From poverty to power - Oxfam-Québec

3 POVERTY AND WEALTH THE CHANGING WORLD OF WORKFIGURE 3.3: SUPPLY CHAIN PRESSURESCREATE PRECARIOUS EMPLOYMENTSHAREHOLDER PRESSUREFOR HIGH RETURNSCONSUMER EXPECTATIONSOF LOW PRICESRETAILERS AND BRAND OWNERSOffload costs and risks down the supply chainMID-CHAIN SUPPLIERSSeek low-cost producersPRODUCERSFarms and factories pass the pressures on to workersSUB-CONTRACTORSEMPLOYEESPRECARIOUSLY EMPLOYED WORKERS, MOSTLY WOMEN AND MIGRANTS• insecure with few benefits • exhausted by long hours and high targets• undermined in organising for their rightsSource: Oxfam International (2004) ‘Trading Away Our Rights’.respond to the changing nature of the workforce. Women are underrepresentedin union leadership, issues of importance to female workersare often sidelined, and young women in particular may find thetypically bureaucratic and procedural style of trade unions offputting.Research suggests that the reliance of whole families onwomen’s wages, coupled with cultural expectations of women’s roles,means that women are often reluctant to risk family livelihoods byembarking on union activity, although when they decide to do so, theycan be extremely tenacious.159