Question

5. Who have typically been the workers in the textile industries? What were employers looking for when they hired these workers?

6. What are some of the difficulties Chinese textile workers face? What benefits are there to working in the factories?

7. According to Rivoli, capitalism and environmentalism are not at odds with each other. How can the market potentially help protect the environment or advance the cause of environmentalism?

8. Rivoli believes that (good) governance is essential to economic success. Why? Provide an example.

9. Rivoli ultimately argues that the free market isn’t the problem, but rather all the obstacles and interventions that prevent a truly free, global market from developing. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Answer 5-The textile industry is characterised by low wages, "flexible" contracts (or no contracts), and poor working conditions. Garment workers are usually the invisibles-poor and vulnerable, unorganised, informal and exploited worldwide. Due to increased demand for cheap textiles in recent decades, producers outsource garment production to developing countries find the cheapest labour to keep costs low and production levels high. These sector consists of more than 80% female workers who work under hazardous condition with an income much below the minimum wage regulation.

While choosing the employees for textile industry, employers usually look for the following characteristcs-

• Contract labour in poor countries.
• Poor regulation, flexible organisation of labour contractors.
• Financial incentives from labour contractors and those who agree to work at very low wage.
• Reduced transaction costs in production
• Ability to restrict worker organization and collective bargaining.
• Poor women who agree to work at minimum wage.
• Country where labor laws are less strict.