Abuse of Human Rights
Write a Case study with detailed discussion of problem and solution approach taken. If this is unpublished work, any references to businesses or individuals must be altered for the purposes of the presentation and submissionn
- Content must start with an Introduction section, stating a clear, plausible thesis or focused area of discussion and
end with a Conclusion section. In between these two sections maybe several sections to discuss the problem, solution approaches – carrying the detailed discussion of the project with necessary and sufficient evidence to defend the focused point.
Students are encouraged:
- not to stray from the point of focus.
- provide evidence of thoughtful analysis ✓ demonstrate originality wherever possible
- All sections must have numbered headings and levels, as appropriate
- Table of Contents must specify page numbers at least at the Level 1 Heading of the Section numbers.
- The Individual Project Paper must state current status of the situation/problem investigation/research, etc., and cite references in literature, e.g. professional journals, conference publications, etc.
References in body of document will call out numbers, of the particular document referred
All references, are numbered and listed in a “Bibliography” section at the end of the document.
Child Labor at Nike Shoe Company
The spread of industrialization was inferred to induce the eradication of human rights abuse in the world. Nonetheless, this is not the case as human rights continue to be violated, especially in the form of child labor. Child labor underscores the exploitative employment of children in a business or industry. This paper examines the Nike Inc.’s problem on the claims against the company’s involvement in child labor. It also proposes solution taken to curb the problem.
Background
Nike Company, the US-based shoe and Sportswear Company, has faced accusations of child labor in the production of soccer balls in Pakistan. The company has consistently involved in unethical production issues concerning workers’ exploitation through low pay rates, poor working conditions, and child labor. According to Levkiv (2018), in Pakistan, when one visits a shore shop, they are likely to find that shoe was made by a child younger or the age. Child labor has existed for several years and the government seems not to address the issue efficiently. Half of the world’s sportswear is made in Pakistan, has its production involving child labor and children as young as 12 years work in the production line (Levkiv, 2018).
Admittedly, most of Nike’s production processes take place in the developing countries where labor is cheap, poor human rights appeal, authoritarian government, and lack of unions. Such is evidenced by the company’s continuous growth in revenue margins at the cost of small payments to the workers. Generally, children have low know-how concerning the worth of their labor and, hence, are easily manipulated to accept little compensation for their labor. As such, Nike Company takes advantage of the scenario, especially in poverty-stricken nations, where their parents also accept child exploitation to earn a daily living. Some parents fall into the trap of allowing their children to undergo labor exploitation in the factories to survive.
Evaluation of the case
Nike is a known chess player that always thinks ahead of its movement. Although most of its production is carried out in the developing countries to reap more at the expense of young children and their parents, it is usually cautious not to launch its products directly into the developing country such as its host – Pakistan. Instead, the company subcontracts the launch to a local firm, particularly, SAGA, which is bound to adhere to its international rules and regulations (Merk, 2019). Nike Company takes the responsibility to monitor the subcontracted production units through close examination. Notably, both Nike and the subcontracted firm focus on maximizing profits at the lowest possible cost through illegal practices that involve child labor. In this case, the practice of child labor is not highlighted by the developing country’s government. Resultantly, the Nike company absconds itself from the claims of child labor by claiming the issue on the contracted firm. According to Merk (2019), the company cautiously provides transparency and decent working conditions in the supply chain, which creates a positive public perception. Eventually, both Nike and SAGA benefit from access to cheap labor.
It is important to note that in Pakistan, where Nike Company headquarters has a long history of child labor practices in pursuit of cheap labor. According to Watch (2010), Nike entered these markets with the full knowledge of such malpractices and also has a trend of establishing branches in other countries with the same practices of child labor such as India and Bangladesh. Surprisingly, the company has not taken any measures to curb such malpractices. Further, the company is said to have refused to have an investigation on its saga-managed center in Pakistan, unlike its rivals – Reebok (Lucchini & Moisello, 2019). With the excellent public image the company has acquired over its years of operation, it manages to continue the practice of child labor by manipulating the consumers to believe in their success and effective advertising and promotions. According to Lucchini & Moisello (2019), child labor at Nike Inc. is associated with numerous opening of sweatshops. During the 1990s, the company was criticized by the media and community for its sweatshops (Lucchini & Moisello, 2019). Life Magazine published an article that had a child stitching a ball with its logo (Levkiv, 2018). Further, reports suggest that despite the company’s attempts to address the problem of child labor, Nike still engages in immoral practices. For instance, in 2017, the company violated the Worker Rights Consortium by restricting independent experts from investigating their factory.
Proposed Solution
Child labor deprives children of their basic requirements that aid in healthy development and as responsible human beings such as education. As such, the strategies to curb the problem of child labor at Nike Company are critical to paving the way for children’s rights practice. Eradication of child labor in the company requires that the government takes progressive steps. Such include initiating compulsory schooling for all children. This initiative would deprive the company of the opportunity to employ children for fear of strict government rules because education separates children from work. This situation depicts a strong indication that Nike continues to undermine the rights of children. Further, the company scored under 50% in Fashion Revolution’s transparency index, which indicated that Nike is still not honest in social and environmental sustainability (Levkiv, 2018)
Nonetheless, child labor still exists at an alarming rate, which helps Nike Company relax in mitigating standards against the ill-practice. In this regard, it is essential that the country amends the existing laws or implement new legislation. Such legislation should allow compulsory and regular investigation of the working conditions and employees’ welfare in all major industries and especially those reported to have a history of child labor like Nike Company. When the claims of child labor went viral, the CEO – Phil Knight finally admitted changing the company’s practices to loot out child labor within the corporation (Merk, 2019). This followed a five-year term factory audit to ensure the correct demonstration of the suggested code of conduct. Nike also offered to commit to the annual publishing of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report to depict transparency.
Further, in the efforts to eradicate child labor, a columnist ‘Stephen Chapman’ from Libertarian newspaper argued that buying more of Nike’s products produced by children was a viable solution (Levkiv, 2018). This is due to increased demand, which means that as they contribute more to meet the heightened demand, they aid in increasing their earnings to match their worth. Resultantly, they rise above the poverty level to benefit both families and society at large. In his argument, he meant that earning more would lead the employment of children in the industry to appear as a means to develop them, not as child labor.
However, the proposed solution is arguable because rising children’s wages does erase the fact that their age requires them to remain free from heavy duties that interfere with their development phases. In any case, increasing demand for products produced through child labor would only encourage the menace to continue with more slavery and sweatshops. Instead, this solution would blind their parents and society as helping children to earn at an early age. In reality, they lose their chances to acquire vital skills and opportunities to gain an education. Resultantly, parents of such children would require the children to work more and earn them a living due to the high levels of poverty. Additionally, the situation may encourage child trade through black markets hence encouraging mal-practice.
Recommendation
Following the negative impacts of child labor, various recommendations are vital to curbing the problem. Importantly, the Pakistan government should levy severe monetary penalties on both Nike Inc. and the contracting firms in the case of violation of the national and international codes of conduct concerning child labor (Levkiv, 2018). The company should be subjected to severe punishment if cases of child employment are spotted within the corporation. Children under 14 years of age should not be given into the workshops in the guise of lucrative wages. The current practice of overlooking the firms’ practices of child labor only encourages further misconduct.
Conclusion
Summarily, the problem of child labor persists in some countries. The paper presented a case study of Nike Company, which has persistently been accused of unethical practices that involve child labor. The company opts for cheap labor in the efforts to maximize profits, which is mostly possible through child labor. Some of the measures to mitigate this problem include amending the rules to eliminate the employment of children and implementing severe penalties against the industries that violate state rules.
References
China L.W. (2010). TED Case Study: NIKE: Nike Shoes and Child Labor in Pakistan.
http://www.chihnalaborwatch.org/newscast/66
Levkiv, A. (2018). Corporate social responsibility and accounting: 2 CSR case studies and a
literature review. Retrieved from https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/honorstheses/527/
Lucchini, A., & Moisello, A. M. (2019). Stakeholders’ pressure and CSR engagement: A case
in the apparel sector. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 9(1), 169-190. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=89941
Merk, J. (2019). Subcontracted capitalism, Nike, and worker dissent: A Rancièrian
interpretation of the ‘politics’ of transnational labor governance in global production networks. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeroen_Merk2/publication/331594720_Subcontracted_Capitalism_Nike_and_Worker_Dissent_A_Rancierian_interpretation_of_the_’politics’_of_transnational_labour_governance_in_global_production_networks/links/5c83563d299bf1268d48865d/Subcontracted-Capitalism-Nike-and-Worker-Dissent-A-Rancierian-interpretation-of-the-politics-of-transnational-labour-governance-in-global-production-networks.pdf
Rehman, A. U., Shah, M. I., Khan, K., & Khan, I. U. (2019). Socio-Economic Impact of Bonded
Child Labour in Pakistan. E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 8(1). http://ejcls.adapt.it/index.php/ejcls_adapt/article/view/644