SOC263H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter Final: Labour Power, Visible Minority, Knowledge Economy
Document Summary
Garment industry is bad and garment work is hard. Managers and owners exploit workers in a quest to maximize productivity and profits, and there is always pressure to produce more. Managers control their workers by restricting those who sign grievances and by eliminating or moving problem workers to different departments or jobs; supervising work closely and limiting employees contact with each other. Practice of hiring least expensive worker to maximize company s profit has a long history in the garment industry. Women and immigrant workers are disproportionately represented in this industry: they are paid less. Jobs within the industry are segregated along gender lines (women make up 88- 96% of 3 lowest paid occupations in the garment industry); ethnic groups (in particular shops, with higher wages being paid in shops where most of the workers are french canadian). Employers replace older workers with younger workers who are less expensive to maximize their company s profit and reduce labour expense.
