In The News

In New York Tickets, Ghana Sees Orderly City

Robert F. Worth July 22, 2002
In downtown Accra, the capital of Ghana, workers are employed by Data Management Internationale to punch in information from tickets served by New York City police officers. These data entry jobs, which have a constant flow of applicants though available positions are unpublicized, pay three times the Ghanaian minimum wage and more than twice the average per capita income. Data Management is a...

In Ecuador’s Banana Fields, Child Labor is Key to Profits

Juan Forero July 13, 2002
Banana, which was introduced to the New World by the Europeans in the 16th century, has become a staple export of Central America. Globalization of the banana market may have created more jobs for the poor, but the bulk of the earnings tend to go to the middlemen and giant retailers. As a New York Times front page report from Ecuador says, “Each 43-pound box of bananas purchased here by exporters...

Brazil's Prized Exports Rely on Slaves and Scorched Land

Larry Rohter March 25, 2002
Slavery lurks in remote parts of the Brazilian Amazon as laborers are duped into working contracts that exploit them mercilessly. The prime exports of this resource-rich region – exotic woods and beef – have raised many controversies at both national and international levels. Human rights violations and environmental degradation – both difficult to monitor – often go unpunished or are even...

Leaner Factories, Fewer Workers Bring More Labor Unrest to China

Erik Eckholm March 19, 2002
China’s shift away from economic isolation has begun to take its toll on communist workers. Accustomed to government promises of job security, newly unemployed workers at state-owned factories are voicing their concerns through strikes and large-scale protests. Employees at the Daqing Oil Company were told months ago that the collapse of the oil industry would likely force massive layoffs....

Malaysian Employers Want Clampdown on Indonesian Workers Eased

Anon. February 17, 2002
“Malaysian employers have urged the government to relax a recent clampdown on Indonesian migrant labor sparked by workers rioting.” Though the government says that it will now only hire Indonesians for plantation and household work, Malaysian businesses noted that hiring non-Indonesians will not prevent further riots and will create further difficulties in language and cultural integration. In a...

Labor Brings Witnesses to Tell of a Harsher Side to Growth

Steven Greenhouse February 1, 2002
This year’s meeting of the World Economic Forum, held in New York, brought business and government leaders of the highest level together to discuss the world economy. They also heard from less powerful people, including a Guatemalan garment worker detailing the harsh working conditions at some factories that produce for the industrliazed world. – YaleGlobal

Shortage of World-Class Talents Keeping China from Going Global

Anon. January 24, 2002
China’s workforce lacks internationally recognized qualifications that will allow China to fully globalize its economy. Although there are plenty of workers in the fields of finance, information technology, and international trade among others, the level of expertise falls below global levels. This lack of talent will mean that China will rely more and more on foreign workers in order to...