Exploitation In International Business

Exploitation of Third World Economies and Labour Force

There are two types of exploitation of the Third World which are Labour Exploitation and Economy exploitation.

The Third World is regularly exploited by multinationals and developed countries, especially their labour force which is normally considerably cheaper in comparison to the workforce in developed countries. This is because in the MDC's there are many more rights and regulations for workers including a minimum wage which can be a lot higher than the wages of Third World workers. The developed world also does exploit the third worlds' economy by paying low prices for the goods and services that they sell which are normally primary goods such as raw materials. The exploited labour is normally where workers are made to work for long hours and at very low rates in poor working conditions such as factories and sweatshops. These workers normally are very poor and have low or no education, with a lacking health care service. The governments of these MDC's can exploit the third world through trade agreements which favour them and don't take into account the effects on the third world.

Some examples of these two kinds of exploitation are :

The African mining companies operations

The african mining companies which are mostly owned by western countries are known for their exploitation of third world workers who work in poor conditions for very little pay. This link shows the history of african mining:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/page25.shtml

Unfair wages for African Workers

Tesco have reported profits of over £3 billion last year and workers in africa are being paid under £98 per month, some people are saying that Tesco should share out the profits more and give the workers in africa a better wage. This article from the guardian explains this in more detail:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/may/15/tesco-south-africa-workers-conditions

Illegal logging in Brazil and Indonesia

Illegal logging is an example of explotation of third world economies, as big businesses are taking advantage of the relaxed rules and using this to operate in these activities. Indonesia has become a victim of this especially with illegal logging being a massive problem, this is a site looking at the implication of this on the country:

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2002/timber_mafia/viewpoints/viewpoints_doherty.htm

These forms of exploitation are easier on the poor and weak and big internationals use this to cut down their costs and increase profit.

However if this exploitation was to be leaked through the press to the public about a specific company then this may deter their customers from using them for goods or services as it would be seen to be unethical. So this reduced business would have drastic effects on their profits and so by using Third world labour they are taking a risk that if it got out then they would be in a bad position with public image. Also if there were suppliers for this business then they may not supply them anymore so that their negative image does not go onto them and ruin their customer base.

The above are pictures of various pictures of exploitation and a map of the first, second and third world.