Although Wal-Mart provides employment to a large population in the world, it has been accused of disobeying some of the basic human protection requirements in the workplace. The most dangerous job in Wal-Mart is working as a fabric cutter in the clothing department. Fabric cutters are employees are employed to cut fabric from the large sizes to the small required sizes ready for sale to consumers at retail prices. However, some of the reports released have indicated that there are claims that the fabric cutters are not provided with protective devices. For example, the company does not provide safety gloves to the fabric cutters (Workplace Fairness, 2011) especially to the overseas employees. This is against the basic workplace rights where employees working in risky sections should be provided with protective devices. The report further reported that a cost benefit analysis carried by the company indicated that shipping gloves overseas was costly than washing the blood stained clothes and exporting them (Workplace Fairness, 2011). This is some kind of exploitation where the company is more concerned on making profits instead of making safety of its employees. It also rights exploitation of the employees. This job is risk given that the employees are exposed to body injuries and cuts from the machines. Other risks associated with the job are infection from the fabric dusts and cutes from blades and scissors.
The employees are aware of the risks associated with the job they are involved in. This is because they are the ones who have reported of being mistreated and violated by the overseas management of Wal-Mart chain stores. However, the employees have little say over the issue because they are not allowed to have unions that can be used for collective bargains on better working conditions (Vedder & Jacobs, 2007). This has made it impossible to campaign for their working rights because the employees cannot be allowed to demand for their working rights. It is also imperative to note that the workers are discriminated because of their nationality and race in regard to the subject matter. It is in my opinion that the employees are aware of the risk associated with operating or cutting fabric without proper protective gloves. The reason why the employees continue to work under this condition knowingly is because of the increased unemployment levels and cost of living. The workers have families to take care of and they accept anything they get.
The risk associated with cutting fabric is not reasonable and acceptable. This is because, the United States Department of Labour requires all the employees to be provided with protective devices when handling machines or any apparatus that may cause bodily harm (United States Department of Labour, n.d). This makes the risk unacceptable as it is the mandate of the organization like Wal-Mart to provide its employees with the required protective wear. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration notes that it is reasonable to safeguard employees and protect them from preventable and needless injuries and cuts (United States Department of Labour, n.d). Therefore Wal-Mart violates the rights of the employees knowingly as it tries to cut down its costs at the expense of the employees. Employees’ rights should always be observed and protected as they are the reason why the business operates smoothly on daily basis.
Reference List
Allhoff, F., Vaidya, A. (2005). Business ethics: Ethical theory, distributive justice, and corporate social responsibility. New Delhi: Sage Publication India PVT Ltd.
DeWitt, B. J. (2005). Wal-Mart: A people’s perspective. Web.
Martin, A. (2011). Female Wal-Mart employees file new bias case. The New York Times. Web.
Medvet. (2005). Workplace drug & alcohol testing. Web.
Siekman, L. (2011). Wal-Mart and the Glass Ceiling. Web.
SRI World Group. (2000). Glass ceiling still unshattered. Web.
United States Department of Labour. (n.d). Chapter 1 – Basics of machine safeguarding. Web.
Vedder, R.K., & Jacobs, K. (2007). Is Wal-Mart Good or Bad for America? A debate. Web.
Walmart. (2008). Wal-Mart: statement of ethics. Web.
Workplace fairness. (2011). The good, the bad, and Wal-Mart. Web.