There’s a story in the New York Times today about a foundry in Haora, West Bengal that makes New York City’s manhole covers. It’s written largely from a photographer’s point of view, and there’s a great audio + images slideshow accompanying the piece here. Adam Huggins’ photos are indeed pretty intense:
When you see pictures like this, it’s hard not to think of the issue of worker safety, which might be somewhat predictable (i.e., from our discussions of child labor): isn’t it possible that manholes can be produced so cheaply in India precisely because there aren’t high worker safety standards? Shouldn’t Con Edison insist on certain minimal worker safety protections when it signs contracts with Indian companies?
On the other hand, it could be argued that raising this issue potentially hurts the workers as much as it helps them, as it increases the chance that they’ll lose their jobs if American contracts are canceled. And while I’m not aware of statistics relating to worker injuries at this or other plants, it’s at least possible that the factory owner isn’t lying when he says that the system that’s been worked out is safe enough — as long as the workers remain completely focused on what they’re doing. (Interestingly, the photographer doesn’t seem outraged by the conditions he sees; if anything, his tone reflects admiration for the strength and fearlessness of the workers at the foundry.)
Dani Rodrik (here): “Fine, but what if these requirements [for additional safety measures] now raise the cost sufficiently for the utility to want to switch its supplies to another source? And what if these West Bengali workers now find themselves out of a job, or earning less in even worse working environments? Would we have we done them any favors by becoming outraged at their condition?
This is one of the trickiest issues in international trade, and one for which there is no straightforward answer that I can think of.”
Also worth noting is the fact that the factory in question operates in a state that has been a Left bastion for over thirty years now …
The foundries in Europe at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution likely looked similar. You just cannot transplant worker safety, pollution and labor standards to the developing world unless you agree to fund such righteousness by paying for higher standards, within and without the market system. While treaties like Kyoto and NGO efforts like Fair Trade coffee aim to do just that, they are pretty ineffective.
It’s very old contract, been going on definitely since before 1947. I remember seeing the company name on some of the older ones– formerly one of the Bird & Heilgers group. Good they uncovered it.
Thanks for alerting us to this story! i’m obsessed with these manhole covers – wrote a short story inspired by them for kahani magazine last year – it’s called “made in india.” and, i recently read a lovely poem in TERRAIN TRACKS, by Purvi Shah.
I forgot to add: an interesting side read is this article from Little India magazine:
This is not surprising… In India “dollar almighty” is the God… or should I say one of the gods… )
I heard from a fast food worker that, even though the international chain mandates that the workers should get free snadwiches/burgers, the franchise owners in India dont implement it. The inspectors of the chain know this but just ignore it. The owner claims that the workers have been fed and pockets the money.
Unless the labor in India becomes more expensive, there is no solution to this… You may implement all the stringent norms that you think off… there will always be loopholes
Part of the problem is that Indian workers themselves are very lackadaisical about safety. Ever see a railway engine shed? Or the Delhi Metro when it was being constructed? I saw dozens of workers taking off their safety helmets and roaming around in their ‘khadau’ like plastic shoes. And this was a government-run project where the workers are paid on time, paid sufficiently (by Indian standards), get overtime and disability, etc. I think the answer is twofold: enforce the standards on employers and simultaneously educate the workers that safety comes before everything else, including comfort. It doesn’t matter if the temperature is 40 degrees Celsius, they still need to wear their helmets and proper boots, not chappals.
Wait, I thought that’s what they were doing? From the article:
It is vague and difficult to enforce, no doubt. It looks like working conditions will depend more on local guidelines. Which means that nothing will really happen, considering this:
Paper-thin excuses.
This is the big issue for me. It’s very easy from our vantage point to rule on what’s ‘best’ for the ‘abused’ worker. None of these guys are bonded labor; they’re free to take their services elsewhere. I’m all for safer working conditions, but unsafe work is better than no work. Isn’t this partly why China has flourished as a manufacturing economy, disproportionately outpacing India ?
Heh Heh… China would simply not permit such an article to appear in NYT. The reporter would not gain access to such factories or their workers.
What’s the probability that a (State run) Chinese company has bid for the manhole contract? These “news” reports do not appear in a vaccum.
M. Nam
Shouldn’t Con Edison insist on certain minimal worker safety protections when it signs contracts with Indian companies?
Companies should set the standard (not just outline minimum requirements) with all their subcontractors and suppliers for worker safety (including specifying protective gear such as steel-toed boots, gloves, aprons, etc). They should also routinely audit suppliers’ fabrications shops and foundries for compliance to safety, and work with the suppliers to improve safety standards. (From what I’ve found, suppliers are more than eager to work with US companies – it’s better business for them, in the long run.)
On the other hand, it could be argued that raising this issue potentially hurts the workers as much as it helps them, as it increases the chance that they’ll lose their jobs if American contracts are canceled. And while I’m not aware of statistics relating to worker injuries at this or other plants, it’s at least possible that the factory owner isn’t lying when he says that the system that’s been worked out is safe enough‚ as long as the workers remain completely focused on what they’re doing
Is there an analagous organization to OSHA in India? (If not, it’s high time…) If a US-based company is doing business with Indian fab shops and foundries, they should use OSHA standards at a minimum to measure their suppliers’ safety performance.
It’s indeed possible to work out a job process that’s safe, asssuming total focus on the operator or technician’s part. That does not negate the necessity for safe work conditions, practices, and safety gear.
I’ve worked on a global sourcing project for the past year – without going into competitive details, my perspective is that the cost of working with otherwise acceptable suppliers (ie. technically competent, financially secure, ethical) to meet corporate safety standards is key, and worth it to the suppliers. If they improve and maintain their safety standards, their workers remain safe and healthy – and they can tout their safety record with us and open up doors with other companies seeking to source from proven foundries and fab shops.
In the end, it might cost more in the short term to ensure suppliers’ safety standards – but it’s still more than competitive to source from Indian suppliers – the labr rates are the primary factor. I fear less for these workers’ jobs than I do for their lives and limbs, to be frank.
I think Western pressure can have a positive effect in some cases. Pushing textile factories in Gujurat and TN to abide by child labor laws that are already on the book for example. I’ve heard people saying “But that will render the operations economically unviable,and the jobs will disappear altogether”. I know cloth is a commodity business but I see the wealth being created here and wonder if paying a 25% premium for adult labor will really see these jobs fleeing to China or make the returns unattractive for Indian business men
As an aside about worker safety, farm workers (who per my understanding are still the largest segment of labor) still spray pesticide without any masks & gloves. That’s got to have some serious health consequences..
What’s the probability that a (State run) Chinese company has bid for the manhole contract? These “news” reports do not appear in a vaccum.
Conspiracy alert!
A comment, #4 from Neal-with-no-E, was accidentally deleted. Sorry. 🙁
4 · Neal (with no ‘e’) on November 26, 2007 11:34 AM
Shouldn’t Con Edison insist on certain minimal worker safety protections when it signs contracts with Indian companies?
Con Edison’s major responsibility is to maximize profit, not to worry about worker safety (particularly not when those workers aren’t its customers, or even the voters who give it its monopoly).
That’s not to say that they shouldn’t worry about it as a moral issue, but it’s unrealistic to expect them to do so. It may even be illegal, if it’s against the interest of their shareholders. This is the responsibility of the Indian government, the state government, unions, and voters, and each of those groups is going to be making their decisions while weighing how much safety standards outweigh the benefits of those jobs. It’s a complicated balance, but it’s one best made by the people being impacted.
Haora – did Howrah get Indi-fied to Haora like Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai etc.? This s the first time I have heard of this version of the name (I don’t think Calcutta’s Howrah Station has changed to Haora Station)
Man, I come back for THIS kind of treatment?! 😉
I find this article and much of these kinds of reporting complicated. On the one hand everyone needs to know that more prosperous nations save a lot of money by contracting labour in these unsafe, early-industrial conditions. But the people there probably actually feel quite okay with what they do. It must hurt their feelings to think that now the whole world is looking at their photographs and saying, “oh God these poor, wretched people.” Did they realize what this article was about? That it wasn’t about a skill they had or the hard work they did but to showcase yet another bleak third world story about exploiting labour? When the reporter was taking those pictures they probably thought that people everywhere would say, “oh wow, what awesome hard working, skilled folk” and sadly, that was not the case.
“(Interestingly, the photographer doesn’t seem outraged by the conditions he sees; if anything, his tone reflects admiration for the strength and fearlessness of the workers at the foundry.)”
As a photographer….the focus here is the awesome image of hot steel and bare skin. Photographers, more often than not, view themselves merely as outside observers documenting the reality of what is taking place…..to some, this means we are just detached eyeballs on the world showing whatever we see with our own unique flair….to others, and perhaps this photographer, the act of publishing photos of these types of conditions are how they make their protest…..the image is gripping, and telling…and the more exposure it gets, the more people it resounds with…and thus, a revolution can be started by merely capturing and promoting the image.
Yes, our brown Dan Brown. There is a shady cabal of businessmen called the Opus Tse who engage in wonton exploitation, and who are so powerful that they are only referred to in hushed tones even during the elitest dinners as “The Great Seitan”.
Pity this isn’t borne out by reality, though.
If Americans are really that concerned about such human rights issues, maybe they should first press for reduction of farm subsidies resulting in cheap produce and prices which farmers from other countries cannot compete with in the world markets. Thus a lot of farmers turn to other professions. Wonder why that aspect rarely gets covered in the media!
I second sandeep@17’s opinion abt the article reg. the intent of the reporting. But that, apart infusing some amount of labour, safety standards and professionalism vis-a-vis technology can do a lot of good to these workers. That is a not a bad thing to demand and strive for though I don’t know who should fight for that – journalists, human right, labour organizations, government or contracting companies. How costly and un-affordable can their product get due to such changes ? At the same time why safety standards only to “nuclear reactors” and not to the labour like the earlier GAP one and this one ?
literary safari @#4 said:
FYI, you can buy “NYC Sewer” t-shirts, magnets etc. from here.
Ardy writes: >>If Americans are really that concerned about such human rights issues, maybe they should first press for reduction of farm subsidies resulting in cheap produce and prices which farmers from other countries cannot compete with in the world markets.
Agreed wholeheartedly. Not only Americans, but our local desi commies who lash out at America this, America that – are completely silent on this issue.
I could tell you – but then AMFD would respond with “Conspiracy alert!” !
M. Nam
The desi commies are worse than any other lot in India. Those morons are supposed to be all for a classless society and all that jazz but just looking at the recent happenings in WB makes one sick. Someone here mentioned that WB is a left ruled state, well a left only in name and as opportunistic and power hungry is worse since they are anti industry but not for the people. Thus a WB which was prosperous in the early part of free India’s history has gradually become anything but that since the commies came to power a few decades back. One needs a bloody Naxalite movement against these WB commies first.
I could tell you – but then AMFD would respond with “Conspiracy alert!” !
Go ahead bro!
Moornam, I think that aspect rarely gets covered in the media so that you can expand the range of your delightful insights from the axioms of science (nature does not allow for contradictions) and math (transitivity) to English and the laws of human nature itself.
Ardy, surely you are more rational than recommending the violent unleashing of the frustration of the poor and jobless on hapless government employees and civilians?
I was being sarcastic. In fairness, NPR has covered the issue in the past and I think I have seen articles by Sainath on the issue in counterpunch too.
Admiration seems the appropriate response, and the pictures reflect it.
Just wondering, have you worn a safety helmet when it is 40? Safety in India is complicated and safety stems from a cultural context. Life in India is cheap – sad but true.
Not that I am aware of although my knowledge is dated by more than a decade.
“Is there an analagous organization to OSHA in India?”
Indeed there is. Googling “occupational safety in India” revealed the following link. Occupational safety and anti-child labor laws are written in Chapter 13 of the Indian constitution, no less. Sadly, the ground realities are different.
India also has worker’s comp, overtime pay rules, fairly aggressive unions and the whole kit and caboodle of modern human resource practices. But enforcement is the problem.
http://labour.nic.in/annrep/annrep0506/english/Chapter13.pdf
As someone who has worked in Calcutta (as an apprentice in the Calcutta Port Trust foundry shop), doing somewhat similar work more than 20 years ago (albeit for just a few months), I can attest that decent coveralls and shoes (the basic kind – obviously not steel toed timberlands!) were generally used in most reputable foundry/industrial shops, even then.
Unfortunately, the ‘outsourcing’ trend runs deep in India too. The ‘reputable’ companies that NYC deals with are probably sourcing through multiple layers of contractors, and companies such as these are at the bottom of the pile, and probably earn a mere pittance.
That being said, a lot of folks working is such conditions probably consider themselves lucky to have a job in the first place, which are, in the grand scheme of things, a lot safer than many others available to them.
Bottom line, it’s really hard to make a judgement call on cases like these.
That slideshow is amazing. Compared to these guys, I’ve never done a day’s work in my life!
When I read the article and the slide show, it did not seem this way (especially when I noticed which cities the quotes came from). The focus the on the skill of the workers seems to be be the Photojournalist’s contribution from Haora, while the safety issues part seems to be the NYT Delhi Bureau reporter’s contribution.
Found a lot of the photojournalist’s previous work here. Really nice photos.
Really nice guy.
Thanks for the bio. I should have guessed where he was from 🙂
Indeed.
all, here is somebody making a case for third-world sweatshops
considering this would Con Edison’s management make the same case for buying the manholes from India ?
To be fair and equal, I think Con Edison should start buying some womanholes instead. The oppressive and dominant manholes have to go.
Uncle Cookiebrown remembers that this is the second time in 25 years that the New York Times has done a story on manhole covers made in India. But an archive search reveals nothing. Anyone else remember this?
Anybody who has been near a steel factory or foundry will attest to how ridiculously hot such a place can be. While industrial safety is a must, it must be awfully tempting to take off your heavy, hot boots in conditions like these. Just like the engineer’s cab in an Indian Railways steam locomotive. Anyone here have a memory of observing one of these in the summer heat in Northern India?
Talk about a hard living…But I’m pretty sure these workers take a very macho pride in their ability to stand the heat. Its a desi thing; my dad-in-law always talks about the “good heat” when its 115 degrees in the shade in Delhi.
[BTW, I don’t mean to minimize the OSHA issues…]
NYT Editorial in today’s paper Re: yesterday’s photos.
Jobs suck. That’s why they call it a “job”. If jobs blew, they would have called it a “job”. Why do you want to rob those workers of their only means of livelihood. Please go and take a dump NOW so that the city of New York can order more manhole covers and those workers can eat. Seriously!! – Arunabh Das