I was amused, when I discovered the photo (below) of Joleene Naylor at flickr. But then I had my desillusion on the other side of the coin, when I read the article at “designtaxi” about the mass production of toys in China …
title=”snorkel ducky says hello” by Jo Naylor, click on the picture to enter her galleries on Flickr
related:
http://designtaxi.com/news/355306/Photographer-Captures-Intimate-Portraits-Of-Toy-Workers-In-China/
Flickr Comments 
The trail of comments on the link made interesting reading.
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yes, for example Bruce Miller there: “…the conditions comparable to even Canadian underground operations, oil drill conditions, long haul cab conditions, Oil Sands (flies, cold, dirt) conditions, Smelter Worker conditions? Are there adequate fire escapes?…”
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To think it started with a cute little duck! The posts/responses open up a whole can of worms as far as working conditions in many domains goes – the garment, food and chemical product industries are no better – as far as canadian heavy industry goes, yes, it is true that they often work in dangerous conditions but so do the many nurses and hospital workers in the same country who are understaffed, underpaid, overworked and exposed to “life-threatening” conditions over the long-term – if we cannot help the people in these pictures directly, we need to make a difference and start on our own doorstep by being proactive about working conditions, consuming less, sourcing/eating local and supporting our own community businesses. It’s ludicrous to think that we will all stop buying “made in china” products but we can make better choices. Like an earlier post of mine says “Don’t just sit there…”
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let’s
“start on our own doorstep
by being proactive about
working conditions”!!!
+
yes, I had bad working conditions too –
but was not able to change anything.
That made me depressive…
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But at least you tried! Just had a discussion in the car with my son about his generations’ lack of decisiveness (in many arenas, not only work) – it all boils down to the level of engagement where doing something, anything, is better than waiting to see what everyone else will do or nothing at all which is the worst case scenario. Cross your fingers that this will change…
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Interesting reading (the comments). The workers may sit there day after day doing a repetitive job, but then isn’t that what factory work is usually about? And is it forced labor? Or, are these people doing these jobs of their own free will, to earn a living.
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how much do they earn? I suppose not enough to be happy. And no chance for them to change something, to organize better conditions – that’s the problem…
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Interesting and thought provoking images. Dull, repetitive, mind numbing work is no fun either in China or any other country. Perhaps the differences lie in what protections and power the workers have and this of course varies from place to place. It makes me wonder, too, what people like this were doing in the years before the rise of Chinese manufacturing?
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“…the differences lie in what protections and power the workers have…”
– actually some in Germany discuss, that workers for the Catholic church in Germany (in hospitals, Kindergartens etc.) have less rights than others … for example they are not allowed to join a labor unit; so some of certain stuffs decided to change from Catholic to Lutherian …
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Really, Frizz? This leaves me pondering about religious conversion processes.
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recently two catholic hospitals in Cologne refused to help a woman who was raped – are we living in New Delhi, where not every human being is ready to help?
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That is inconceivable!
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the doctors had the fear to lose their job if they helped the woman – in the manifest of the Catholic hospitals certain things are forbidden, which are allowed in Germany usually in public hospitals (a pill “after” etc.)
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Inconceivable to someone with human values and morality—but a hard realism to someone out for wealth and power. You be the judge …
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Its not just the boring repetitive work, its the plastic fumes they breathe in all day, and the fact that they’re sitting on odd rickety stools without back support (ergonomics?)
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Reminds me of some of the places I worked when I was young (in the US). At one job I sat on rolls of poly and dropped CDs onto a conveyor belt all day.I used to pay fellow employees with chocolate to give me neck rubs. But the difference is probably that I made $7.50 an hour (this was 1998) and paid overtime (though it was mandatory) and would eventually get health insurance (I didn’t last long enough to actually get that as some medical problems kicked in right about then). That kind of factory work can be so boring. It was the people you worked with that made the difference, if you had people you could joke with it would be okay, but people who were cold and stiff made for a horrible night.
Thanks for using my photo! 😀
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thank you for your photo, Joleene –
and yes, you are right: “… people who were cold and stiff made for a horrible night…” – every time, when I tried to change a job, then I had to fight vs. mobbing – because the crowd is stupid and anxious, fearing penalties if they move …
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