Platinum mine
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:23 pm
The unrest and shootings at the Marikana mine in South Africa have made me wonder why we get indignant about the wages and working conditions of workers in the sports goods and clothing industry - training shoes are a case in point - but this interest does not extend to other industries, for example mining ?
A child could ask a reasonable question based on a simple observation - why are all the miners black ? Wouldn't you have to answer that in the context of that country it's because the work is dangerous and low paid. If it wasn't dangerous and low paid surely the workforce would be more diverse.
They're being exploited but because they're not part of Nike's or Primark's supply chain no-one really seems that interested in them.
A child could ask a reasonable question based on a simple observation - why are all the miners black ? Wouldn't you have to answer that in the context of that country it's because the work is dangerous and low paid. If it wasn't dangerous and low paid surely the workforce would be more diverse.
They're being exploited but because they're not part of Nike's or Primark's supply chain no-one really seems that interested in them.