Exploitation of the physical labour have existed since time immemorial. It has undergone paradigmatic shifts from time to time with regard to the way it has been perpetrated and the relations of production (Skeggs 2015). The only aspect which has remained unchanged is that of the relentless exploitation of the labour power. It would not be an understatement to say that the systemic violation of the rights of the workers by depriving them of their due share of remuneration has been consolidated over time (Skeggs 2015). By the creation of conditions artificially, it has been made possible to skillfully enshroud the fact that the under the garb of providing opportunities to the workers to earn their livelihood though free and fair means, they are actually being made to devote more labour than they are actually being paid for (Zimmerman, McAlpine, Kiss 2016). Unfortunately, the social conditions are such that there seems no respite from the oppressive system, as there is no alternative to it which can fulfill the needs and demands of the market and at the same time safeguard the interests of the workers.
In the ancient period it was slavery, then as human civilization progressed, the relationship between the exploiter and the exploited gradually transformed itself. It was not an ad hoc process, rather a response to the changing needs of the time dictated by the machinations of the forces of the market (Zimmerman, McAlpine, Kiss 2016). As time proceeded, the need for goods and services at the shortest possible time frame emerged. Naturally the old techniques of production and the managerial expertise became outdated and had to be replaced by newer methods which produced faster than it did ever before. So when the mention of changes in market structure is made, it hints at the requirements and demands of the masses (Barua 2017). Along with it, the expediency with which the goods and services are expected to be delivered on part of the masses. So it can be deduced that the market situation is controlled by the whims and fancies, the demands and the expectations of the masses (Beatson, and Hanley 2015). Also, on the other hand, the producers, the ones controlling and manipulating the functioning of the means of production are also influencing a change in the market by artificially creating demand and scarcities among the masses, which makes one reconcile oneself to the fact that market forces are susceptible to a two way control, by the ones who are controlling the means of production, and also by the masses who form the target audience of the business houses in furthering their interests of gathering more and more profits (Beatson, and Hanley 2015). Sadly, in the process of generating, voicing and fulfillment of the demands of the masses, it is the interests of the workers which are getting jeopardized at all ways one can possibly imagine. For a theoretical explanation of the phenomenon, it is necessary to invoke the concept of alienation, whose mention one can find in the Marxian lexicon to define the systematic violation of the rights of the workers and the lack of opportunities and avenues to seek redressal for it (Allain 2015).
In this essay, the dominant theme chosen for the purpose of discussion concerns itself with the violation of the rights of the workers. The specific issues that shall be touched upon shall be including- the rights of the workers with particular reference to the minimum wages, and the issue of the unfair balance between the work and the pay they receive vis-à-vis the forms of exploitation that they are made to face, due to the involvement of the syndicates who bag the benefits of the hard and unremunerated labour of the workers.
In this section an account of the basis for the discussion that is supposed to be taken up in the following section of the essay shall be provided. The aim herein is to establish the nature of the problem and its gravity. This section of establishing the background shall be responsible for adding the touch of relevance to justify why the topic has been chosen for the purpose of analysis. The chosen problem statement requires a deep analysis from various perspectives as it is a monolithic in nature. On having a look at the historical trajectory of the exploitation of the workers and depriving them of their due share of remuneration has assumed multiple forms and have changed over time. In the following sections they shall be discussed.
To begin with, the very generic logic must be mentioned of at first. The motive of the capitalists, or to be more general, the owners of the factor of production is to extract as much as possible from the workers at the minimum possible remuneration (Lewis and Dwyer 2014). The private enterprises function on the core principle of amassing as profit as much as possible without providing the workers with the surplus value. The concept of surplus value means the extra amount of effort generated by the worker which the worker is not supposed to provide given the fact that the payment received in lieu of the extra effort does not reach the worker. In order to explain that the theorization of Karl Marx need to be explained in this regard to reconcile the central theme of the essay with a scholarly framework (Lewis and Dwyer 2014).
The Marxist economic theory can be explained by the rules of motion related to the aspect of production and exchange of goods against a market value, which is the cost price of the commodity. The value of a particular commodity, as per the views of Karl Marx is determined by the amount of effort that is put by the labour or the worker (Cohen 2015). The more the effort the labour is made to put in to the process of production, the more shall be the amount of profit incurred by the ones who shall be having a control over the forces of production. Hence, according to the theorization of Karl Marx, this leads to an immense amount of exploitation of the labour power which the worker sells against the promise of some economic remuneration (Cohen 2015). The labour is hired by the ones having the capability to exert a significant amount of control over the forces of production and also on the mode of production. However they do not provide the labour with the due amount of remuneration that they deserve (Hall and Bowles 2016). There are two reasons why the industrialists or the capitalists deprive the workers of the wages they deserve. First of all, the motive is of profit maximization (Hall and Bowles 2016). Secondly, it is for the purpose of gaining the surplus (Hall and Bowles 2016). Surplus refers to the profit that the capitalists gain. For a clear understanding of this aspect of surplus the Marxian conception of Capitalist Exploitation and the Marxian Labour Theory of Value must be discussed (Scott 2017).
According to the Marxian conception of Capitalist Exploitation, the very basis of capitalist mode of production is very much grounded of the selfish concern of bagging profit. Marx says that profit is something which cannot be gained by the capitalist without depriving the labour of the due share of remuneration (Fuchs 2014). The amount of payment that the workers receive in lieu of their physical power put in to the production process is almost nil. The reason provided by Marx is very simple, that is the fact that the labour puts in way more effort that he or she is entitled to. In this regard the Marxian theory of alienation must also be explained to substantiate the understanding of surplus value (Fisher 2015). As it has been discussed so far that the worker does not receive any remuneration for the profit he or she causes the capitalist or the industrialists. That profit is the surplus and the very phenomenon of not paying the worker the due share of the labour power he or she devotes to generate the surplus is alienation (Selwyn 2016). The efforts are extracted from the labour and the surplus commodity which is the fruit of the extra labour put in by the worker is taken away. Thus in this process, the worker is not only alienated from the fruit of his or her labour, but also from the remuneration, which makes the workers face double jeopardy (Campana and Varese 2016). The Marxian theory is replete with such theorization having its basis in economics, society and also in the historical trajectory of human civilization, which deals with the aspect of the exploitation of the workers. The theorizations are based on economic determinism which seeks to explain every aspect from an economic perspective (Campana and Varese 2016). What Marx had written long time ago is relevant even today, as the aspect of economic exploitation of the workers is still very much prevalent in almost all parts of the world (Campana and Varese 2016).
When Marx had theorized his explanations in the 19th century, it was the period when capitalistic mode of production had just replaced the feudal economic system (Wood 2016). The system of production was labour intensive and relied heavily upon the man power for supplementing the production process. In today’s world, when the dependence on labour has virtually been replaced by the intellectual effort, the system of exploitation has not been done away with. One fine example that can be cited from the situation that prevails in the contemporary period is the Knowledge Process Outsourcing Industry (Yea 2017). To put it in a simplified way, the business of producing content for broadcasting them in the world wide web. Companies, businesses and organizations require an outreach of their enterprise in the world or in a particular social setting, which is possible through advertisement (Veneziani and Yoshihara 2015). Intellectual efforts of people working at the advertising agencies or content writing firms are sold against a paltry sum of money. The wages received by the content creators is very meagre while the business houses are earning profit at a rate much greater. Even in this scenario, Marxian conception of Alienation, Economic Exploitation and Surplus Value is applicable (Veneziani and Yoshihara 2015). The wages received by the content creators remains fixed, while they receive no bonus if the business venture of the enterprises incurs a profit. For getting more payment the content creators must produce more content than the stipulated quantity, and that is something which the business houses shall be favourably disposed towards (Veneziani and Yoshihara 2015). Since, the amount of content is directly proportional to the amount of profit for the business houses. The alienation with regard to this particular example happens by means of copyright violation, as the intellectual property of someone else is bought at a paltry sum of remuneration by business ventures and the writers receive neither the due credit nor do they receive any perks and privileges apart from their wages for making the business houses incur profit (Fuchs and Mosco 2015).
It would however be an understatement to say that the physical labour of the workers in this post modern era has ceased to exist. In this regard the aspect of neo colonialism has to be explained. In the Post Cold War period the United States of America had sought to win over the world under the hegemonic umbrella of the conception of development (Fuchs and Mosco 2015). It was essentially economic growth oriented development which meant that greater purchasing power meant greater level of development. Since the third world countries had in the 1990s had not the logistical support to supplement the industrialization that accounted for the development, the business houses of the first world countries, popularly known as the Multi National Corporations penetrated into the economic and the political fabric of the former (Fuchs and Mosco 2015). Given the huge population in the third world countries, it proved to be a propituous opportunity for the Multi National Corporations to exploit the cheap labour force and also the natural resources of the host country (Cockbain and Brayley Morris 2017). There prevalence of poverty, unemployment, hunger and a situation of acute crisis is something which reduces the bargaining power of the general population of third world countries, and that enables the perpetration of exploitation even easier (Cockbain and Brayley Morris 2017). Most of the Multi National Corporations have their production units in some third world country, as a result of it the production cost goes steeply down compared to what would have been the situation had the production been carried out in a first world country (Cockbain and Brayley Morris 2017). The production cost getting reduced its becomes easier for the Multi National Corporations to incur more profit but the workers at the third world counties receive no share of the profit. Thus there is inequal distribution of the resources incurred which prevails amongst the forces of production. The capitalists receive the cream of the production process while the proletariats receive inadequate compensation for the labour power they are made to devote to the production (Yoshihara and Veneziani 2018).
The examples of the situations that have been provided so far concerns itself with a gross violation of moral and ethical values that are objectively and universally accepted as the standard benchmark. The aspect of surreptitiously extracting the labour power from the workers without providing them with their due share of remuneration is clearly deception, and deception shall always be equivalent to a situation devoid of ethics. This reinstates the relevance of the aspect of ethical dilemma from the economic perspective.
Culture refers to a particular set of values, predispositions and beliefs that is shared amongst a collectivity of individuals, and that collectivity of individuals is society. A society is distinguished by the cultural traits they embody, and culture is the defining feature of a particular society. Based on this particular understanding the discussions shall be taken up further to show the connection between society, culture and the exploitation of the physical labour of the workers (Yoshihara and Veneziani 2018).
First of all in this regard the justification of slavery by Aristotle must be explained. In the Aristotelian conception of the division of the society the element of hierarchy is very much prominent. He had divided the society into three sections based on the position of superordinance and subordinance in the societal hierarchy (Capps 2018). At the topmost level of the societal hierarchy, Aristotle had placed the intellectual class of people who were supposed to indulge in the philosophical pursuits of life, as they were supposed to assume the role of being the rulers of the society (Fuchs and Fisher 2015). At the second level of the societal hierarchy he had placed the persons who were supposed to be the auxillaries or the warrior class (Fuchs and Fisher 2015). The role of the warriors were to provide the rulers placed at the topmost rank of the society with the necessary aid in consolidating the rule of the rulers or the intellectual class. At the lowest level of the societal hierarchy he had placed the labourers, the craftsmen, the artisans and all other persons who were supposed to indulge in the odd jobs that would facilitate the roles the other two sections of the society were supposed to play (Fuchs and Fisher 2015). This is a synoptic view of the structure of society that was envisaged by the Aristotle, which was hierarchically organized. Another very glaring aspect of this hierarchical division of the society is the basis of it, which is the division of labour (Fuchs and Fisher 2015). The structurization of the society as propounded by Aristotle was thus based on the particular role each individual and section played. Based upon this Aristotle had justified slavery. The third or the section of the society that is placed at the lowest in the structure comprised of slaves. Aristotle had opined that just like human beings, the works, or the roles that were supposed to be played were also hierarchically organized (Fuchs and Fisher 2015). The roles which demanded intellectual prowess were viewed upon with a high esteem by Aristotle, and consequently the ones who played the role requiring intellectual effort were placed at a higher social pedestal by Aristotle. On the other hand the roles which required an extensive devotion of physical labour and the individual who had just those roles to play in the society involving physical labour were accorded a position of lowness in the societal hierarchy as far as the societal hierarchy chalked out by Aristotle was concerned. The warrior class and the class of slaves were supposed to be the support system of the ones belonging to the ruling or the topmost class of the society (Fuchs and Fisher 2015).
Aristotle considered that individuals who were supposed to devote their intellectual enterprise in the society should concentrate only on reflecting upon the situations and analyze the possible solutions. Indulgences which involved the securitization of the materialistic requisites of life were distractive and would derail them from the noble and the elevated purpose that they were supposed to serve (Smith 2017). Hence their materialistic requisites of life would be secured by the persons belonging to the persons belonging to the class of the warriors and that of the slaves. Thereby Aristotle had provided a very comprehensive framework to support and maintain the status quo of the elites in the ancient Greek context (Smith 2017). Centuries have elapsed between the time period when he had lived and had contributed his work for the society, but his theorization is relevant even today when one devotes a deep insight into the organizational culture that is prevalent in the contemporary world, based upon the understanding of Max Weber. Modern organizations are based upon the understanding provided by Max Weber and it also has the Aristotelian characteristic feature of hierarchy, which is based on the degree of authority one hold in the organizational structure. The greater the level of authority, the greater is the level of intellectual effort one needs to give in order to manage and coordinate works of the persons at the lower levels of the hierarchy (Ellerman 2017). The persons working at the lower levels of the organizational structure are made to apply their labour, of both physical and intellectual nature in the modern context. While the individuals at the higher levels of hierarchy in the organizational structure, the managers and the directors and the bosses, are the ones who disseminate orders following a top down model. The labour that is put by the employees forms the backbone of the respective companies, while the employees receive just a meagre amount of wages while the share of the resources are handsomely shared amongst each other by the individuals placed at the higher levels of the organizational hierarchy. This is once again a situation of alienation whereby the employees are deprived of their due share of compensation, as the profits of the company supplemented by their labour and enterprise do not reach them. In this way the Aristotelian inegalitarian model of hierarchy is being perpetrated even today and that has become a part of the organizational culture, to which the members of the society are acquiescent as they are bound by the scarcities that affect their lives (Ellerman 2017).
The culture, or the system of exploiting the workers of their labour and depriving them of the share of profits by the individuals at the helm of affairs or in charge of the factors of production, is not something which is a novel invention of the 21st century. It has been continuing ever since the pre historic times (Dyer-Witheford 2015). The only factor that has undergone transformation is the way it has been perpetrated at a particular time in the history, based on the changes in the societal structure and the changes in the mode of production, as dictated by the needs of the society and most importantly the market forces. It can be explained by the historical trajectory provided by Karl Marx (Dyer-Witheford 2015).
Karl Marx had said that with the discovery of agriculture, the notion of private property came into being and ever since then the system of perpetration of exploitation of human labour for the purpose of amassing more and more private property came into being. It was the system of slavery when there prevailed the rule of the kings and the princes. With the decline of monarchical system and the rise of the gentry, the economy became feudal and the relations of production consisted of the serfs and the lords (Fuchs and Fisher 2015). The serfs were equivalent to the slaves and the lords, to that of the king. The economy was pastoral, and the serfs were made to toil hard in the fields of the lords. Then with the rise of the industrial mode of production and the rise of the middle class, the relations of production became that of the capitalists or the industrialists, or in Marxian terms, that of the bourgeois class on one hand, and on the other hand that of the factory workers or what Marx had termed as the class of the proletariats. As the epochs in history proceeded, than the form of exploitation got transformed, to suit the economic needs of the particular period (Fuchs and Fisher 2015). The contemporary period is called as the period of post modernism, which Post Modern thinker had said that it is the cultural logic of late capitalism. It means that this age seeks to do away with the structurization that was prevalent in the era of modernism, but the capitalistic system of exploitation of workers is still very much prevalent even in this age. The systematic exploitation of the labour is still very much prevalent even today, which reinstates the Marxian statement that with each passing epoch the forms of exploitation got consolidated and that was possible because of the crisis situation that prevails in society, triggered by the shortage of resources and the fact that the resources are not equitably distributed in the society. Only a privileged few are the ones who are the ones to control the resources of the world and they make sure that they devise every possible way to maintain that status quo as it is.
Having gone through the background of the problem related to the issue of exploitation of the workers, it becomes clear that the element of ethical aspect is missing which is why the inhumane practice of exploitation of the workers is still continuing. This situation requires an ethical intervention, which can solve the issue that is rampant throughout the world and the signs of it ceasing to exist is quite bleak as the crisis situation is created artificially by fanning the shortage. The ones who are in charge of maintaining and controlling the resources make sure that they remain concentrated on their hands and it does not pass on to others. That is done in order to ensure that the economic value of the resources do not diminish and the market value of it remains intact. If the market value of the resources diminish then the interests and the prospects of the capitalists to maximise their level of profit shall be ceasing to exist. Hence they ensure that all those conditions remain intact whereby their motive of profit accumulation remains untarnished even if that means at the cost of exploiting the workers and underpaying them. This is clearly a situation of the erosion of the moral and ethical values. In the following sections the discussion shall be elaborating further on the aspect of ethics and its relation to the exploitation of the workers (Fuchs and Fisher 2015).
Having discussed extensively about the background of the problem which is the exploitation of the workers and the ethical dilemma related to it. In the previous sections it has been discussed that there are several ways in which the perpetration of the injustice on workers and the infringement of their rights happens (Smith 2017). That has enabled the capitalists to keep on maintaining their status quo of bagging the profits. The current matter which us being disputed is the issue of deprivation of workers of their right to receive minimum wages and its relation to the exploitation of the workers in the contemporary period. Several academicians and even economists have related that to the issue of modern day slavery. Theoretically, it can be explained by the rubric of the modern day slavery. They opine that the form of exploitation has transformed itself from being very crude and blatant to being very surreptitious and layered. Workers are lost in the quagmire of the work and they fail to realize that they are being exploited under the garb of providing work and employment (Capps 2018). Not just that, in the modern era there are several other ways in which the workers are exploited and there seems no respite from those traps. Trafficking is one such form of exploitation whereby children and women face the worst consequences of the menace. They get tricked into believing that they shall be provided jobs at some hotels or restaurants, while the reality is that that they are made to indulge in slavery without pay and even goaded into prostitution forcefully (Smith 2017).
In this regard the example of middle east can be cited. There real estate boom in the middle east requires huge number of labour from various parts of the world to work in the construction sector. Mainly labour forces from the poorer countries of South Asia like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and even from African countries are imported. They are made to work without pay and without adequate rest (Ellerman 2017). Their passports are ceased and their autonomy is strictly restricted with regard to their freedom of movement. This system has been attributed as the modern day slavery, and this incurs attention to the issue of minimum wages as the workers are deprived of that. Slave trading syndicates sell human beings to contractors and businessmen who use the labours the way they want. The living conditions of the workers are miserable, and the money the workers pay to agencies to get the jobs in the Middle East is but mere theft. According to the rules of professionalism, ethics occupies a position of centrality and the absence of it makes the entire affair of selling ones labour against the promise of economic remuneration look unprofessional. This is a gross violation of the spirit of work ethics and it shall be taken up for discussion in the following sections (Ellerman 2017).
Unfair work exploitation of labor arises in the society due to excessive inclination towards the capitalism where the labor are made to work without adequate compensation. The key question here that remains whether the act of treatment of one worker for some personal benefit is right? Addressing the question ethically, this one of the most inappropriate situation where the one is utilizing the effort of the other person for financial gains without passing on the benefit to the other person (Tong and Al Awad 2014). The word exploitation intends to include a lot of other parameters such as strict working regime with hardly any flexibility, unhygienic working environment, inadequate wages which is against the humanity. When one person is exploited, the exploitation tend to be forceful and against the will of the workers, in such a case, the capitalist tends to grow manifold where sole priority of the working class become to maximize profit from the other person. From here, one can understand the grave concerns plaguing the marginal segments of the society (Hamza 2015). These vulnerable and marginalized section has been exploited always in uncertain conditions hence it becomes necessary to address their issues through proper compensation. In order to find an appropriate solution for this issue it is significant that these victims are provided with flexible working hours, healthy work environment as well as minimum wage according to the working schedule. This can be only strengthen if the labor is given a certain extent of bargaining power to influence the capitalist class so as to intimate their concerns (Tong and Al Awad 2014). Further, trade unions are also a potent weapon so as to address the issues of the exploited working class. A socialistic society can take care of the problems as there will no single storehouse of power in capitalism rather in every economic activity there is element of equity so that the fruits of the surplus id distributed justly and adequately (Parreñas and Silvey 2016). Rights of the worker intends to be of utmost important to the labor which ensures that the working class is not only working hard but also getting minimum wage. The concept of minimum wage describes that the labor is getting adequate compensation for the service he is delivering (Tong and Al Awad 2014). In the field of labor relations, Karl Marx have out rightly rejected the theory of exploitation of labor (Whitson 2015). The right of workers also intends to include the dignity of the labor to work which ensures there progress economically as well as development of the individuals. Right to strike against oppressive measures, right to form associations like trade unions, labor unions and bargain collectively. A prosperous labor not only help to increase productivity but also ensure that the industry expands geographically (Bair, Miller and Dickson 2013). This helps in creating many more jobs in the process of expansion of the business activity. There are other rights also such as right to social security which not only instills confidence and trust in the employer and in their profession. Adequate rights for the labor motivates them to enhance their performance thereby maintaining a stability in the business operation (Bair, Miller and Dickson 2013). The key question here remains that the labor are often not given any kind of social security which keeps their future in bleak. In order to catalyze the productivity and performance of the workers it is necessary that the labor as such rights to keep their prior issues above all chores (Nica, Manole and Potcovaru 2016). These rights acts as a check and balance to the oppressive measure taken by the capitalist class in order to maximize profits from the due exploitation of the workers. Having discussed the key question regarding the labor exploitation, the immediate solution is to given more voice to the labor through proper enforcement of these rights so that these words is not confined to paper and ink and implemented on the real ground (Marx 2016). There should be regularity frameworks to check the exploitation, monitoring and proper inspection of the working environment of the work area, a lawful board which can undertake all the issues legally so that the workers feel empowered to voice their rights against any kind of ill-formed rules and regulations by the industries (Bair, Miller and Dickson 2013). This creates a sense of equality as in labor forums labor is treated as a crucial factor input which contributes in the production process rather than a mere wage earner as treated by the employees. However, despite every issues concerning labor, these forums, unions and other unions which voice the concerns of the labor has been quintessential part of the labor reforms (Blanton, Blanton and Peksen 2015). Minimum wage plays a pivotal role in the industrial activities, as it is right pay for the right work. When a bar of minimum wage is fixed, the company cannot lower its payment structure, thus facilitating that the service of the labor has been utilized justly and adequately (Blanton, Blanton and Peksen 2015). A proper wage rate must be set so as to avoid any kind of unfair treatment of the workers is not meted in any case. The key question here remains whether the employees are ensuring that the labor are justly paid for their work. To address this issue it is necessary to judge the efforts and risks related to health hazard is duly accounted. Proper compensation motivates the work to increase their work performance which has a positive effect on the production and growth of the industries (Tait 2016). For instance, if a worker is working in coal mines, the employer should ensure that the labor is not only earning adequately for the service he is providing but also there is some kind of social security as a labor in indulging himself in a task which has health hazards. Analyzing the concept of slavery, the major question remains are the workers willing to work. In case of slavery, the work is against the willingness where the maximum effort is extracted from the labor with a minor wage or no wage at all at times (Blanton, Blanton and Peksen 2015). There arises a question whether slavery is helping the economy to prosper. The answer to this question is no, as any king of economic prosperity though extracted from the employees is not transferred to the people. Thus, leading to concentration of wealth in fewer hands of people which has aggravating the gap between the rich and the poor, as the richer are getting more rich while the poor is getting more poorer. Hence, slavery is considered as worst kind of labor, therefore, the only solution to the problem and answer to it is to ban slavery (Strauss 2018). The concept of syndicate’s states that when working in the hierarchy, the central concentration of power leads to situation where the single authority becomes most powerful thus drowning the voice of the people at the lowest rungs of the society. This only leads to autocracy by one dominant single power of authority so that there is hardly any level of decentralization. The key question here remains that is decentralization is important for the society or autocracy helps the economy of the nation (Nica, Manole and Potcovaru 2016). From the above discussion, it can be concluded that decentralization has been answer to all problems. This is so because when every stakeholder is involved in an economic activity, and have the power to influence and present their voice, they feel a sense of ownership. This ownership has been lacking due to which the labor often feel the pinch of exploitation (Fichter 2015). When every stakeholder are taken on board in the decision making process, issues of the lowest rungs are deliberated and negotiated to reach to conclusion to resolve the plaguing issues, it not only enhances the contribution of the employees among in the economic activity but also helps to strike a right balance among the interest of all stakeholder. It is the basic foundation of the nation to grow in synchronization where the benefits are shared equally among all the people involved in the production process (Tsogas 2015). Thus exploitation must be defied to the greatest extent, because for a long term sustainability of the profession, it is necessary that the issues of all the labor class are brought into fore and further deliberated and discussed to reach to a solution. Fostering ownership among the workers has become a potential as it has helped workers to understand the goals and objectives of any business (Fichter 2015). Understanding the mission and vision of the business or any economic activity can be realized if he labor is considered as a crucial part and there contribution in the economic prosperity is also realized. Further, the rights of the worker should also be enforced through enforcement mechanisms so as to ensure that there is no usurping of power in limited groups of people (Fichter 2015). Slavery though should be banned there has been modern kinds of slavery such as domestic workers. This also should not be encouraged and regulated through proper laws and regulations (Fichter 2015).
The various forms of exploitation existing in the social structure is severely restricting the development of different classes of people (Roscigno and Martin 2015). It is only the class with more wealth and resources who has all the power concentrated in their hand. They have the ability to exploit the working class. This usually occurs due to the existence of the capitalistic nature of society. The capitalist social structure allows the existence of the private players whose main intention is the generation of higher revenues (Zecker 2018). This is brought about by increasing the level of production. The level of production increases when the employees work hard and efficiently. While analyzing this cascading effect of human labor, it is seen that it the duty and hard work of the working class which contributes in the increase in productivity of the concerned organization. However, the nature of the capitalist system is such that all the due credit goes to the employer first (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016). It is the employer who has the power to control all the resources owned by him or her, simply on the terms that he or she has brought the factors of labor. Thus, it is the flow of finances which decides who gets to own the resources. In the modern world, even human labor is considered to be an important factor of production, and in return, the laborers are paid their wages and salaries (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016). However, when the profit margin of the employer is taken into consideration, it is often seen that what is paid to the laborers in terms of their wages is much less as compared to the profit earned by the employer (Martin 2018). This profit is earned by means of the hard work of the laborers themselves but they are not party to the profit generated. This reveals the vivid gap existing in the ethics in the professional work place even in the contemporary world where the development of human nature is at its highest (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016).
Several ethical consideration which needs to be considered in regard to the various aspects of exploitation are the ethics related to transparency while the payment of wages (McDougal, Lasswell and Chen 2018). Hard work always deserves the due reward and recognition. Thus, it is ethically necessary for the employers to ensure that proper wages are paid to the employees. Moreover, it is absolutely necessary that the wages paid to the different genders must be equal between them (Rogers 2016). The employers need to ensure that no discrimination is made against the female gender as this is ethically and legally condemned in the modern society. Such an ethical approach of treating the laborers equally without discrimination will help to create a conducive work environment and will also help to keep the workers motivated (Dupré 2016).
Another ethical approach which needs to be considered is that the work place should strive towards decentralization of power (Hood, Hardy and Simpson 2016). The existence of a syndicate structure of hierarchy will only lead to the rising dissatisfaction amongst the worker. If power is concentrated in the hands of the top level management, there is a chance that the vulnerability of the workers will be exploited and they might be exploited in accordance to the liking of the employers (Claire 2017). In order to avoid such a situation, it is the foremost duty and obligation of the employer to ensure that power is suitably distributed amongst the hierarchy in the desired way. The workers must feel safe and secure working in the organization because if they feel threatened or demotivated, their productivity level will decrease, which will have a negative impact on the image and profit margin of the organization itself (van Dalen and Henkens 2017).
The ethical consideration of maintaining transparency is vital for the efficient and effective working of the organization (Peters and Wolper 2018). The employers must ensure at all steps that the workers are kept in the loop of what is happening within the concerned industry (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016). It is the workers who are given the important duty of ensuring that the productivity level of the firm is always maintained at a positive level. This means that it depends on the workers to increase the rate of revenue earned by the firm (Gonzales et al. 2015). If the workers are not aware of several important policies of the firm or is not aware of the requirement of the firm, they will not be able to work in an efficient manner (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016). Furthermore, the workers should always have the faith that their hard work will be reciprocated in terms of incentives and promotion. If the workers feel that the employers will not reward them in a proper manner and will only promote those who have a personal connection with the employer or has won the favor of the employer, the workers will no longer be motivated to work (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016).
As a result, ethical consideration is not only important for the maintenance of the standard of living and dignity of the labor class, but it is also essential for the employers as well (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016). If the workers are kept happy, they will work for the progress of the firm, which will help the organization to earn a higher margin of profit (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016). However, if the workers feel that they are not being treated in an ethical and dignified manner, they will lose interest in working for the betterment for the firm (Wayne, Limone and Karp 2016).
Conclusion
To conclude, it is observed that exploitation of the workers is still persistent even in the present times. The Marxian philosophy of Socialism and Communism has failed to take an conclusive effect within the human society. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world has been structured on the image of the United States which has always followed the policy of capitalism. The presence of the private players has further aggravated the problematic situation faced by the workers. In order to end the era of exploitation and suffering of the working class, various attempts have been made by the various agencies of the world such as the United Nations. This agency has framed several important policies and guidelines which are in the nature of trying to stop exploitation of the working class. The right of equality and right to freedom has been given increasing importance in the recent times. The States of the world are continually harping on the importance to ensure that all the people are treated in a dignified way. This has also necessitated the concept of guarantying a minimum wage o the workers, which means that a minimum threshold exists beneath which the employers cannot reduce the salary and wages of the employees. The issue of gender discrimination has been brought to the forefront. However, this issue still requires a lot of work and fight before both the genders are guaranteed an equal treatment in the society. Since times immemorial, it has always been the male gender who has been given more importance than the female gender. The women were viewed to be as a burden on the family as the family members believed that women did not have the ability to work and undertake any type of physically straining work. Such a view of the female gender had initially prevented the female from engaging in any activity in the public sphere, including working in order to earn their living. They always had to live under the shadow and dependence of the male gender. As such, the male gender had dominated over the female gender and even continues to do so. This nature of patriarchy is also visible in the work place in the contemporary times. The various organizations believe that the female gender has less work to do and hence, they should be paid less than the male gender. However, the real situation is that both the genders have to work equally but are discriminated when the payment of wages and salaries is done. All of these various forms of discriminations needs to be addressed in a proper manner because of ethical considerations. Such treatment of the workers and discriminatory treatment between both the genders results in the humiliation of the concerned people and is a violation of the basic human right to a dignified living. In order to ensure that people are guaranteed a dignified and a humane standard of living, several ethics need to be maintained in a workplace, such as ensuring transparency in the work place, guaranteeing the payment of minimum wages and salaries, ensuring that both the genders are being paid equally and fairly. These ethical considerations will help in the improvement in the work environment of the work place and will also ensure that the workers are happy and content in their place of work.
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