Mexican industry, formerly having a special advantage in manufacturing for U.S. multinationals, was hollowed out when these firms moved their production from Mexico's "high wage" manufacturing sector (a whopping' $3/hour), to China, where they could hire workers at 1 buck/hour (a subsistence (exploitative) wage there no matter what anyone tells you). This led to the Mexican Peso Crisis of 1994-1995 and consequent devaluation. The IMF promptly forced on the Mexicans its U.S.-inspired "Washington Consensus" assuring most workers a pathetic living standard for the foreseeable future.
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea all had to devalue their currencies in 1997, converting already low-pay workers into ultra-low-pay workers, in order to compete with the newly-engineered low wages in China. In the process, these countries also experienced a ruination of their economies, setting back progress in their living standard for years and wiping out scarce capital accumulated over decades of endeavor. The IMF quickly moved in to Thailand and Indonesia, causing extra damage to those country's economies. South Korea and Malaysia fortunately saved themselves by opting out of IMF "assistance".
All in all, thanks to China's currency manipulation in the early 90s, wages worldwide began "a race to the bottom", uncontrolled by the governments involved, and exploited by western multinational. The biggest losers were, of course, skilled workers from affluent western countries, but others throughout the world had to be contented with even more-exploitative wages. These practices will continue as long as the western governments fail to protect their own workers and allow their corporations to exploit workers in less-developed countries. Governments in these countries have failed to demand that foreign employers provide their workers with fair "living wages", an excusable omission considering that if they did so, these corporations would simply move elsewhere. It is the responsibility of the western nations, who have the wherewithal and power, to correct these injustices. Simply by forcing a single standard international minimum wage of, say, 7 bucks would be a great beginning.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
