Do you think manufacturers and retailers should take greater

Do you think manufacturers and retailers should take greater responsibility for the conditions of workers aboard the vessels that ferry their products?

Solution

I think, although ethically it only makes sense for the manufacturers and retailers to take a greater responsibility for the conditions of workers aboard the vessels that ferry their product, but practically, they need to walk an extra mile with an attempt to influence the Shipping Company, who is the in-charge of the vessel that would ferry their products aboard. In this scenario, the Shipping Company whose vessel is used for the ferrying purpose, is the vendor for the Manufacturers and Retailers. The working style of each vendor and the kind of operations they undertake, are solely upon the vendor’s discretion and are subject to the Industry pattern and laws governing the same. Hence for the Manufacturers and Retailers, it is rather not a pragmatic idea to even believe that their greater responsibility may help ensure that there could be a revision in the conditions of workers that aboard the vessels to ferry their products. Moreover, it is to be noted that in normal cases, the vessels are registered with one country while they hire the workers from some other country. Here the labor laws, the laws governing the Shipping operations, etc., all differs subject to which Country it corresponds to. Hence, this could be an altogether a different arena even for the Manufacturers and Retailers to enter into in order to ensure a better life and working conditions of the workers with whom they are not into a direct employment criterion.

Alternatively, all they can do is, only to insist the Vessel’s management to try improving the conditions of the workers in exchange of a better deal that these Manufacturers or retailers may be willing to strike, as an ethical exchange for the same.