The Rotary Club of Sydney is pleased to invite the Electronics Watch organisation to describe how they are making a difference to millions of workers in the global electronics industry.

Joining us will be Julie Petticrew, the Australian Representative of Electronics Watch and Hong Kong based Omana George, the Monitoring Coordinator for Electronics Watch.

Background

In recent decades the global electronics industry has become one of the largest in the global economy, generating more revenue than any other manufacturing sector.

An estimated 18 million workers produce 20% of global imports and create a $1.7 trillion trade in electronics products. One forecast shows the industry growing at an annual rate of 15% to nearly US$ 3 trillion in trade by 2020.

Electronics brands are some of the most valuable companies in the world, while the manufacturers include some of the world's largest employers.

Unfortunately, workers have helped shoulder the cost of industry growth by working excessive working hours for low wages in precarious forms of employment and in unhealthy environments.

Some of the main issues in the electronics industry include:

Occupational Health and Safety

"Many workers suffer from respiratory illnesses and allergies. They have lung diseases and difficulty breathing. This is caused by the fumes of the toluene."

Electronics Watch monitoring reports show that electronics goods are often produced by workers in unsafe environments working long hours with inadequate protection.

They may lack access to unions or occupational health and safety committees that could demand a safe work environment.

They work with chemicals that may be explosive, toxic or corrosive, and affect the skin, respiratory system, reproductive system, and central nervous system.

Repetitive assembly line work can lead to cumulative trauma disorders, backache and strains of the musculoskeletal system. Prolonged visual inspection work can result in eyestrain.

Adverse psychosocial factors in electronics work include the fast and unvarying pace of work in assembly lines, the monotonous nature of work, and rotating shifts. In China, research by Electronics Watch and Economic Rights Institute suggests worker suicides are linked to harsh working conditions.

The OHS Advisory Panel is available to support monitoring partners to detect and understand health hazards in factories, and to guide affiliates' engagement with suppliers on health and safety issues.

Precarious Employment

"This shouldn't happen from one day to the other that they tell us if there ́s a job or not. I need to plan."

When Electronics Watch asks workers in countries as varied as India, the Czech Republic, China, and the Philippines what they would most like to change, precarious work is often at the top of the list because it so profoundly impacts their wages, security, and health and safety.

In the electronics industry, rush orders, transfer of risks to subcontractors, and cost-cutting mechanisms are part of an industry business model that profoundly impact working conditions in factories. This model has resulted in flexible and precarious work arrangements, such as temporary, part-time, and contractual employment, along with irregular working hours, lack of job and social security, and increased health and safety risks.

These work arrangements may be harmful to workers and are sometimes illegal. Because of flexible production demands, and product life cycles only 3-18 months long, precarious employment is endemic. About 80-90% of the workforce are temporary contract workers in some areas of China, Malaysia, Hungary, and Mexico during peak production periods, according to the ILO.

Forced Labour

"Many workers are threatened with termination if they refuse overtime."

The ILO estimates that 24.9 million people are forced to work under the threat of coercion worldwide. Almost one of every four victims of forced labour are migrant workers, and 15% work in manufacturing.

In the electronics industry, migrant workers are particularly at risk of forced labour as highlighted in Verité’s seminal study on forced labour in the production of electronics goods in Malaysia. It found nearly one-third of migrant workers in situations of forced labour. US Department of Labor notes reason for concern of forced labour in electronics production in both China and Malaysia, and deeper in the supply chains, in the extraction of tin, tungsten (wolframite), and gold in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Electronics Watch monitoring reports highlight risk of forced labour in the electronics industry in China, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Risks are often associated with migrant workers who may incur large debts in their pursuit of employment and may face debt bondage. They can be deprived of passports and work documents or held in a place of employment against their will. However, other workers face other forms of coercion, including student workers forced to "intern" (read, "do regular work for less pay") in a factory in order to obtain an educational diploma.