Quote:
Originally Posted by rlpaul
So, neither Subaru nor Fuji Heavy Industries employs these people, but rather some of their suppliers.
Not condoning what's happening here, or saying that Subaru is without blame (or the opposite for that matter), but I don't get this kind of journalism. Why aren't they naming the guilty companies, rather than the large well-known company they sell their goods to? I know they named one of them in the article, but most people only read headlines plus a paragraph or two.
This reminds me of all the hate against Nike in the 90's: Nike pays laborers only 9 bucks a day (don't remember the exact figures)! Nevermind that Nike was paying twice what local companies pay...
Information without context is pretty worthless.
Having said that, Subaru should probably be more selective in who supplies them. And these suppliers should be the ones crucified in the headlines, not Subaru.
Edit - sounds like most of the suppliers are doing shady things. Could be rock and hard place for Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, who apparently all use the same suppliers.
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Suppliers often establish facilities specifically for the company contracting their labour. Apple and Microsoft don't own Foxconn, but some of those Foxconn facilities are spitting out their products virtually exclusively.
Contracting out doesn't really absolve you of blame. They chose the cheapest supplier often knowing full well that they're achieving those price points by hiring less than ideal labour at low wages. This isn't unusual, but just because they're contracted out, that doesn't mean Subaru isn't failing to behave more ethically.
In this context, they're being brought in and paid much less than a Japanese worker would. I think it would be less of an issue if they were paid the same wages in the Philippines or mainland China (where cost of living is also far more reasonable).