Explotación laboral

Una visión general de los mineros que trabajan en la mina de cobalto de Shabara, cerca de Kolwezi (República Democrática del Congo), el 12 de octubre de 2022.JUNIOR KANNAH (AFP / Getty Images)

MundoÁfrica, ,

En la República Democrática del Congo (RDC) se está produciendo un auténtico delirio, una carrera desenfrenada para extraer la mayor cantidad de cobalto lo más rápido posible. Este raro metal azulado es un componente esencial de casi todas las baterías recargables de iones de litio que se fabrican hoy en día. También se utiliza en una amplia gama de las recientes innovaciones con bajas emisiones de carbono, fundamentales para alcanzar los objetivos de sostenibilidad climática. La región de Katanga, en el extremo sudoriental del Congo, posee más reservas de cobalto que el resto del planeta junto. Además, también abundan otros metales valiosos como cobre, hierro, zinc, estaño, níquel, manganeso, germanio, tantalio, wolframio, uranio, oro, plata y litio.…  Seguir leyendo »

An advertisement for Saudi Arabia's city of NEOM

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is planning a $500 billion model city in the desert of northwest Saudi Arabia. Built from scratch, NEOM will purportedly be powered by clean energy, run by artificial intelligence, enhanced by machine learning, serviced by robot maids and flying taxis, and illuminated every night by a giant artificial moon.

History suggests, though, that the tens of thousands of migrant workers who build NEOM will experience few of the upsides of the promised future city or escape the exploitation endured by millions of other migrant workers already toiling in Saudi Arabia. If the large multinational businesses contracted to develop NEOM want to avoid complicity in Saudi's systemic exploitation of migrant workers, they will have to put in place policies and practices that effectively safeguard their workers' rights.…  Seguir leyendo »

Garment workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, blocked a highway in April at a protest demanding their wages, which went unpaid during a nationwide coronavirus lockdown that forced most factories to suspend operations. Credit Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

InternacionalEconomía,

Turning Point: The coronavirus pandemic plunged the $2.5 trillion worldwide fashion industry into a crisis, prompting store closures, layoffs and bankruptcy filings in the West and threatening the livelihoods of millions of garment workers around the world.

This year the world has had to confront two monumental challenges: Covid-19 and the economic catastrophe the disease has caused. Both have taken a heavy toll on economically vulnerable workers, who already had to contend with low wages and few social protections. Their plight has exposed the rampant inequality pervading many corners of the globalized world, including the fashion industry.

The economic pressures created by the pandemic have demonstrated just how dependent fashion is on the exploitation of cheap labor and how devastating this interdependence can be in times of calamity.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia, ,

World leaders will soon gather in Beijing for the second forum on China’s Belt and Road Initiative — the $1 trillion plan involving China’s bilateral agreements with more than 100 countries to enhance “connectivity” by building infrastructure projects and deepening economic ties. In the run-up to the event, many critics have highlighted the projects’ negative impacts on host countries, such as debt traps, land seizures, corruption and environmental degradation. Some have pointed out the difficulties of establishing fair methods for resolving the many disputes that are arising between China and its new partners. A few have criticized the failure of certain projects to create adequate jobs for locals.…  Seguir leyendo »