The end

If we were to increase the wages for workers in China we would give companies less of an incentive to outsource jobs. Outsourcing allows us to enjoy latest technology that almost everyone in the western world can afford. By outsourcing these jobs to China we are also creating a strong competitive labor force that creates thousands of jobs crucial for the survival of many Chinese villages.

In order to understand sweatshop existence in China we must first understand Chinas economic situation. Why must alot ofd these Chinese people choose to work in the first place (sweatshops)? Most “poor” countries are not really poor – they just have a small minority of extremely rich people who control all the wealth.

My personal experience in China has lead me to this conclusion. although to our standards sweatshops appear to be unethical, they are a vital and essential asset to China. I have seen how locals fight to survive in areas where sweatshops do not exist, and all I ever hear them say is they wish factories would open up in their citites. Their alternatives are to sell on the streets, making bearly enough to send their children to primary school. The Chinese government does not publically announce statistics thus making it increasingly hard for us to make bold statements.

$2 a day

More and more economists preach that sweatshops actually improve the standard of living of those living in third world countries by creating a demand for employees. Paying low wages creates demand for labor and allows companies to increase profits. 


The increased demand for laborers forces companies who are seeking the best labour for their factories to give better wages and working conditions. However in reality, this is certainly not the case.


In actuality, as soon as workers can demand for better wages and conditions, companies pack up and ship off to the next country. In other countries where people are worse off and desperate to work. As follows, they can continue to pay minimum labor while the previous country sweatshop employees are once again jobless and poor.

It's better than nothing

In third world countries, it seems to be a common trend that sweatshop workers do get a higher pay than the average citizen wage, but does this make these jobs better?. Theres an argument that because they get paid more their jobs are better than a job outside the sweatshop. 


There is no evidence that these jobs are "better" - In fact, all evidence seems to lead that these workers are the easiest targets for being exploited. Working exceptionally long shifts, often subjected to abuse and unsafe working conditions.



If "better" refers only to the workers salary, then fundamentally the altercation is that a worker could choose from either dangerous, tiring and unsafe job in a factory against a lower paying job elsewhere. Although a worker might decide to work in a sweatshop for their own survival, in no way does it make the factories humane, but it does show that sweatshops can be a way of escape from poverty. In truth, keeping workers as poor as possible and maximising profits is the sole purpose of any sweatshop while having no regard for its employees.

Whats the harm?

In China, while the the workers aren't forced to work, in order to survive they must work in and under conditions that abuse them daily.


Verbal, physical and sexual abuse are all but a daily routine for some workers. While workers aren't "forced" to work, in certain places they must either choose to survive (work) or give up on life all together. Workers suffer psychological abuse working under armed supervision.


It is not uncommon for supervisors to physically assault workers if work is not up to standard. Contracts are another problem for a lot of the workers in these sweatshops.




Many workers are fired if they refuse to work overtime (without overtime pay) which was of course was not mentioned on their contract. Despite the workers reporting these crimes, in order for them to keep their jobs, they must sit silent. 

This blog will examine the situation of the ever escalating issue of slave labour within Chinese factories.

Where do you want to go today? If you're a highly paid executive of Apple, you probably wouldnt want to be anywhere near the factories where work is outsourced to.




The iPhone 4. Quite possibly the most popular selling smartphone in the modern day electronics market. With this great technology, there is a story in a land far from the inventors of its creators. With more than 10,000 units needing to be produced per day, this sort of demand can not be achieved in America. This link here summarises some of the main reasons for why large American manufacturers outsource work to China.

These jobs aren’t coming back

Here are five links to some web resources that I will summarise (5) and then produce my own views on
the topic.

link 1
link 2
link 3
link 4
link 5
link 6
link 7
link 8 (POSITIVE)
link 9
link 10

This website here simply tries to point out that Apple factories in China are in reality, simply slave camps. This is a one sided argument that is perhaps a little bias, but it does point out certain facts that mustn't be overlooked.