Category Archives: Wage Slavery

What if The Bible was written by divinely-inspired men, but not by God? Imagine if there were a Goddess as well as a God. Imagine that homosexuality is a quality of a beautiful, special class of people...

Why doesn't our nation strive for peace by all means, and end wage slavery in the developing world? Why have we taken and mutilated the land of Native Americans, and killed off most Native Americans? Why have we caused environmental damage worldwide? This is not Christian.

I love just as Jews, Muslims, Africans, Native Americans, Asians, and Christians. We are all sisters and brothers in the love that we believe in. Think about how the military-industrial complex is treating our aforementioned brothers and sisters. This is a nightmare. My question to the dominant group of Christians is, what are you really afraid of? Use common sense at this point. The truth will set you free. We are in the middle of our own fascism. Millions are dead from war, millions are in wage slavery. Read "Killing Hope" by Blum, http://www.workersrights.org and "Made in China" by Ngai to begin to change. We are not a Christian nation.

See the rest here:

Letter: Environmental damage is not Christian - Roanoke Times

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

EDITORS NOTE: This is the third installment in a series of stories exploring human trafficking in Massachusetts. The series delves into the widespread commercial sex trade in our cities and suburbs, the online marketplaces where pimps and johns buy and sell sex, cases of modern-day slavery and victims tales of survival.

Three years ago, a couple from Brazil moved to Massachusetts with their young child and took jobs with a cleaning company in New Bedford.

Instead of building their piece of the American Dream, however, they soon found themselves in a nightmare, according to prosecutors. Their employer, according to a criminal indictment, forced them to work up to 100 hours a week, cleaning banks, car dealerships, stores and other businesses in Bridgewater, Fall River, Marshfield and Cape Cod.

DMS Cleaning Services owner Donny Sousa, prosecutors allege, had recruited the couple to move from Brazil, promising them $3,000 in monthly wages. Instead, they said, he failed to deliver the promised pay and intimidated them into working for the company, threatening them with a handgun when they asked for their wages. In the 15 months the couple worked for DMS before fleeing, prosecutors say they were paid just $3,600 and had only three days off.

A grand jury indicted Sousa last October on human trafficking, weapons, wage theft and forced labor charges. Sousa has pleaded not guilty and is due back in Bristol Superior Court for a Sept. 6 status hearing.

Its one of the few examples of labor exploitation cases being prosecuted under the states 2011 human trafficking law, which has been most frequently applied to cases of sex trafficking.

While most human trafficking cases in Massachusetts involve the illicit sex trade, labor trafficking and commercial exploitation remain a problem, especially in the immigrant community, said Julie Dahlstrom, a clinical associate professor of law at Boston University and director of the schools Immigrants Rights and Human Trafficking Program.

We dont have accurate statistics around this problem, Dahlstrom said. Anecdotally, what weve seen is largely non-citizens subject to labor trafficking, although it does sometimes impact citizens.

The Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization that runs a national human trafficking hotline, got calls about 88 human trafficking cases in Massachusetts last year, 15 of which involved labor trafficking. Those numbers likely represent just a small fraction of human trafficking incidents, experts say.

We have had cases involving domestic servitude, said Lt. Detective Donna Gavin, head of the Boston Police Departments Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit. Those are cases where families have been visiting from other countries and brought a domestic servant with them, and have held onto their passport and are not paying them.

Last May, a Cambridge couple paid a $3,000 settlement to resolve allegations that they failed to properly pay a live-in Filipina nanny they brought with them from their native Qatar. Mohammed and Adeela Alyafei, Attorney General Maura Healeys office alleged, failed to pay the nanny for several weeks. When she asked for her wages and said she wanted to return to her home in the Philippines, the couple demanded her passport, bought her a plane ticket to Qatar, and threatened to punish her upon her return, according to prosecutors.

Healey said there have been trafficking cases involving housekeepers, nannies and construction workers.

Exploiters often hold considerable leverage over their victims, especially if they are foreign nationals living in the country illegally.

I think if you look at the labor context they are especially vulnerable because they fear retaliation by their employers. They fear reprisal, Healey said. Weve had matters where employers have not paid wages, subjected them to horrible conditions, then said, By the way, if you complain about it, were going to call ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Certainly those who are undocumented have an additional layer of vulnerability.

Experts say human labor and sex trafficking cases can be found in all corners of the country. The North Carolina-based World of Faith Fellowship church, for example, has engaged in a years-long human trafficking operation, importing a stream of church members from Brazil and forcing them to work in the United States for little or no pay, according to a recent Associated Press investigation.

President Donald Trumps immigration policies have added to a climate of fear in the immigrant community, making it even less likely that trafficked or exploited undocumented workers will seek help from the authorities, Dahlstrom said.

With the new administrations policy, theres so much uncertainty, she said. I think local law enforcement are trying to ensure the public feels safe reporting exploitation, but my fear is traffickers are unscrupulous and traffickers will use that uncertainty to hold workers or exploit them in poor conditions. The executive order indicated almost any non-citizen is an enforcement priority, so that means when they report to Homeland Security, theyre both a victim and an enforcement priority at the same time.

NEXT: In the fourth and final part of the series, experts and former victims of sex trafficking explore the internets role in the illicit sex trade in Massachusetts.

Read more from the original source:

INHUMAN TRADE: Labor trafficking hidden in Massachusetts communities - Wicked Local Needham

Thousands of the UKs lowest paid workers will share 2million in back pay in a scheme to name and shame employers who have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage.

Nineteen employers in Scotland, including hairdressing and retail firms, have been identified and ordered to pay 90 workers over 35,000.

UK-wide, the biggest offenders were the Argos chain, who failed to pay 1.4million to 12,176 workers.

As well as paying back staff the money owed, employers on the list have been fined a record 1.9million.

Since the scheme was introduced in 2013, 40,000 workers have received back pay totalling more than 6million, with 1200 employers fined 4million

Pat Rafferty, leader of the Unite union in Scotland, said: He added: Todays list of shame is only the tip of the iceberg.

The question is, what is to be done about this Dickensian disgrace?

Theres only one answer join a union. That is the only way to take on this modern-day slavery.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Ian Duncan said: To hear that there are still companies who believe they can get away with underpaying their staff is unacceptable.

If it takes naming and shaming to ensure that employers wake up to their responsibilities, the UK Government will not shirk from that task.

Workers need to know that we have their back on this one.

Employers excuses for underpaying workers included deducting money from pay packets to pay for uniforms, not paying workers for overtime hours and paying apprenticeship rates to workers.

Meanwhile, average weekly earnings have fallen across the UK despite record low unemployment rates.

Pay dropped 0.5 per cent over the three months to June compared with the same period last year.

The STUC accused Westmister of economic illiteracy for managing to hold down pay while more people get jobs.

Figures also showed the number of employed people in Scotland rose by 30,000 in the three months to June the fastest rate in the UK, equalled by London.

There are now 2,650,000 Scots in work 86,000 more than the pre-recession peak.

The UK rate jobless rate fell in the same period to 4.4 per cent.

SNP Economy Secretary Keith Brown welcomed the positive jobs figures.

He said: This is a further vote of confidence in our economy, coming after GDP figures showing Scotlands growth rate was four times faster than that of the UK over the last quarter, and recent reports of accelerating growth across the private sector.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said it was a trend I hope to see continue.

But STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: The Scottish Government must use their tax and borrowing powers to invest in our public services and economic infrastructure.

And Stuart McIntyre, of the Fraser of Allander Institute, warned: We note that almost all of the recent rise in employment is among the self-employed, which may have implications for tax revenues and the hours and type of work undertaken.

Go here to see the original:

Thousands of workers to get payout after employers - including Argos - failed to pay minimum wage - Scottish Daily Record

THE ISSUE: Less common than sex trafficking, forced labor and commercial exploitation remain underreported issues, particularly in immigrant communities, experts say. THE IMPACT: Massachusetts in recent years has seen forced labor cases involving domestic servants, construction workers and janitors, according to Attorney General Maura Healey.

EDITORS NOTE: This is the third installment in a series of stories exploring human trafficking in Massachusetts. The series delves into the widespread commercial sex trade in our cities and suburbs, the online marketplaces where pimps and johns buy and sell sex, cases of modern-day slavery and victims tales of survival.

Three years ago, a couple from Brazil moved to Massachusetts with their young child and took jobs with a cleaning company in New Bedford.

Instead of building their piece of the American Dream, however, they soon found themselves in a nightmare, according to prosecutors. Their employer, according to a criminal indictment, forced them to work up to 100 hours a week, cleaning banks, car dealerships, stores and other businesses in Bridgewater, Fall River, Marshfield and Cape Cod.

DMS Cleaning Services owner Donny Sousa, prosecutors allege, had recruited the couple to move from Brazil, promising them $3,000 in monthly wages. Instead, they said, he failed to deliver the promised pay and intimidated them into working for the company, threatening them with a handgun when they asked for their wages. In the 15 months the couple worked for DMS before fleeing, prosecutors say they were paid just $3,600 and had only three days off.

A grand jury indicted Sousa last October on human trafficking, weapons, wage theft and forced labor charges. Sousa has pleaded not guilty and is due back in Bristol Superior Court for a Sept. 6 status hearing.

Its one of the few examples of labor exploitation cases being prosecuted under the states 2011 human trafficking law, which has been most frequently applied to cases of sex trafficking.

While most human trafficking cases in Massachusetts involve the illicit sex trade, labor trafficking and commercial exploitation remain a problem, especially in the immigrant community, said Julie Dahlstrom, a clinical associate professor of law at Boston University and director of the schools Immigrants Rights and Human Trafficking Program.

We dont have accurate statistics around this problem, Dahlstrom said. Anecdotally, what weve seen is largely non-citizens subject to labor trafficking, although it does sometimes impact citizens.

The Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization that runs a national human trafficking hotline, got calls about 88 human trafficking cases in Massachusetts last year, 15 of which involved labor trafficking. Those numbers likely represent just a small fraction of human trafficking incidents, experts say.

We have had cases involving domestic servitude, said Lt. Detective Donna Gavin, head of the Boston Police Departments Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit. Those are cases where families have been visiting from other countries and brought a domestic servant with them, and have held onto their passport and are not paying them.

Last May, a Cambridge couple paid a $3,000 settlement to resolve allegations that they failed to properly pay a live-in Filipina nanny they brought with them from their native Qatar. Mohammed and Adeela Alyafei, Attorney General Maura Healeys office alleged, failed to pay the nanny for several weeks. When she asked for her wages and said she wanted to return to her home in the Philippines, the couple demanded her passport, bought her a plane ticket to Qatar, and threatened to punish her upon her return, according to prosecutors.

Healey said there have been trafficking cases involving housekeepers, nannies and construction workers.

Exploiters often hold considerable leverage over their victims, especially if they are foreign nationals living in the country illegally.

I think if you look at the labor context they are especially vulnerable because they fear retaliation by their employers. They fear reprisal, Healey said. Weve had matters where employers have not paid wages, subjected them to horrible conditions, then said, By the way, if you complain about it, were going to call ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Certainly those who are undocumented have an additional layer of vulnerability.

Experts say human labor and sex trafficking cases can be found in all corners of the country. The North Carolina-based World of Faith Fellowship church, for example, has engaged in a years-long human trafficking operation, importing a stream of church members from Brazil and forcing them to work in the United States for little or no pay, according to a recent Associated Press investigation.

President Donald Trumps immigration policies have added to a climate of fear in the immigrant community, making it even less likely that trafficked or exploited undocumented workers will seek help from the authorities, Dahlstrom said.

With the new administrations policy, theres so much uncertainty, she said. I think local law enforcement are trying to ensure the public feels safe reporting exploitation, but my fear is traffickers are unscrupulous and traffickers will use that uncertainty to hold workers or exploit them in poor conditions. The executive order indicated almost any non-citizen is an enforcement priority, so that means when they report to Homeland Security, theyre both a victim and an enforcement priority at the same time.

NEXT: In the fourth and final part of the series, experts and former victims of sex trafficking explore the internets role in the illicit sex trade in Massachusetts.

More:

INHUMAN TRADE: Labor trafficking hidden in Massachusetts communities - Wicked Local Littleton

A Glasgow hairdresser and a Clydebank fishand chip restaurant are among the Scottish companies being named and shamed by the UK government for underpaying their workers.

More than 13,000 of the UKs lowest paid workers, including 90 people in Scotland, will get around 2 million in back pay as part of the scheme to name employers who have failed to pay National Minimum Wage and Living Wage.

Top of the Scottish List this year was The Fish and Chip Ship Limited, in Clydebank which failed to pay 4,900.15 to nine workers. A spokeswoman for the company said I dont want to make any comment just now, as I have only just received the letter about this.

Also on the list of shame is James Hughes Hair in Glasgow which failed to pay 1,567.94 to two workers.

In total nineteen businesses Scotland have been identified and ordered to pay their 90 workers 37,000, with hairdressing and retail businesses amongst the most prolific offenders.

Scottish Secretary of Unite Pat Rafferty, called it a Dickensian disgrace and urged the low paid to join his union to fight this modern day slavery.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy today published a list of 233 businesses across the UK that underpaid workers.

As well as paying back staff the money owed, employers on the list have been fined a record 1.9m.

Second on the listwas DSL Accident Repair Ltd, in Edinburgh who failed to pay 4,896.43 to three workers. One of the managers, who asked not to be named said We rectified this as soon as it was discovered. It actually was a mistake by the local college who had advised us what rates to pay those who had been training. But we sorted it out very quickly.

Then came hairdressers the Rainbow Room Limited (named changed to JPTO Ltd), in Clarkston who failed to pay 4,532.94 to 21 workers. Company director Adrian Foxworthy told the Herald his trainees contracts had been provided by the National Hairdressers Federation (NHF) which required them to be in work 15 mins early.

Since this case they have changed all trainees contracts in the UK. I was fined and also had to pay the correct amount back dated to previous employees. All my employees now are not contracted to be in 15 mins early, he said.

Meanwhile, Braehead Foods Ltd, promoted as a fine food wholesaler and Scottish game processor who supply the best chefs in the hospitality industry across the UK and Europe, failed to pay 3,434.39 to 28 workers. The Kilmarnock-based company was asked to comment, but did not respond.

Mr Rafferty said: Day after day Scotland is blighted by employers determined to avoid their legal responsibilities and force their workers to accept poverty wages. Todays list of shame is only the tip of the iceberg of whats going on. The question is what is to be done about this Dickensian disgrace? Theres only one answer -join a trade union.

He said 10 out of the 19 Scottish companies on the list were hairdressing firms, which seemed to be run by modern day Mr and Mrs Micawbers.

The people who work for them are being forced to take an illegal wages haircut to boost their employers profits. Unite Scotland is campaigning today to get these workers to fight this disgrace by joining a trade union.

The NHF was asked for a comment but did not respond.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Lord Duncan said: To hear that there are still companies that believe they can get away with underpaying their staff is unacceptable. If it takes naming and shaming to ensure that employers wake up to their responsibilities then the UK Government will not shirk from that task. Workers need to know that we have their back on this one.

Shadow Scotland Office Minister Paul Sweeney said: Any trader or business found not to be paying the minimum wage should face the full force of the law."

Labour would crack down on unscrupulous employers, ban overseas-only recruitment practices and increase prosecutions of employers evading the minimum wage.

In addition to ensuring companies pay the minimum wage, we would increase it by creating a National Living Wage of 10 per hour as part of our plan for country that works for the many, not the few.

Continued here:

Glasgow hairdresser and Clydebank chippy named and shamed for not paying staff - Glasgow Evening Times

Thousands of workers in hand car washes are thought to be victims of modern slavery , paid little or nothing for an 11-hour shift and forced to live in squalid accommodation.

Many are trafficked into the UK on the promise of paid work before becoming trapped in debt bondage, owing money to their bosses which they stand no chance of ever repaying.

Mirror investigators working with the anti-slavery watchdog found evidence to suggest thousands of mainly Eastern European people could be trapped working on forecourts and car parks.

Unable to speak English, they can work for up to 11 hours a day for little or no pay, and when their shift is done go home to makeshift accommodation, made from shipping containers.

Those who try to quit are threatened with violence or even deportation.

The Government believes up to 13,000 people are victims of modern slavery, which PM Theresa May dubbed the great human rights issue of our time.

The Daily Mirror visited 10 hand car washes and found all displayed at least two of the five tell-tale signs of modern slavery.

Kevin Hyland, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, whose office drafted the five signs, said: These findings are really powerful.

People think this is something happening on distant shores, on different continents, but actually they need to realise slavery is happening in our cities, towns and villages.

This is something many people will unwittingly see every day without realising whats behind it. These people washing our cars up and down our high streets are potentially victims of modern slavery.

Campaigners say many washers are trafficked into Britain before being told their travel here has cost more than expected.

They can be paid around 40 for 11 hours work, but wages are docked to cover accommodation. Washers are told to work off the debt, but the pay never covers it.

Many do not have immigration papers and bosses threaten to report them if they try to quit.

Only one of the 10 facilities we visited had equipped workers with waterproofs and full protective clothing. At seven out of the 10 staff were unfamiliar with the English language.

Nine of the 10 lacked professional facilities, often with dangerous electrical wiring.

At all 10, we saw three or more workers washing one car, and we witnessed up to seven to a vehicle.

At two out of 10 sites, we found evidence to suggest washers were being housed on-site. We saw metal shipping containers equipped with satellite dishes, surrounded by barbed wire and rubbish bags. Workers were reluctant to have conversations with the public and when approached repeatedly pointed us to a boss.

A car wash service could cost from just 2.99, with a valet service starting at 9.99.

The Car Wash Advisory Service said around 1,000 of the estimated 16,000 hand car washes observe any regulatory requirements and many staff get below the minimum wage, usually cash in hand.

Mr Hyland added: Decent hard working Brits are using these car washes and they arent aware what they are seeing. Sometimes you have six to nine people washing a car.

By the time they have paid for all the other costs and insurances how are they ever going to pay the minimum wage?

We talk about modern slavery being a hidden crime. Sometimes its actually hidden in plain sight.

The National Crime Agency said it was helping in 300 police operations targeting modern slavery, with victims as young as 12.

Last week 11 members of the Rooney family in Lincolnshire were convicted of running a modern slavery ring.

If you suspect someone is being exploited, call the police, or the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 0121 700.

5 tell-tale signs of exploitation

1: Lack of protective clothing suitable for contact with industrial cleaning chemicals - workers often wear tracksuits or jeans with trainers or flip flops.

2: Unprofessional facilities - no water drainage, no appropriate electrical wiring, temporary signage only, no public liability indemnity insurance and no visible first aid equipment.

3: Three or more people washing a single car despite low prices of around 5 - this cannot add up to cover the minimum wage, let alone other overheads.

4: Staff unfamiliar with the English language and showing signs of coercion - indicators of control include signs of anxiety and exhaustion in workers and a "supervisor" who is usually polite to customers, yet controls staff.

5: Signs that people both live and work on site - unsuitable metal containers near toilet facilities and hanging laundry.

Read more:

Secrets of slavery at your local car wash: Workers paid little or nothing for 11-hour shift and forced to live in ... - Mirror.co.uk

Speaking about the problem of modern slavery in the UK last Thursday, Will Kerr of the National Crime Agency (NCA) told a group of journalists:

The more we look for modern slavery, the more we find evidence of the widespread abuse of the vulnerable. The growing body of evidence we are collecting points to the scale being far larger than anyone had previously thought.

The following day, the news broke that 11 members of a Lincolnshire family had been convicted of a series of modern slavery offences after forcing at least 18 individuals, including homeless people and those with learning disabilities, to work for little or no pay and live in squalid conditions.

Apparently, the Rooney family had told their victims that they would offer them work and accommodation but once the individuals accepted, they were allocated dilapidated caravans, mostly with no heating, water or toilet facilities.

Its clear, then, that modern slavery is far from leaving our UK shores; its prevalence, instead, seems to be ever increasing.

So what counts as modern slavery?

It is often discussed in relation to sexual slavery and the exploitation of predominately young women and girls, but its important that discourse accounts for the diversity amongst the victims as well as the types of exploitation.

The Government has estimated that there are up to 13,000 people living in slavery in Britain today. Of this estimated total, far fewer are referred through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) which was set up for this purpose. In 2016, there were 3,805 referrals made (a number which has risen from 1,745 in 2013). 2,527 of the referrals were adults and, of those, 44% were subject to labour exploitation, 38% to sexual exploitation and 13% to domestic servitude.

Unsurprisingly, there were a far greater number of females referred in relation to sexual exploitation and domestic servitude (93% and 79% respectively) and there were far more males referred in relation to labour exploitation (84%). However, the split in terms of men and women referred to the NRM is relatively even; 1,936 females and 1,864 males.

Those referred to the NRM in 2016 had also originally come from 108 different counties; the seven most common countries being Albania, Vietnam, the UK, Nigeria, China, Romania and Poland.

With incidences of labour exploitation being reported in the beauty industry, catering, agriculture and amongst cleaners, care workers and couriers to name only a few, there can be no set image of what someone who is being exploited looks like. Ethnicities, ages, nationalities and levels of education can all vary. Vulnerability, alone, remains a constant.

Its important too that we are open about the fact that there are differing severities of exploitation. Some victims may be paid a wage, work in a customer-facing role and have at least some freedom in respect of their lives and activities. All this is possible, while they are still being paid well below the national minimum wage, working under coercion and living in fear of one form or another.

The precise reason it is important to have these discussions is so modern slavery can be tackled effectively. We might encounter victims at car washes and nail bars; victims might be delivering our pizzas or cleaning our houses.

With this in mind, Will Kerrs comments come as the NCA launch an advertising campaign to try and raise awareness about the signs of slavery in modern day life. Some signs could be that an individual is looking distressed and unkempt with dirty or very old clothing, they might be injured, either visibly or moving in a way that indicates pain or it may be apparent that someone else is controlling them, perhaps by not allowing them to speak for themselves or visibly guiding what they say or do.

The truth is that although its important for members of the public to be vigilant, identifying victims is difficult and not always going to be possible.

So what, then, can be done?

Unfortunately, substantial change will only occur at a governmental level. The introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was a step in the right direction and has focussed attention and resources on modern slavery. Arguably, however, its focus is too heavily on law enforcement and it doesnt go far enough to protect victims, particularly domestic workers, who are still expected to challenge their abuser in order to then seek protection, which then leaves them undocumented and therefore potentially criminalised.

Crucially, modern slavery, trafficking and labour exploitation cannot be isolated from each other and need to be viewed holistically. Moreover, they are firmly part of a worsening refugee crisis and a UK workforce that is becoming increasingly unregulated.

Yes, its helpful to hear Will Kerr talk about the scale of the problem in the UK and its important that prosecutions continue to be reported, but the Government will have to address these crises of modern Britain together in order to stand a hope of tackling modern slavery head on.

Read the original post:

Modern Slavery: alive and well in the UK - Lexology (registration)

Today, we will look at more reasons why this is so. And you will see they are one of the major reasons who extreme poverty is still the norm in Africa when it could have been eradicated years ago.

This says that globalisation and free trade will allow you to sell globally the products you are best at producing. As a backward country, the products you are best at producing will be the cheap, labour-intensive ones because you can pay your workers at well below what is legally allowed in the developed world, and at near slavery levels.

The theory is that, as your business develops, you will then be able to pay your workers more and thus lift them out of poverty. In practice, this wont happen because the minute you try to pay your workers more, your customers will just go to another company or another country which is charging less than you. So you cant increase your workers wages, and what you are really doing is locking them into not just poverty, but abject poverty.

For example, the world is applauding Ethiopia for its initiative in developing a fast-developing textile, clothing & footwear manufacturing trade. This may be good news for the country and its manufacturing bosses, but what is happening to its workers?

To find that out, lets look at the history of textile, clothing & footwear manufacture. Originally, many European and African nations had their own thriving, home-grown industries. And their workers were well-paid by local standards.

Then China and Bangladesh (and other developing countries) came out with dramatically lower costs, just by paying their workers what can only be described as slave wages. Result: widespread destruction of the European and African textile, clothing & footwear manufacturing. Yes, the general public benefited greatly from being able to buy much cheaper clothes and shoes, but it was at the cost of huge unemployment in Europe and Africa in those particular trades.

Then China and Bangladesh start to pay their workers more. So now what happens? Ethiopia steps in and takes trade off them by paying its workers only US$1.32 a day (which, by the way, is well below the UN and World Banks threshold of $1.90 a day). Ethiopia and its industry bosses will do very well out of this (but the workers certainly do not), until a point when it wants to pay its workers more.

Then another country will step in and take Ethiopias trade by cutting workers pay. This will put Ethiopias workers out of work. The bosses will be OK because they will generally be the ones who move their manufacturing out of Ethiopia and to the new country.

So what the Law of Comparative Advantage actually does is create a cycle of never-ending abject poverty with manufacturing moving to ever-cheaper countries. This is called The Race To The Bottom.

The other side of the Law of Comparative Advantage is that if you are good at producing high-value technically advanced products, then that is what you will specialise in. In practice, the only countries able to do this are wealthy ones. So what actually happens is that, as a backward nation, you are swapping low profit products that keep your workers in abject poverty for high profit ones from the wealthy nations that can pay their workers well.

Japan understood this very well when it came under immense pressure from the USA to open its borders after World War II. The Japanese government told the USA it was not going to be consigned to exporting tins of tuna to the USA in exchange for Cadillacs. Instead, it put up barriers to importing American cars to give its automobile industry (at the time virtually non-existent) a chance to develop. The incredible rise of the Japanese car industry is history.

Agenda 2063 has learnt the vital lesson of protectionism to allow Africas domestic industries to develop, which is why it focuses on building up an African financed, owned and led business-base, and wants to heavily reduce its reliance on globalisation.

If African nations want the living standards of their citizens to rise, they, too must learn from the experience of Japan, China and South Korea. However, the big problem there is either incompetence (they dont know what to do, so they just accept the story of globalisation), or corruption: a large part of their illicit fortunes come from supporting foreign commercial and financial interests.

Even if this is true for weak nations that want to develop their GDP (although that is debatable), it is certainly not true for their workers as we have seen.

Where wealthy nations are concerned, it is true for them and their higher-end businesses. But it is definitely not true for companies specialising in lower-end products, or their workers.

That is because it is not a level playing field when the laws of developed nations prevent them from competing on labour costs against nations that have no minimum wage or have one but dont enforce it, as hardly any developing nations do. So labour-intensive companies and those dealing in lower-end products are forced to sack their workers and either take their manufacture abroad or go bankrupt. On balance, wealthy nations can and do benefit in GDP terms, but at a big cost to their workers.

We have already seen this is definitely not true where weaker trading nations are concerned. Yes, the owners of some manufacturing businesses can do well out of it. Yes, globalisation and free trade produce jobs and someone who earns nothing will grasp at the opportunity to earn US$1.90 or $1.32 a day. But that doesnt get them out of poverty in fact, nowhere near it.

And what it does not do is put them into a system where their standards of living will steadily rise and keep rising. And that is the system everyone should be concentrating on.

In the long run, it may not even be win-win for wealthy nations. It is true that all of them achieved their huge wealth via globalisation. But the cracks are already starting to appear for them. Once a developing nation like China or South Korea can get itself into a position of having the expertise to produce technical products, it can suddenly forge ahead for the simple reason that, as it pays its scientists, designers and engineers very much less than developed nations do, it can put a lot more manpower into product development.

The other problem that is already reaching an advanced stage in the UK and USA is a rapidly widening gap between rich and poor. The rich are getting richer at a rate that often far exceeds increases in GDP. In contrast, the wages of workers is not only stagnating, the incidence of poverty is increasing year by year, as witness what can only be described as a dramatic rise in food banks and increase in starvation among children. We saw earlier how the Race to the Bottom affects developing nations. This is how it affects developed ones.

And when workers pay reduces, this has a knock-on effect to middle class incomes as well, as is happening. The only people to benefit, and they benefit out of all proportion, are those at the top income level.

Up to now, the USA has been the architect and biggest promoter of globalisation. Now, however, it intends to embark on a programme of selective protectionism. Love or hate President Trump, he has recognised that, while the affluent nations, the big multinationals and the ruling elite all do very nicely out of globalisation, it can be very damaging to vast swathes of the working class, with serious consequences to the fabric of society.

For any supporter of globalisation and free trade, this is absolute proof that it is not what it is cracked up to be. In some situations and under some circumstances, it may be a good thing. But not in all.

The sooner all Africa realises that their only route out of poverty and into wealth in fact, their ONLY such route is via an African financed, owned and led business-base, just as Agenda 2063 is proposing, the sooner they will start to progress rapidly to a Western-quality lifestyle.

Excerpt from:

Globalisation, the sledgehammer battering Africa Part Two - The Zimbabwean

Means-test shareholders before compensation...

More than 850bn of public money was thrown at keeping Britains banking sector afloat during the 2007/8 international financial crisis.

Billions more has since been squandered on quantitative easing, in other words artificially stimulating the economy and laying the foundations of an even more damaging crash that will most likely strike at some point in the next fifteen years.

Capitalist doctrine dictates that bailing out criminal fat cats and allowing them to carry on as before without sanctions is a perfectly sensible plan. Imagine if such gracious courtesy were applied to students currently struggling with personal finances!

Jeremy Corbyns election pledge to scrap tuition fees spoke directly to aspirational young people and contributed vastly to his appeal among first-time voters.

It is no happy coincidence that two-thirds of youth voters endorsed a candidate who presented leftist policies such as nationalisation, abandoning the austerity experiment and a 10-an-hour living wage.

The average graduate was in an incredible 44,000 worth of debt last year; students from disadvantaged backgrounds often owe anything up to 60,000 upon completing a three-year degree. The average workers annual salary amounts to around 21,638 after tax.

Interest rates are expected to increase to 6.1% in September, meaning unsustainable escalation of the already exorbitant sums owed and a lifetime of debt slavery, encouraged by declining wages and increased insecure, low-paid work amongst graduates.

Collective student loan debt amounts to more than 100bn, at the time of writing, and this figure is an eye-watering 16.6% increase on last year. Corbyns suggestion that student debts could be written off was well-received amongst the student demographic although this was not technically a commitment as full costings hadnt yet been made.

Britain spends 6.6m each day on lethal nuclear weapons. 123bn is lost to avoided, evaded and uncollected taxes every year. Those two figures combined amount to 8.3 times the entire 2017/8 budget for Wales.

We could also cover the costs by nationalising the bloated financial sector and using the profit for collective betterment.

Id like to propose a means-tested scheme which would require shareholders to prove they are deserving of compensation, on condition of proven need, with meticulous planning and oversight from an elected civil society collective.

Daniel Pitt

Mountain Ash

Following on from the poor communication issues I have encountered with C2C at Cardiff Council, I cannot believe their latest response to my last email. I requested to meet with them in person to discuss my concerns and have been informed this is not possible. Apparently it is not feasible to meet with every person who requests to meet in person. I have been directed to the ombudsman service. C2C feel they have addressed my compliant satisfactorily.

When did face to face dialogue become an issue for a service funded by the public? How do people without internet access communicate with C2C? Unbelievable, then again maybe not!

Tracy Warrington

Llanedeyrn, Cardiff

GlobaliSation and the development of trade blocs, such as the EU, are highly contentious issues where the good,the bad and the ugly of its consequences are digested daily in the media.

Put simply, globalisation involves a high degree of freedom of movement of goods, services, labour, capital, technology and managerial expertise in response to market incentives and, thus, opportunities.

On the positive side, as a consumer, I am offered considerable choice in that I can log on to Amazon, say, and buy an obscure Metallica live CD from a small distributor in San Diego; on the negative side, we witness low-skilled textile workers in Africa churning out clothing for value-seeking UK customers at relatively low wages (and the UK masses love a bargain at Asda etc).

In summary, the net effect of globalisation is to offer greater consumer choice, increased global output and employment and lower prices. Overall, a good thing.

This issue of freedom of movement of factors of production is crucial within the EU as the resulting single market has generated considerable post-war wealth. I value my nations sovereignty and independence and I deplore the corrupt and suffocating bureaucracy witnessed in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg City. However, I wish to retain the advantages of regionalism expounded above to enable the UK, post-Brexit, to be ultra competitive in global markets. Therefore, it is imperative that we continue to allow talented and scarce employees to migrate here if skill shortage emerge and they will.

Thanks to market forces, skills-shortages are evident when wage rates accelerate upwards eg engineering, IT, healthcare etc. To conclude, it is imperative that we adopt a points-based immigration system, post Brexit, while saying an emphatic NO to any people coming here with relatively little to offer. It really is that simple. Antonio Conte, good; President Maduro, bad.

Ian Roblin

Llanishen, Cardiff

The Feudal society of 12th century England, was founded upon the universal belief, that there were four levels of humans royal, nobles, commoners and serfs, who were owned like dogs. This distinction was one of genetic breeding, so it was not possible to move from one class to another, but when one married outside ones class, that was strongly condemned and not fully accepted.

This belief about society then shaped the type of economy, that the higher orders owned all the land, wealth and everything else, because they were superior and deserved it. That lasted hundreds of years, and millions of commoners accepted that belief, all their life.

Only 25% of the Conservative Party still hold this view of the human race, that superior breeding sets some persons above all the rest, and so deserve all the privileges and loot of rank.

The other 75% of the Tories have discovered a new theory, that all rich people are superior to the rest of us, because money makes it so, regardless of breeding. These Tories should be congratulated upon this awakening, to find a much wider view of humanity, that any crooked villain should be revered in the upper classes, if he has billions. This wealth then controls or destroys the lives of the lower classes. The right to vote is a tiny power.

Our nations economy is no longer based upon the idea of an unjust, divided society as before, but instead, todays unjust society has been shaped by the corrupt Market economy, which does not even pretend to be honest, compassionate or ethical. Tories believe in money, as the highest guide for humanity.

Neville Westerman

Brynna

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South Wales Echo letters: Saturday, August 12, 2017 - WalesOnline

Beauty salons and nail bars have become notorious for using forced labour. Picture: Getty/iStockphoto

Public vigilance is as important as legislation in tackling the vicious exploitation of migrants and the homeless, writes Dani Garavelli.

A week or so ago, I got my nails done for only the second time in my life. Because I have an aversion to upmarket salons frequented by perfectly coiffured ladies who know the difference between True Cobalt and Crystal Curacao, I picked a small, insalubrious shop staffed, as it turned out, mainly by immigrants.

It was only as I was being dropped off outside that it occurred to me maybe this wasnt somewhere I ought to be patronising. Nail bars are, after all, among the businesses listed as centres for trafficking. And so as the young woman buffed and polished I subjected her to an interrogation on her life, her work and her long-term aspirations.

She quite readily told me she was from Iran, was studying English at a Glasgow college and hoped to become a beautician. It all seemed above board, but without more understanding of how these things work, how could I be sure?

Modern slavery is a growing social evil that is only now beginning to get the public attention it deserves. Last week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said there are currently more than 300 live police operations, with trafficking in every town in the UK. Earlier estimates of 10,000-13,000 victims are thought to be the tip of the iceberg and the problem is so widespread ordinary people will be coming into contact with those affected on a regular basis.

Hours later, it emerged members of a traveller family had been convicted of running a modern slavery ring in Lincolnshire. There were 18 victims, aged between 18 and 64. One, who had worked for the family for 26 years, was forced to dig his own grave and told thats where youre going if he did not sign a false work contract.

The gang targeted homeless drifters, often with complex drug and alcohol issues, offering food and accommodation at construction sites around the county. The men were forced to work for little or no wages on the sites or for businesses repairing properties and tarmacking drives, while family members enjoyed holidays in Barbados.

Across Lincolnshire, there will be householders whose leaks were mended and gutters cleared by men who were held against their will. But we dont expect this sort of thing to happen in a First World country in the 21st century, so we remain oblivious to it.

The homeless are not the only people preyed on; undocumented migrants are particularly vulnerable to gangs who promise them a better life in a foreign country, only to force them to work in brothels, building sites, fishing boats and farms.

Last week, the Modern Slavery Index 2017 pinpointed five countries Romania, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Bulgaria all key entry points for refugees, as posing the highest risk in the EU.

Nor is there any reason to suppose Scotland has escaped unscathed; in May, a BBC investigation, Humans For Sale, found Glasgow was being targeted by gangs from Eastern Europe, with Govanhill a particular hotspot.

The scale of the problem is not new to those who work in the human rights field. Long before Fiona Hill, the much maligned aide to Theresa May, helped coordinate the Tories disastrous general election campaign, she spearheaded the Modern Slavery Act 2015 one of the few positive dividends of her bosss time at the Home Office.

Last week, human rights barrister Cherie Blair said the Act had been instrumental in shining a light on a problem which like child sexual abuse has always existed. Some critics believe the NCA has been sluggish in its response, but now the issue is high on the political agenda, it seems to be upping its game. Earlier this year, the Joint Slavery and Trafficking Analysis Centre was set up to provide high quality intelligence to support its efforts.

But what should other parties be doing to help tackle the problem? Well, large companies have a duty to ensure no link in their supply chain is engaged in forced labour.

Under the Modern Slavery Act, organisations with worldwide revenues of at least 36 million who conduct business in the UK are required to publish a transparency statement describing the steps they have taken to ensure their business is free from modern slavery and human trafficking.

Yet last year it emerged that KozeeSleep, which supplied mattresses to several respected retailers, relied on scores of trafficked and enslaved Hungarian workers paid less than 2 a day.

Recent research suggested two-thirds of companies with turnovers above the threshold did not yet have full supply chain visibility (the ability to track parts, components or products in transit from the manufacturer to their final destination). And of those which did, only 41 per cent were sure that their UK workers were earning the minimum wage.

Unless businesses are prepared to carry out stringent checks, encourage whistle-blowing and devise a strategy for phased withdrawal if exploitation is discovered, it is unlikely the law will have the desired impact.

Ordinary members of the public have a responsibility too: to educate themselves on forced labour and report any suspicions to the authorities. In the past few years, we have become more aware of child sexual exploitation. As the scandals in Rochdale, Rotherham and Oxford unfolded, we learned hundreds of young girls had been groomed by men working in the night-time economy. The abuse happened in plain sight, but no-one acted because no-one understood what was going on.

Now, thanks to public information campaigns, we know what to look out for: underage girls hanging around kebab shops and taxi ranks, missing school and/or displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour, for example.

We need similar campaigns to highlight the issue of modern slavery. Already the charity Unchosen has created postcards with a list of warning signs, such as people being moved around en masse at odd hours of the day, people who appear isolated from their community, people who live with their employer and people who are overly wary of the police.

We should also become more informed consumers; we should put pressure on companies to take human trafficking seriously and to publish information on their supply chains on their websites.

The idea that 184 years after the Slavery Abolition Act, people are still being held against their will and forced to work for no or little pay, is abhorrent. It is up to us all to put an end to it.

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Dani Garavelli: Fight on our hands to root out slavery - The Scotsman