
French, J. Lawrence. Children’s Labor Market Involvement, Household Work, and Welfare. Journal of business ethics, June 12, 2009. 63-78.
Harsono, Andreas. Nike Accused of “Slave” Child Labor. Albion Monitor June 30, 1996.
Perera, Luiz Carlos Jacob, Kimura H., Kerr R., Lima F. Financial Diagnosis in Franca: Brazilian Footwear industry. Journal of International Finance, December 20, 2008. 100-102