Nike has made an expansive effort to convince consumers, investors and others that it is improving the lives of factory workers who make its products, not exploiting them. A rare view of wages at one Cambodian factory tests this claim.
  • Em Adespoton@lemmy.caEnglish
    1 year

    “Factory workers ’on average’ earn 1.9x minimum wage.”

    Average is a silly thing to use here. That means the factory owners are making bank while the labourers are making minimum wages for their country — and in some countries, minimum wages is $0.

    If they used the median instead, or compared against cost of living, we’d see different numbers.

  • Rozz@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    1 year

    Reporting Highlights

    What Nike Says:

    • The world’s largest sports apparel maker says its suppliers pay workers 1.9 times the minimum wage on average, based on partial data for the workforce.
    • What We Found: A payroll sheet for one Cambodian factory reveals few people making that much, even after years on the job.
    • What It Means: Workers told ProPublica their wages weren’t enough to make ends meet and that they needed to work overtime just to keep up.

    (Pardon the formatting)