Corporate Culture and its effect on Human Rights[2021]

Right against exploitation. This is guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Alas, there are several loopholes in the law that are bled dry by a shocking number of employers. Dominos treats its delivery personnel as employees, and thus may reap benefits such as health insurance, paid maternity, and paternity leave, and are guaranteed a minimum wage based on their location. Sadly, Indian food delivery services Swiggy and Zomato, do not consider their delivery personnel employees. Seen as simply labour, they are not supposed to raise their voice. Without job security, they are vulnerable and prone to exploitation. For example, the algorithms of these companies ignore the distances that the personnel need to travel, leading to several hours of them driving back and forth in large cities without time to rest after each delivery. Another instance of worker exploitation is the use of unethical practices by multi-million-dollar clothing retailers. In 2016, a BBC investigation found that retailers like Marks and Spencer, Zara, and Next exploited the inexpensive labour of Syrian refugees in one of the largest factories in Turkey, the country with the largest refugee population in the world. H&M and Gap have been singled out in the two reports from Global Labour Justice, highlighting the ‘daily reality’ of abuse faced by their female garment workers across factories in Asia. While these companies have sworn to rectify these issues, I think it is crucial to acknowledge that this exploitation took place in the 21^st century, when we were supposed to have moved past this and that companies may very well continue these unethical practices if they feel they will not face any repercussions.

Soft exploitation is also still a major part of many employees’ daily lives. While paid leave is guaranteed, employees may find it difficult to seek permission due to a difficult work environment or threats of termination. Employees may face a veritable interrogation by their superiors and made to feel that leave is an unapproachable subject. Indian film director Zoya Akhtar addressed the inequality in the salaries of actors and technicians, calling it ‘offensive’. Another director, Karan Johar echoed her thoughts and said, “Pay the writer, pay the cinematographer, pay the editor! I would rather pay top dollar – much more – to the members of technical crew, who really make your film special. There are editors and cinematographers who have saved films. And I agree with Zoya that I look at myself and ask, ‘Why am I paying this actor ₹15 crores and paying my editor ₹55 lakhs?’ It’s not making any sense to me. But that’s suddenly become the market norm.” This speaks to the tremendous salaries new actors in the Indian film industries demand while the technicians that contribute equally to the film are paid much less.

While the problems are prevalent in all parts of the world, they have much more detrimental effects to those living in developing countries, as the average standard of living and the minimum wage are significantly lower.