Lesson 19 — Activity 2: How Are Other Countries Affected by Trade?


Warm Up


You learned about trading with the United States, but Canada also trades with many other countries.

Why does Canada import things from other countries if they could be made in Canada? Doesn't this take jobs and money out of the Canadian economy?  

In this activity, you will learn how other countries are affected by trade.

 

 
Source: Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay



   

People in rich countries, like Canada, can buy more than just their basic needs. Companies who make these "luxury" items (like toys or video games) often set up factories in places were labour is cheap. This cuts the company's costs so that it can sell the goods for less while still making a good profit.


The countries that have lower labour costs are developing nations. This means they do not have as much money as Canada or the United States, and so people are much poorer. Jobs pay much less and they don't include benefits; often, working conditions are poor. People in developing countries see the effects of trade every day when they work in factories. 

  

1. Twelve-hour work days are common, and often, workers will be asked to work an extra two or three hours of overtime.


    2. Often, workers may get less than one day a week off.


    3. If workers refuse to work overtime, they can be fined or docked an entire day's pay.


    4. Workers often get paid less than they should, but they don't get a pay stub, so they can't find out how many hours they are paid for.


    5. Some workers don't get paid for the first month of work. Although the employer promises to pay them this money at some point, often they don't. It's like having to pay a deposit just to get the job.


    6. If workers have a quota to meet (that means they have to make a certain amount of items in a day) and they don't make it, they have to finish up the quota for the day without pay.


    7. Factories often put workers in unsafe conditions where they can easily be hurt or have their health affected by poisonous fumes, etc.






Digging Deeper!

Some of the conditions faced by workers in developing nations have been listed above. Sometimes these poor working conditions can lead to real tragedies. The true story below is an example of this.



Carmelita Alonzo lived in the Philippines. She worked as a seamstress in a factory making clothes for big companies in North America. At certain times of the year, the factory would be extremely busy with many orders to fill. During these busy times, rather than hiring extra staff to help, the factory bosses would simply have the workers do more overtime.

 One February, Carmelita worked several overnight shifts in a one-week period, meaning she would work all day and all night. Since Carmelita lived a two-hour commute from the factory, even when she was allowed to go home, she had very little time to rest.

 Carmelita was sick with pneumonia, an illness that is common in these factories that are very hot during the day and damp at night. She asked her manager if she could take time off to get better, but was told she could not. Finally, after several more days, Carmelita was taken to the hospital, but it was too late. She died in the hospital. Carmelita's co-workers agreed that the conditions in the factory, along with the extreme number of hours she was made to work, caused Carmelita's death.

Why would people work in conditions like this? In a country like the Philippines, many people are very poor and have a hard time making enough money to feed their families. Jobs are hard to get, and people struggle just to get by. Therefore, a job is extremely important, and people will work in terrible conditions because they have no choice. To survive, many put up with conditions that are unfair and against the law. In most of these jobs, workers earn between 15¢ and 40¢ an hour.


The story above is taken from No Logo : Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies by Naomi Klein, Vintage Canada, Toronto, 2000