●     questions the anti-sweatshop agenda through a marxist critique

●     argues that the agenda normalizes the production counterpart and working relations in the west which are argued to be exploitive and anialiting

●     challenges the lexicon used for globalized markets 

●     all of this using a novel class-analytical approach

●     analyse the sweatshop discourse with the purpose of showing what it says about the West and its values on work relations

●     anti-sweatshop movement goes against marxist values and further promotes the neo-liberalism capitalist agenda to the expense of the global working class

⇒ one form of capitalism is not more desirable than anothe

 

Aims 

  • discover the relationship between the co-ethnic employer and the immigrant workers (Chinese workers working in the UK and Italy in particular) 

  • how do Chinese migrant workers view themselves in relation to their co-ethnic employers 

  • how do Chinese migrant workers respond to perceived injustice or exploitation imposed by their employers of the same national, ethnic and cultural backgrounds 

Main argument 

  • despite the growing literature on international migration that tend to emphasize homogenous elements such as shared ethnic background, social network and cultural similarities in shaping immigrants’ identity. The paper argues that this underestimates the differences and conflicts of interests between ethnic employers and migrant workers 

  • class consciousness co-existed alongside co-ethnic and cultural relationships among Chinese migrant workers and has played an important part in the making of new Chinese communities 

Methods 

  • field observation, in-depth interview and focus group in Italy and the UK 

  • 2 field work studies 

     -working conditions of Chinese-owned factories in Veneto, Northeast Italy (textile, leather industry) 

     -impact of economic recession on the employment conditions of Chinese migrants in East Midlands of the UK (mainly catering sector) 

Conclusions 

  • class consciousness among Chinese migrant workers exist, can be shown by the emphasis on companionship, identity, common needs of mutual respective and fair treatment. 

  • class consciousness among Chinese migrant workers can be substantiated from their perception to and awareness of poor working conditions, labor exploitation and abuse. They had taken actions ranging from avoidance to direct confrontation. 

  • class consciousness is closely associated with not only the social status and work experience, but also the duration of international migration, status and work experience in the host countries 

Limitation/contribution in using marx 

  • this paper use the concept of class consciousness throughout its discussion but does not explicitly rely on any Marx’s theory and no strong argument is made 

  • issue associated with solidarity and globalization/migration is discussed (link to what we’ve discussed in the past few weeks)