@DamienMarieAtHope THIS!
!
#FreeTradeZones and #ExportProcessingZones are places where #LaborLaws don't exist, and are used by big corporations to increase profits!
"In some situations, employees work excessive hours in unsafe conditions such as extreme heat, around faulty machinery, and in buildings that are not routinely inspected and maintained.
"Although foreign investors, enterprises, and firms often earn a sizable amount and the global economy benefits, workers’ wages are typically low, often below that of the required country minimum wage.
Most employees have to accept the previously mentioned working conditions as trade unions, and labor movements are not allowed.
"Due to the competitive nature of EPZs, workers often cannot expect any improvement in conditions as operating costs are purposely kept low to attract investors. Because of the development and infrastructure EPZs bring, countries and governments often won’t step in either."
https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/export-processing-zones/
"Also called foreign trade zones or export processing zones (EPZs), FTZs are “special commercial and industrial area…where foreign and domestic merchandise may be brought in without being subject to payment of customs duties.”[ii] Social protection for labor is ensured by both national and international legislation in Latin America; nonetheless, economic globalization inhibits worker rights across the region, particularly for vulnerable populations such as women, who are employed in FTZs.[iii] The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are approximately 500 FTZs in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, employing over 6 million workers. Women constitute 70 percent, and in some cases 90 percent, of workers in FTZs, and often perform labor-intensive tasks in sub-standard work conditions.[iv] While economic globalization and free trade enterprises themselves are not to blame for such abuses, there is an urgent need for governments, multi-national corporations, and international institutions to guarantee to hold one another accountable for the gross violations of worker rights occurring."
https://coha.org/worker-rights-and-wrongs-fair-trade-zones-and-labor-in-the-americas/