MCC Mexico team and friends meet in the central square, San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, where Rick Block and his family live. Photo by Margaret Penner
By Rick Block, MCC Mexico
As readers of the LACA blog, I might assume you are well aware of the building collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 23, 2013, which claimed the lives of more than 1,100 men and women, local workers contributing their time and efforts to the global garment industry. This tragedy garnered strong reaction from many sectors, including government, business, not-for-profit, and the consumer base. It perhaps serves as a sober reminder of what can occur within an environment of rampant capitalism short on regulation and perhaps shorter on conscience.
Worker Exploitation in International Development?
So it might be easy for us to point a finger, yet too often the ol’ adage remains true – “…there are still 3 fingers pointing back at you”. Even within the sector of “international development work”, where we tend to employ “conscience-based” terminologies (i.e. capacity-building) that express our desire for peace and justice, we can still find well-rooted practices that reflect unhealthy and unjust social and economic relations. Too often we find the “funders” holding the cards and calling the shots as they work with “partners”, the locally-based, non-profit organizations that engage with the community at its base.
In recent years there has been a marked increase in expectations of results, more rigorous reporting measures to ensure “accountability” back to funders and donors, and a diminishing ability to commit financial resources to hiring local staff. In other instances local workers funded under an agencies’ project dollars do not receive sufficient resources to cover basic social security (i.e. health insurance) costs, resulting in imbalanced working conditions.
Being seconded to a local partner organization (of which MCC is one of several funding agencies), I can attest that the sum result of these dynamics is stressful to the point that funding partnerships can debilitate, and not build the capacity of the local partner.
Fair Labour Practices with our NGO partners?
We would not do this at “home” (i.e. in Canada or the US)….in fact we could not, as our laws dictate, and perhaps our conscience would guide. So why do we overlook these practices, or allow a lower regulatory environment to take economic advantage when working with partners in the Global South? Is this a good way to s-t-r-e-t-c-h our donor dollars? Is this Just? What did we say a few months ago about those garment industry guys?
For me, two basic questions remain…How do we best communicate the realities of peace-building and development work to all involved (from donors to partners to those that directly benefit)? And perhaps more importantly -What principles guide not only the end goals, but also our means, or our practices, that will move our global community closer to what the Bible describes as Shalom?
What do you think?
Thanks Rick for this reflection. I think yes, we need to increase our awareness about this. In some ways being more profesional, in other ways encouraging vocation but in all ways increasing practices of justice with local co-workersand workers of our partners. We need to think deeper in this kind of issues. Blessings
Greetings Anthony, thanks for your reply and sorry for the delay. It is a substantive topic, one that as we explore its depths we may realize yet even more the implications for constructing relationships based on principles of justice and peace. Whereever your committments takes you this, may you receive and exude God’s blessings. Thanks for your participation with the LACA blog.