Seems to me that the story is a fairly common tale of business going to war with attempts to restrain environmental damage and harm to workers. Those attempts are commonly rubbished as “red tape” and freedom means that companies can do what they want in order to increase profits. I wonder how powerful unions are in Indonesia. I’m thinking they’re impotent if they even exist.
The same dilemma taints the clothing industry (sweatshops), coffee and chocolate production (child and slave labour), and even in homes around Australia where stone benchtops are installed at the cost of silicosis being inflicted on installers. In Dubai, simply building sports stadiums cost thousands of lives where migrant workers were considered expendable and treated as slaves.
And I don’t think mining and fossil fuel industries are any more responsible when they operate in countries where they can override regulation. I’m thinking Dubai is no more caring about workers in the oil industry than it was when it was preparing for the World Cup.
That said, as with other industries where attempts are being made to limit harms inflicted by essentially lawless operators in the supply chain, the same should occur in the EV industry. The same problem will arise as in other industries: manufacturers who refuse to deal with unethical producers will be undercut by manufacturers who only care about obtaining the cheapest materials.
The same dilemma taints the clothing industry (sweatshops), coffee and chocolate production (child and slave labour), and even in homes around Australia where stone benchtops are installed at the cost of silicosis being inflicted on installers. In Dubai, simply building sports stadiums cost thousands of lives where migrant workers were considered expendable and treated as slaves.
And I don’t think mining and fossil fuel industries are any more responsible when they operate in countries where they can override regulation. I’m thinking Dubai is no more caring about workers in the oil industry than it was when it was preparing for the World Cup.
That said, as with other industries where attempts are being made to limit harms inflicted by essentially lawless operators in the supply chain, the same should occur in the EV industry. The same problem will arise as in other industries: manufacturers who refuse to deal with unethical producers will be undercut by manufacturers who only care about obtaining the cheapest materials.