‘Forced Labor’ Is a Label Best Worn by the US

Published in Guangming Daily
(China) on 27 May 2021
by Yan Yu (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Jo Sharp. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
For some time now, the U.S., which claims to be a “beacon of freedom” and “protector of human rights,” has continued to sling mud unfairly at China and spun lies about “forced labor” in Xinjiang. It has been trying desperately to get Western nations to put pressure on China. However, paradoxically, not only has the U.S. been slow to produce conclusive evidence of “forced labor” by China, but its own abhorrent labor rights violations and forced labor practices have once again been exposed by the media.

Recently, the media revealed that hundreds of workers from India were recruited to build a large Hindu temple in New Jersey. These Indian workers are forced to work more than 87 hours a week and earn only $1.20 an hour, far below the minimum wage required by federal and state laws.

In fact, such incidents are not surprising in the United States, where there are many similar cases of labor rights violations. According to U.S. media reports, during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, some U.S. business owners ignored the health and safety of their staff and requested that they not wear personal protective equipment in order to avoid “scaring customers” and causing panic. Some retail employees have been fired or forced to quit companies after calling for the closure of stores to prevent staff from contracting the virus. In addition, the U.S. government’s ineffectiveness in fighting the pandemic has made employees in congregated workplaces such as meat processing plants more vulnerable to COVID-19. From March to September 2020 alone, at least 495 meatpacking and food processing plants across the U.S. experienced outbreaks of COVID-19 due to workers operating in close proximity and a lack of protective measures.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of U.S. labor rights violations. According to a report by the International Trade Union Confederation, the U.S. has a systemic problem of violating labor rights, and is the worst performer among major developed countries. Statistics from the International Labor Organization show that the U.S., the most developed country in the world, has only ratified 14 international labor conventions and two of the ILO’s eight “fundamental” conventions to date, making it one of the countries with a relatively small number of ratifications.

Child labor, employment discrimination, exploitation of “sweatshop” labor … through news reports in U.S. media, it is not difficult to see that various violations of labor rights occur frequently in many places in the United States and are not isolated cases. If you know a little about U.S. history, you know that “the slave trade,” an evil system of forced labor that violated human rights, is one of America’s ugliest, unhealed scars. To this day, its legacy is still deeply rooted in U.S. society, except that the victims have changed from the Black slaves of then to the immigrants of now.

Let’s look at the shocking numbers. In the past five years, cases of forced labor and human trafficking have been reported in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.; in 2019 alone, the FBI reported 1,883 cases of human trafficking, over 500 more than in 2018; every year as many as 100,000 people are trafficked to the U.S. from abroad for forced labor, half of whom are trafficked into “sweatshops” or domestic servitude. It is no exaggeration to say that forced labor is everywhere in the United States. These chilling figures reveal the hypocritical face of the “defender of human rights” and the fragility of the “beacon of freedom.” Behind this lies the hypocrisy and cruelty of the U.S., its long-standing contempt for human rights and its double standards.

This shows that the accusation of “forced labor” that the U.S. has taken great pains to lay at China’s doorstep really applies to itself. It’s a pity that despite their notorious, dark history and embarrassing record, U.S. politicians and the media not have only forgotten the pain before the wound has healed, but also judge others, make wild accusations and interfere with China on human rights issues again and again. Just where does the U.S. get its tenacity and self-confidence from? At this point I cannot help but urge the United States, if it has the time to make up lies and use smear tactics, to first look in the mirror and reflect on how to protect the legitimate rights and interests of its workers and implement international labor conventions.


一段时间以来,自诩为“自由灯塔”和“人权卫士”的美国,不断给中国泼脏水、“扣帽子”,编织有关新疆“强迫劳动”的谎话,拼命拉拢西方国家对华施压。然而,可笑的是,美国不但迟迟拿不出指控中国“强迫劳动”的确凿证据,反倒是自己侵犯劳工权利、实施强迫劳动的恶劣行径再次被媒体揭露。

  近日,有媒体披露,数百名来自印度的工人被招募到美国新泽西州修建一座大型印度教寺庙。这些印度工人每周被迫工作超过87小时,每小时收入仅1.2美元,远低于美国联邦和相关州法律规定的最低薪资。

  其实,这类事件在美国见怪不怪,因为类似侵犯劳工权利的案例层出不穷。

  据美媒报道,新冠肺炎疫情在美国暴发初期,美国部分企业主罔顾员工生命和健康安全,要求其不得佩戴个人防护设备,以免“吓到顾客”并造成恐慌。一些零售业雇员,因为呼吁关闭商店以免员工感染病毒,或遭到公司开除或被迫离职。此外,美国政府抗疫不力导致肉类加工厂等聚集型工作场所的员工更易感染新冠病毒。仅2020年3月至9月,全美至少494家肉类包装和食品加工厂由于作业距离近、缺乏防护措施等原因发生新冠肺炎疫情。

  这些仅仅是美国侵犯劳工权利问题的冰山一角。据国际工会联合会的报告,美国存在系统性侵犯劳工权利问题,在主要发达国家中表现最差。国际劳工组织的统计数据显示,美国作为世界上最发达的国家,迄今只批准14项国际劳工公约和劳工组织8个核心公约中的2个,是批准公约数量较少的成员国之一。

  使用童工、就业歧视、“血汗工厂”压榨劳工……通过美媒的新闻报道,我们不难看到,侵犯劳工权利的种种现象在美国多地频繁发生,绝非个案孤例。若是稍微了解一点美国历史,就会知道,“奴隶制”这一强迫劳动、侵犯人权的罪恶制度正是美国一道极其丑陋、无法愈合的伤疤。时至今日,其遗毒依旧在美国社会根深蒂固,只不过受害者从曾经的黑奴变为今天的外来移民。

  且看一串令人触目惊心的数字:过去5年,美国所有50州和哥伦比亚特区均报告了强迫劳动和人口贩运案;仅2019年,美国联邦调查局报告人口贩运案件1883宗,比2018年多出500多宗;每年从境外贩卖至全美从事强迫劳动的人口多达10万,其中一半被贩运到“血汗工厂”或遭受家庭奴役……毫不夸张地说,美国强迫劳动的现象无处不在。冰冷的数字,揭露出“人权卫士”的伪善面孔和“自由灯塔”的摇摇欲坠,其背后是美国长期以来蔑视人权、大搞双重标准的虚伪和残酷。

  由此可见,美国费尽心思安在中国头上的“强迫劳动”罪名,恰恰最适合自己。可叹的是,对自己劣迹斑斑的黑历史和一地鸡毛的窘况,美国政客、媒体不但“伤疤未好忘了疼”,而且以己度人,一次又一次在人权问题上对中国妄加指责、横加干涉。真不知道美国哪来的底气和自信?说到这,忍不住想奉劝美国,有闲工夫编谎言、“扣帽子”,倒不如先照照镜子、好好反思,想想该怎么保障本国工人的合法权益、切实履行国际劳工公约。
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