A Web of Brands by Naomi Klein - Article Example

In order to make her point clear, Klein has presented an example of a scenario in Jakarta, Indonesia. The workers are young and they are even ignorant of the brand name of the product they are producing. They receive low payments; are required to work for long hours without overtime pay; receive no benefits, and are unable to establish unions. When some workers staged a three-day walkout against working long hours without overtime pay, the management removes the compulsory order for working long hours but the salary remained below the legal standard.

The leaders and the threats to the management are fired thus discouraging any formation of unions.Proving the Veracity of the Incidents Klein sees to it that she presents an actual incident in one of the factories in Southeast Asia to prove her assertions that these are not merely hearsay. These are true-to-life experiences of the workers in the fields. These situations do exist and that there are people who are willing to suffer the consequences of working under such conditions because they just do not have the choice.

They need to find a source of income and these are the only available ones. The "management offered a compromise typical of a region with a markedly relaxed relationship to labor legislation" is a statement that proves that manufacturers exploit the ignorance of the workers while gaining all the benefits from the workforce. This form of settlement has happened because of the absence of the unions that may have safeguarded the rights and privileges of the workers.Workers have No ChoiceAs illustrated in the Jakarta experience, workers are either forced to work or to work of their own will.

They become willing victims of foreign manufacturers. They only receive US$2 per day and were even required to work long hours without overtime. The payment they receive is below the legal rate and many of them are ignorant about this. When they finally get the courage to make their demands known by staging a three-day walkout, their wage remains at the same rate only that they will no longer be forced to work long hours of overtime. Those who do not submit to the authority of the foreign giants are left without a job and end up the loser in their "no-win" situation.

The last line in paragraph nine shows their hopeless condition, "'Until now our case is still not settled,' one of these workers told me, bursting with frustration and with no recourse in sight."Conclusion Naomi Klein has wisely illustrated her point of the depressing plight of the workers in Southeast Asia. In addition, she has proven that these things do happen and that the workers are the helpless victims of the glaring brands of merchandise that enjoyed only the rich and famous. It is about time for us to consider their predicament every time we buy clothes and other items and at least do something in our small ways to uplift the workers' conditions whether in our selective buying or through information drives.