Toyota Prius: Solution for the Privileged, Slavery for the Vulnerable

Between 70,000 and 93,000 workers go each year into Japan as guests and temporary workers. These workers are mainly from Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and Brazil. The National Labor Committee reports that these temporary workers are cheated, afraid, and forced to work for Toyota Prius:

1. They are stripped from their passports.
2. The first year they are not even covered by a Japanese labor law, and they end up working at least 16 hours a day, 7 days a week (112 hours a week).
3. They end up getting paid 1/3 of the legal minimum wage, and they have to live in assigned housing where they are charged extraordinary amounts of rent.
4. If they try to move, change factories, or complain, they are deported.

The concern for the environment has to go hand in hand with concern for people’s freedom and rights.

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Jeff
Posts: 2

This seems suspect
Reply #2 on : Mon July 28, 2008, 11:59:47

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I too question the legitimacy of this posting. First, as Sam points out, 70,000 workers in one factory? Yeah right. Second, "If they try to move, change factories, or complain, they are deported." If you were a "slave" wouldn’t you want to be deported so you could go back home?

Sam
Posts: 2

Can we fact-check this please?
Reply #1 on : Fri July 18, 2008, 02:16:51

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It doesn’t take any 70,000 slaves to run a single auto factory building one model. A very large factory may employ a few thousand people in total. An entire motor corporation will employ well over 70k people but only a small percentage can be unskilled foreign labor. There may be truth to the guest worker allegation (there are such ‘guest workers’ in the US as well) but if you wish to be taken seriously then let’s get the facts straight, shall we? There aren’t any 70,000 slaves building the Prius. Are you just trying to scapegoat a popular car for the sake of attention?