watchingfromzhongguo
• 10/11/2005 - Clean Clothes Campaign says families of workers killed in factory collapse still awaiting compensation
Families of workers killed making European sweaters still awaiting compensation:
Action demanded at six-month anniversary of factory collapse
Amsterdam, October 11, 2005 - Adding insult to injury, survivors and families of the dead are STILL awaiting adequate compensation a full six months after the collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh brought their lives to an abrupt and gruesome halt.
From The Clean Clothes Campaign www.cleanclothes.org an international network of trade unions and NGOs that aims to improve conditions and empower workers in the global garment industry.
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• 9/28/2005 - Back in New Zealand
I am back in New Zealand for a week for the first time in four years. I am in Auckland my home town to see family on holiday.
As it is more than three years since I was back here I am struck by how
I had glamourised it in a sense. While it is very beautiful, it is not
quite as beautiful (yet in the cloudy weather this week) it had become
in my minds eye.
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• 9/13/2005 - 050627 Ethical Supply Chain question Responses
FROM: Anita Nagarajan 2005-06-10
To: csr-chicks@yahoogroups Subject: Impact on supply chains
Dear All,
I'm
currently developing tools to essentially assess (or attempt to assess)
the labour impact of the pressures corporations place on their
suppliers. Could anyone possibly offer some advice on this? I really
need to know how workable these tools would be and what areas I've
overlooked. If you think you could assist (or know someone who can),
please get in touch. Thanks a lot, Anita
Response from Kate Larsen:
Question
Anita: 1. From the unit cost of a product, can one roughly find out the
labour cost? In this way, would one be able to know if the worker
received at least the minimum wage? (I realise that working this out
would not be an exact science).
Answer
Kate: No, as this will be different every single time. Just because a
company can make or sell something cheap, doesn't mean they are paying
low or below minimum wages etc. Cost is made up of many factors, the
most variable factor actually being margins. Yes, things made so-called
'ethically' have often meant proper wages, insurances etc were paid,
and on-time etc etc,...but just because something is expensive doesn't
mean something was made ethically. Maybe someone in the middle took a
big cut as a 'Director Fee' or who knows. A larger firm maybe able to
afford better technologies which allow it to be more efficient and
therefore produce cheaper, etc,etc. We can't even tell where a product
was made, which greatly influences price. Even the 'Made In X' label on
an item is not exactly correct, sometimes components are mostly made in
other countries for tax or other reasons. It is not easy to buy a
'ethical buyer'. One generally has no idea, unless an NGO tells us so
on a front page, and even by the time we read that sort of article a
brand may have already dropped, or changed things with a supplier.
Ethical purchasing has to be more about trust in the long-term supply
chain management of a company, as short term there are too many factors
at play.
Question Anita: 2. Can one determine if a lead-time is too short? If so, how might this be done?
Answer
Kate: In what circumstances? For what sort of product? Of course the
more lead time the more likely a supplier would be able to balance
their finances and ensure they paid workers on time, etc,etc,...but
again,....shorter lead times does not have to mean disobeying labour
and other laws. Many companies are able to produce in very short lead
times while still obeying the law and paying people decently, on time,
not going over maximum working hours per week, etc. Others have plenty
of lead time, and still don't comply with labour or health and safety
laws. Labour law compliance is about medium and longer term incentives,
systems, structures, learning opportunities, pressure, and personal
integrity. Lead-time is a very small factor in all these drivers for
compliance.
Question
Anita: 3. It seems to me that to really know if a supplier is under too
much pressure, one needs information about their capacity. I would like
to find a way of possibly working this out. Obviously there are many
factors to take into account like employee numbers; technology and
machinery; reliability of electricity. Can you offer any advice? I'm
not sure whether its possible to get information on all factors (like
if there is a high employee turnover rate) and if some kind of formula
can be made, again as a guide.
Answer
Kate: I disagree on the factors you would take in to account. I would
imagine to do some research into whether this type of firm in this type
of area has a good reputation or not. I.e. is this type renowned for
corruption? would be more useful. If so though, you will always find
some good in a group that can improve,....while there are lone
companies out there with excellent management systems in industries
with poor records of compliance. I think a good piece of desk-based
internet and phone research by local people can often give a good idea
of whether a certain firm is on the strong side with compliance or
weak. On the ground interviews near a factory site with workers can
also (must be done very sensitively and appropriately). A site audit
and assesesment can also be very helpful here too. Once you have an
idea of how the firm is run, i.e. how much they comply in general, you
can then understand whether their comments about being under too much
under pressure from you as a buyer are realistic. If they are generally
complying with labour, health, safety, financial and environmental
laws, and say your demands are pressure,...then it probably is too much
pressure. If they are already not complying,..then if you are
practising ethical sourcing then you shouldn't be sourcing from them
anyway, or at least only with a very strong plan to bring them into
compliance, and some sort of '3-strikes & your out' type policy
with random monitoring of their work to come in to compliance. This is
much easier data to come by than all the internal data you mention,
which I don't believe would actually answer your question.
Best regards
Kate Larsen.
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• 9/13/2005 - China moves ahead with transparency
More great news from the Peoples Daily: China moves ahead with transparency
http://english.people.com.cn//200509/13/eng20050913_208157.html
Optimistically put:"There
have been so many similar developments in recent years that people have
begun to take them for granted. They include the establishment of a
spokesmen system across the country, the reform to make public
administrative decisions at the grass-roots level and then gradually
upward through higher levels and the availability of road maps to go
through administrative approval procedures on government websites."
But I think they have a point.
When
we criticise China's social situation, and political and legal
transparency, we often don't realise quite what a large country we are
dealing with, and how much change has been occuring. The continuing
pressure is still justified, but it is important to keep acknowledging
the changes that have occurred, the improvements, and support the
development of more, which ultimately benefits China both socially And
economically, as well as our own societies in the same ways. Western
businesses in China could learn something from this. When lobbying for
legislative or administrative change on issues where they have been
exasperated with the different environment to the point of just about
pulling their hair out, unfortunately the temptation seems to be to
criticise first, rather than acknowledge quite what 'stunning' as the
article puts it, changes have occurred in recent years. By
acknowledging and appreciating we support and encourage more of the
same, rather than generating justifiable defensiveness and nationalism
which works more to reverse improvements than bring about more.
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• 9/13/2005 - China planning to collect fuel tax
Great news from China's Peoples Daily newspaper!
http://english.people.com.cn//200509/13/eng20050913_208250.html
About
time! The air pollution in Beijing has been so bad in the past few
months. At last count there were 3 million cars in Beijing. Their
emissions, mostly significant as older vehicles don't have as effective
emissions standards combine with the dust from construction to create a
permanent haze. Apparently there are about 6000 construction sites in
Beijing at the moment. I'll believe it. I go past at least 20 on my
15minute bike ride to work in Beijing. I was tempted to start a photo
montage of all the interesting signs they have advertising the fancy
new apartments they are building for "a refined life" , etc, etc.
This
city will not look the same by the Olympics. Let's hope the fuel tax,
and new subways being dug in Beijing make a difference too, and the air
doesn't look the same by the Olympics. That is to say, we can actually
breath it rather than risking also getting the biggest killer in
Chinese cities today, lung cancer.
For now, the only upside is beautiful pollution enhanced sunsets.
I think I'd prefer less crowded highways and cleaner air though.
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• 8/11/2005 - Blogging from China. A small effort
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Formerly called: Still testing post-...Letters from China
Still testing. I've lost count, this is my 3rd
or 4th blog site, and I'm nervous to write too much, or post all my old
blogs until I am certain that I'm not going to find in another day or
so that This one is blocked from China Too!
It's the wierdest thing,...having my own freedom of expression so reduced.Somehow suddenly everything all makes sense. Makes me want to pick up and go work as a refugee advisor in New Zealand..... While
I realise how stability is bringing about improvements in some pretty
tough livelihoods in China, it still seems to be at a huge sacrifice. I
will leave China for this reason one day,...much as I so love the
place. I was born to something different,..one of us few priviledged
ones to be so,...and now I realise what others live with day after week
after month after year. Wishing safety,
sanctity and peace for all those striving to just create a decent lives
for themselves, their families, their cultures, and wanting to speak
out in order to have that simple opportunity.
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• 8/10/2005 - The Great Wall at 5:30am....a beautiful place to be.
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Amazing to go to a party on the Great Wall. A bit ridiculous.....while it was a fantastic night I felt uncomfortable with the local people up all night just to sell us food, or rain coats for a $ or two each.
Made me realise how much more we can give,...and how enjoying just the simple things in life can be great too. | |
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• 8/10/2005 - China Daily article referencing Confucius in international politics discussion
• 8/10/2005 - No news about suicide bomb killing 30 on bus in China
A quick glance on yahoo news and they are babbling about the spaceship...nothing to be seen about a bomb equivalent to that in London only some weeks ago And no surprises there.
but,...oh,..its in Fujian,....which to the west seems further than mars.
What happened:
Suicide bomber strikes on bus, injuring 31 in China,From China Daily August 09, 2005
A suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus in central Fuzhou Monday, killing himself and injuring 31 others, local police said.
The blast in the capital of East China's Fujian Province went off at 2:32 pm as the No 5 bus pulled in at the Dongjiekou Stop in Dongda Road, one of the city's busiest streets.
There was a deafening "big bang," said Lin Lina, a female employee working in an office building on the roadside.
"Thick smoke rose into the sky, and we couldn't see or tell what was happening," Lin said.
Even from her office on the tenth floor, Lin said there was a strong smell of sulphur.
Eventually the smoke cleared to reveal the bus on the street below with its windows blown out.
"The passengers, injured and shocked, were struggling to get out of the bus," said Lin.
The shockwave from the home-made explosives was so huge that the windows of a nearby store shattered, according to the sohu.com website.
Lin's colleagues immediately called the emergency services. Fire engine and ambulance sirens soon rang through the street.
Police later said the explosion came from a second-row seat on the right-hand side of the bus.
The suspected bomber, Huang Maojin, died on the spot.
Huang, 42, was a farmer from Fujian's Gutian County.
According to a suicide note found by police, he had been suffering from lung cancer for about two years.
In the letter, Huang said he had a dispute with one of his neighbours in 2002. He claimed he had been unfairly treated by the local public security department and was sentenced to jail until the end of 2003.
The imprisonment delayed treatment of his illness, he claimed.
Huang's family was heavily in debt and his children were unable to go to school because of lack of money, the letter said.
Police are still investigating the case.
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• 5/6/2005 - Early blog on Coal and power industry
Back online again after last blog dying as I was too busy to pay the fee!
Stuck with blogger giving me a chinese system for now,...my Chinese
must be getting better as I understood everything to register!
Back in Beijing. Air not too bad, ...although thunder storms interesting.
Fascinating talk today about the power industry here. Coal prices gone
up,..price to sell power fixed,...producers in the middle all not
making money. Some Chinese might go cold in the freezing winter next
year,....a fascinating case study for a MacroEconomics class,..let
alone the environmental conversation.
Logical thing to do of course would be to provide support to the solar
and wind industries to sell home and business solar and wind generators
to all people in the areas,...and then the whole issue would be pretty
close to solved,....let alone the benefit of starting to put better
installation in old buildings here.
I get exasperated and thoroughly depressed by the incredible
environmental destruction going on here in China,....but at the same
time love the challenge of thinking about how these can be
overcome,...what are the systems and interdependancies and incentives
and play,...who are the players,...and who is the one that would have
the incentive to make the (sometimes very easy and small) decisions
which could bring about some huge changes with results for environment,
peoples daily lives and living costs, new economic development, new
realms and paradigms of thinking and whats possible.
Last century our grandparents saw so many changes which could never
have even been envisaged when they were young, that even though I know
that our climate change and environmental desctruction ( let alone
poverty and human rights) issues are huge, ...I believe somehow we can
overcome them.....we just have to act faster,...and keep pushing the
envelope as all those inventors who had a dream did last
century,....Edison, Wright brothers,..Rutherford,..Einstein,..Marie
Curie,...we have to have more and greater breakthroughs than they
did,...and all the others who invented radio, television, the
internet,..mobile phones,..jet engines,..trains,.robots....and finally
.....computers such as my little baby here.
We need to harness all our energies to create solutions for all our
future. Sustainable solutions to develop our own opportunities. We'll
all regret it in years to come if we have plenty of money and career or
whatever success, but nowhere to go on holiday as the rivers, lakes,
mountains are all polluted,smelly, with fish floating upside down and
unable to be swum in...forests cut,...land desert,...etc.
More xiaci! (next time).
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• 5/4/2005 - 050409 textiles and enforcing labour and enviro laws
This article discusses EU textile
Association frustration at the recent great increase in textiles
(clothing & other materials) being imported to Europe following the
agreement on textiles.
They suggest the EU implement new tarrifs on Chinese textiles as this
is an 'unusual' situation, which would totally reverse all changes the
recent ending of textiles had fought for. The reason subsidies and
tariffs are removed by market favouring systems is that they create
what is called in economics a 'dead-weight loss', a loss of money that
no-one gains as there is a huge efficiency created.
The solution to this mess would be to rapidly legislate and implement
that the same standards that are applied to import of goods for quality
and material composition are applied to labour and environmental
standards in production. That is to say that most developing countries,
including the EU, these days have decently funded governmental bodies,
and staff and systems in customer companies who check quality of goods,
and that there aren't any dangerous chemicals etc used in the materials
the good is made of, such as food or childrens toys etc. If China were
to have such stringent standards enforcement applied to ensuring that
all exporters of textiles were abiding by Chinese laws on labour
conditions (paying minimum wages and all social insurance
contributions, not going over overtime limits, giving proper vacation)
and environmental & health & safety management (not emitting
emissions over the limits, providing masks to workers making clothing
where there are chemical emissions, disposing of all waste properly),
then there textile exports would not be nearly as cheap to Europe, and
Europe would not currently be experiencing this influx which the
European textile association is worried will put European textile
companies out of business.
It is high time we westerners started to take some responsibility for
our demands for low prices, then subsequent disregard for the working
conditions and environmental conditions in the countries where this
'cheap' produce we love to consume comes from. At the same time, the
European textile manufacturers association has a point. There is high
unemployment in many European countries, and while longterm it may not
be sustainable not to move much of the labour intensive production to
markets with cheaper labour such as China, short term at least, it
makes no sense to either Europe, or China in the longterm to have
masses more European workers suddenly laid off before they have a
chance to be reskilled for new jobs. It makes no sense to China as this
could significantly affect European economies, and politics, causing
impacts on the world, and hence Chinese economy.
What it would take to decrease Chinese exports to Europe, and the US
where domestic manufacturers are also complaining about 'dumping' of
Chinese textiles, would be a requirement that exporting companies from
Anywhere, guarantee that they are abiding by the law. Then heavy
pressure on the governments of those countries to greatly increase
pressure on, and funding for their local labour and environmental
offices to ensure legal compliance is being undertaken.
In China though, the conflict is that local governments are still
judged largely on local GDP growth, rather than a balanced scorecard,
of economic growth, with sustainable environmental and labour
management. This GDP only focus though is Not sustainable. Bad labour
conditions incite social unrest. People in China are increasingly aware
of their rights by at a minimum Chinese labour law for minimum wages,
to be paid on time, to recieve insurance, holidays, protective safety
equipment, training and by law, not be able to be forced to, or have to
work long hours (80+ hour weeks) for low wages. Bad environmental
management is both also causing increasing criticism (of development if
not the government), but more importantly, becoming incredibly
expensive to China. While there are still many people that smoke
cigarettes, the recent news that more people die in Chinese cities of
lung cancer than anything else has been attributed by China's State
Environmental Protection Bureau (SEPB) largely to China's present
shockingly polluted and bad air quailty in at least 10 major cities.
This week we in Beijing were warned by the SEPB not to go outdoors if
we could help it on Wednesday as the air pollution was at dangerous
levels.
If European and US consumers and societies are going to place such
incredible demands on Chinese producers for textiles and other goods,
then we have responsibility to our own societies and economies,
Chinese, and other labout intensive workers, and the entire world
environment (global warming from emissions increase is a shared not
local problem), to ensure that at least basic laws are abided by before
we demand ineffective new archaic economic short-term restrictions such
as new tarriffs.
What is needed is for the textile and other western manufacturing
orgnanisations to put pressure on consumers of these goods, and the
companies purchasing these goods, as well as their governments to
pressure China and other such producing countries to increase their
funding and management of legal compliance with basic laws. Prices of
Chinese goods will inevitably increase if labour and environmental laws
are abided by, European goods will be more competitive with those
coming from China (although there will still be increasing
competition-healthy and good for all businesses and societies where
there is good governance), and any inevitable decrease in
competitiveness of labour intensive production in the west will be
greatly slowed down giving far more time for each society to develop
new economies and train people for new jobs to ensure no massive
increase in unemployment and economic detriment.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050408/bs_afp/euchinatradetextiles_050408155430
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• 3/3/2005 - First post. March 2005, from Guangzhou
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In Guangzhou, south China, the big province surrounding the
little islands area called Hong Kong. Last night went for a walk to the suburbs
behind my hotel. Lots of families, people from the countryside, at least lots
of the many millions of living on a $ a day Chinese. Walked along a river
through an area of old Chinese apartments, probably the most polluted river I
have ever seen, if you could call it a river that is. Maybe more like a rubbish
dump. I know we have polluted places in the west, in the western countries I've
lived in, New Zealand, US, UK, but it struck me that you just would not Ever
see anything that polluted in New Zealand,....yet there are many like
this,...more than I could count,...there was an interesting (sad) quote in the
news yesterday that 70% of China's rivers are polluted. These are the sources
of life for 1/5 of the worlds people though,...for a large area of the earths
land,....I'm keen to know what population New Zealand would need to have to
have proportionally as large a 'renkou' population for its land space as China
has for its land space. Just a bit too tired tonight to do the google search
& the figures,...if anyone knows that I'd love to know! Off the top of my
head guess is about 100million people? That is 25x the current
population,.....which leads to my ongoing questionning of whether New Zealands
pollution would be just as bad if we had the same proportion of people as China
does,....the unanswerable question I guess.
Okay, well have to go. At least I am feeling like my work is
maybe making a difference,...if just a drop in the ocean. This is a beautiful
country,...it just has the potential (and is becoming rapidly in many ways) any
even nicer place for people to live,...that is to say,...in my eyes, even more
inspiring as a reason for living,...for me preserved beautiful natural
environments make life worth living,....I sometimes wish everyone I had ever
met could stand on Piha beach in New Zealand like I did,....that place always
made life worth living,....will find a photo sometime to link to from this site
to at least give an insight ;-),....if not the experience,...for that one will
need to sacrifice contributing to our global air pollution by taking a flight
to New Zealand.
Signing off...zai jian.
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