assorted prices for food, bus, phone, plus some wages at very bottom of page ----- bali Price for one night range from more than US$ 1,000 in an exclusive room with it's private pool in a boutique hotel to a mere US$ 5 in a usually good conditioned homestay. Internet Service; you can find internet services in towns and tourist resorts. Cost varies from place to place. It range from Rp 4,500 to Rp 15,000 for 15 minutes. Services include email and browsing the internet. Tipping is not a must in Bali, often just by saying terima kasih or thank you will suffice. To a porter however Rp 2,000 to Rp 5,000 is an appropriate tip. Bus Fares are between Rp 1,500 to Rp 10,000. Hiring a car or mini bus with a driver is possibly one of the best ways to explore Bali. The average rate is from Rp 120,000 to Rp 200,000 a day. Motorbike rental price is about Rp 35,000 a day. Bicycle rental is approximately Rp 15,000. source: http://email.balilife.com Balilife Mail, http://www.balilife.com/wwwboard date unknown ---- In a Bangladeshi factory visited by CAFOD (Catholic Fund For Overseas Development) in 1998, the wages earned sewing large, quilted Nike ski jackets, based on figures provided by the management, came to 51p per jacket. A similar jacket on sale in the UK costs £100 23 . The women workers earned half a per cent of the jacket¹s final price. With Nike¹s net profits in 2000 reaching $579 million 24 the wages of the women sewing these jackets could have been doubled without the extra cost needing to be passed on to consumers. source: "wearing thin" 2000 report from labor behind the label ----- In Bulgaria, the minimum wage in garment factories surveyed by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) was below the official poverty line. There were considerable contradictions between the statements made by managers and those made by workers on the issue of wages. On the basis of the figures given by workers, they were having to work: 50 minutes to buy 1 kilo of bread hour 40 minutes to buy 1 kilo rice 3 hours to buy 250 g salami 10 hours to buy 1 kilo pork. source: "wearing thin" 2000 report from labor behind the label ------ china Most of the workers live in dormitories, some rent accommodation outside the factory for approximately RMB150. The young women work such long hours that they are unable to cook for themselves, which is in any case mostly forbidden in dormitories. It costs approx. RMB365 a month to eat from street stalls, RMB50 to phone home and RMB100 to cover tax, insurance and other payments to the governments, as well as personal necessities such as clothes. Excessive overtime - 100 hours a month ­ is workers¹ main grievance. source: "wearing thin" 2000 report from labor behind the label ----- dominican republic bus fare One-way bus fare from Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata is about $6, and the trip takes four hours. colectivos (privately owned vans) coast around the major thoroughfares The fare is about RD$1. Voladoras (fliers) are vans that run from Puerto Plata's Central Park to Sosua and Cabarete a couple of times each hour for RD$10 Car Rental Rates average US$70 and up per day. Hiring a taxi by the hour - with unlimited stops - is $10 per hour with a minimum of two hours. source:Fodors.com > Miniguide > Dominican Republic Smart Travel Tips, date unknown -------- Japan chicken 100g for Y120-138, in 2001 source;Retail Price Survey zuhyou/15i52.xls ------ Indonesia Bus fare for a normal bus is Rp 300, Patas bus (fast & limited) is Rp 700, and Patas air- conditioned bus is Rp1800. Taxis : Meter taxi (Flat Charge of Rp 1,500 and susequent charge of Rp500 per km) source:http://www.regit.com/homebtm.htm regiTOUR Moving Around - Indonesia,1997. In Indonesia in 1999, PT Tuntex and PT Tainan (then supplying Nike, adidas and the Gap) operated systems of extraordinarily high fines for mistakes: - Rp5000 (72% of the daily minimum wage) for failure to turn off a machine, tidy up a work-top or for a sewing mistake - Rp6000 (86% of the daily minimum wage) for taking menstrual leave (a religious requirement for some women, to which they are legally entitled) or being late - Rp25000, or 3.6 times the daily minimum wage, for losing a tool! source; "wearing thin" 2000 report from labor behind the label indonesia, continued Before the crisis Victor's take home pay (excluding overtime ) was a minimum of R172,000 a month - about USS65. He still earns about the same, but there is no overtime and at the current rate it's only about S15 a month. Although Kurstina's pay doubles the family, income, food prices have shot up: a chicken, once R4,000 is now R13,000; eggs from R2,100 to R5,400 per kilo: rice almost double to RI,500 a kilo and cocking oil an astounding RI,600 to R6,000 a kilo. Before the crisis, the family's daily food bill was about R7,000. Now it's R9,000, almost 30 pet cent more, and kept minimal by sacrificing quality and variety. Milk and chicken have disappeared from the diet completely. In addition, they pay about 10,000 a month for their children's schooling, 40,000 in rent. Transport, clothes, health needs and households needs are extra. Their savings are gone. The hike in cocking oil prices, though, is an interesting example of the perversity of the free market and the IMF: one of the 50 items in the April 1998 IMF agreement lifted export quotas on palm oil. Producers can now sell oil to the lucrative Singapore market, but this has caused local shortages and pushed up prices.Happily, the fruits of education are abundant Everyone has an opinion about the new government, the economic crisis, the IMF, the future. Being in Jakarta two weeks after Soeharto's resignation was like walking the streets of a newly liberated zone. We've heard from many people that the new [Habibie] government is still corrupt. source: INDONESIA One step foreward, two steps back by Nicola Bullard/Focus, date unknown ------- mexico little cafe meal = $5.00 US covers the food and a good tip for a party of three (this happened to me in Guanajuato in Jan. of 1996-1998). fresh ground coffee which is available in Mexico for roughly $2.00 US a pound source:Alternative Lifestyles/Living on a Budget in Mexico A unique article by stevei@azstarnet.com Steve Immel - stevei@azstarnet.com http://www.mexconnect.com/index.html mexico- bus fares * Note: these bus fares are only guestimates, it is impossible to give exact fares. The fares change with the season, and as their operating costs go up. Local Second Class: Sometimes called Third Class or "chicken" buses.About $1.00** per hour of travel. Second Class: To and from larger small towns.About $2.00 - $3.50** per hour of travel. First Class:About $4.00 - $6.00 ** per hour of travel. Lugo or Luxury Coach:$6.00 - $7.50 ** per hour of travel. source:Bus Classes and Estimating Fares, (mexico travel)date unknown mexico-phone calls We've seen cases of retired people who get an 800 peso check for the month and a monthly phone bill of 800 pesos. Driving the Mexican telephone consumers' movement are the escalating costs of local phone calls. Women for Mexico most recently protested Telmex rate hikes for 1999 that will increase the cost of each local call--beyond the first "free" 100 calls allowed under measured service--to about 13 cents. Telmex also announced a 14.16 percent increase in 1999 for national long distance and calls to the U.S. and Canada. The cheapest card required to activate a Telmex public phone costs 30 pesos--about one day's minimum wage salary. A low-wage worker could blow a third of his or her daily pay making a ten-minute call. source: Mexico: Consumers Accuse Phone Company of Human Rights Violations By Kent Paterson Borderlines August 11, 1999 CorpWatch PO Box 29344 San Francisco, CA 94129 USA Tel: 415-561-6568 Fax: 415-561-6493 URL: http://www.corpwatch.org Email: corpwatch@corpwatch.org ------- phillipines manila bus fare MANILA NINOY AQUINO INTERNATIONAL APT To City Centre Airport Bus: fare PHP 50, journey time 45 mins. Bus: Metrobus, operates 0400-2230 Mon-Sat every 5 mins, fare PHP 15, journey time 60-90 mins. Taxi: fare PHP 375, journey time 20-30 mins source:City Information : Manila, 2000 ------ Thailand Published on April 19, 2002 Chicken market report Thailand The price of live birds in Nakhon Pathom and Chachoengsao provinces stabilized at19 baht and 18 baht per kilogram respectively, while the price of live birds in Chonburi province has edged down to 19 baht per kilogram from last week's 20 baht per kilogram. The wholesale price of live chicken in Bangkok stayed unchanged at 20-24 baht per kilogram. The retail price of fresh chicken (whole) also is stable at 42-45 baht per kilogram. Meanwhile, the price of chicks remained low at 5.50 baht per head. source:Chicken Market reports - April 19, 2002 FoodMarketExchange.com http://www.foodmarketexchange.com/ mailto:info@foodmex.com food prices in bangkok 1 kg chicken whole, 42-45 baht march 2002 rice 5kg bag, 70-80bhat mrch 2002 source;Retail Price of Fresh Food in Bangkok ------ san salvador The Labour Behind the Label: How our clothes are made Meet Ana By MSN, May 2000. Her company pays her the legal minimum wage, but 513 colones or US$59 every two weeks is only enough to pay for bus fare to work and for her breakfast and lunch. ---- viet nam In Vietnam, where wages are fixed in US dollars but paid in Vietnamese currency, already low wages were found to have been adversely affected by fluctuations in exchange rates between the two currencies. Sport shoe workers earning £1.10 in 1998 had to work: 2 hours to buy 6 eggs 3 hours to buy 1 kilo beans 4 hours to buy 1 litre of cooking oil 12 hours to buy 1 kilo chicken source;"wearing thin" 2000 report from labor behind the label ------ old data/multiple countries: At India's 1975 per capita income of $140 (converted at the nominal exchange rate for the year), prices for staple foods were only 5.95 cents per 1,000 calories. In Mexico, with a per capita income of $1,335, prices for staples were 16.0 cents per 1,000 calories, while in the United States the price was 33.8 cents and per capita income was nearly $7,150. source:gotsch@stanford.edu copyright 1983 Last updated: 08/31/97 19:28:53 The World Bank chapt6.fm.html ------ USA Food Spending in American Households, 1997-98 By Noel Blisard ERS Statistical Bulletin No. 972. 86 pp, June 2001 Average yearly expenditures on food in urban households remained constant between 1997 and 1998. In 1998, the typical household spent $1,773 per person versus $1,767 the previous year. Of this amount, $1,094 was spent on food consumed at home and $679 on food consumed away from home. In 1997, slightly more was spent on food at home, $1,126, and slightly less on food consumed away from home, $641. Detailed tabulations are presented for 133 food categories and 10 household socioeconomic characteristics for 1997 and 1998. The data are from the Consumer Expenditure Diary Surveys prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. --------------- wages (from "wearing thin" 2000 report from labor behind the label) 43 Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) Bangla-desh 49 Chittagong and Dhaka (January-February 2001) Per month, in Export Processing Zones: - $45 for sewing operators - $38 for helpers (cutting loose threads, etc) Between $26.15 and $55.70 (1500-3200 takas) a month. Including 51-75 hours (compulsory) overtime a month (up to 125 hours in Dhaka). Only 15% of the women surveyed had a day off every week. 98% sent money home every month. The women surveyed spent an average 75% of their income on food and accommodation. 95% said their wages did not meet their needs. Two thirds of the women interviewed estimated that they needed to earn between $52 and $104 (3-6000 takas), ie twice their present wage. The survey did not specify what these figures would cover. Women interviewed on behalf of NLC estimated they needed $70 (4000 takas) a month. Bulgaria 50 (2001) $46 a month. $113 $130 for a single worker, ie more than double the minimum wage. $520 for a family of four. 49 Sources: survey conducted by Syed Tamjid ur Rahman, Development Consultant, for the Clean Clothes Campaign -Sweden in Jan-Feb 2001; and ³Bangladesh: Ending the Race to the Bottom², a report by the National Labor Committee (NLC), October 2001 50 Sources: surveys conducted by Bettina Musiolek for the Clean Clothes Campaign between April 2000 and September 2001-page-44 Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) China 51 Guang Dong province, Southern China 2000 - 2001 On average: $54 ( RMB450) a month. On average $84 (RMB 700) a month during peak times. Income in low season can be as low as $20. An average figure was not available. The National Labor Committee 52 in early 2000 uncovered monthly wages as low as $13.5. This includes very long hours of overtime ­ approx. 100 hours per month. At peak times, most workers only get one day off per month. Workers spend an average 72 % on food and accommodation. Most send money home to their families. 51 Sources: research carried out for Clean Clothes Campaign by Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (HKCIC) between August 2000 and October 2001. 52 See garment and shoe sections of National Labor Committee¹s Made in China report, (2000)-page-45 Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) India 53 Tirupur, Southern India (January- May 2001) Top of the scale: $43.25 (Rs 2820) a month for a cutter/machinist, for ironing and packing $22.45 (Rs 1465) for unskilled work. Tirupur factories: between $23 and $34.5 (Rs 1500-2250) , overtime included. 10% earned less than $23. Tirupur homeworkers: between $23 and $38.35 (Rs 1500-2500), working between 11-15 days a month. 10% earned less than $23. The maximum a skilled Tirupur worker can earn is $65 (Rs 4250), provided s/he works 25 days a month with overtime, and the employer pays the legal minimum wage, which is the exception rather than the rule in India. Overtime is approx. 75 hours a month, more at peak times. Factory workers surveyed estimated that they needed to earn two to three times their present wage. 70% of homeworkers surveyed estimated that they needed to earn twice their present wage. (The surveys did not specify what these figures would cover). The Tamil Nadu based Peace Trust estimated in 1999 that a family of four living in Tirupur needed $91.25 ( Rs 5950), of which 50% would be spent on food and accommodation. 53 Sources: survey conducted by SAVE, an NGO based in Tirupur, Southern India, for the Clean Clothes Campaign-Sweden in Jan-Feb 2001 and from ³Reality Behind the Code², a report compiled by SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations) in June 2001-page-46 Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) Indonesia 54 Jakarta (2000) In Jakarta: $38 (Rp 286,000 ) 55 a month. Nike basic wage to footwear workers: $40 + benefits. To garment workers: $33 . According to the Ministry of Labour: $58 (Rp 437,000) is needed. There have been many reports of Indonesian companies not paying the minimum wage. Actual wages in Jakarta are on average $53 ( Rp 400,000). This includes 4 hours overtime per day, or approx. 100 hours a month. 60% is spent on food and accommodation. Labour rights NGO UCM estimates a living wage (LW) at $76 (Rp 572,000) a month, ie double the minimum wage. Unions estimate the LW at $100 (Rs 758,000) a month. These figures do not specify what a LW would cover. Garteks (part of SBSI union) estimate a living wage at $300 for a single worker (of which 52% would be spent on food and accommodation) and at $665 for the average family. 54 Sources: communications from UCM, Garteks, press cuttings from Tim Connor of Nike Watch and Jeff Ballinger of Press for Change (2000) 55 Regional minimum wage increases in January 2001 were as follows: Jakarta: 24% increase to Rp426,250 or $45.8. Across the country, the increase was on average of 33.5%. These increases were not included in the above table as we did not have up to date figures for actual and living wages.-page-47 Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) Lesotho 56 (2001) $67 (526 Maloti) a month. Workers interviewed earned between $60- 71 (469-560M) a month basic wage. Many were paid a basic wage below the legal minimum wage. After overtime, they earned between $ 83-133 (650-1050M). a month. Overtime (mostly compulsory) was of about 108 hours a month. Workers interviewed estimated that they needed to earn between $102 and $154 (800-1200M). 56 Sources: ³Selling Our People: Garment Production in Lesotho², a report by SOMO (July 2001)-page-48 Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) Mexico 57 Region C (includes Puebla, where Kuk Dong 58 is situated) (2000) $2.66 (32.70 pesos) a day, or $18.65 (228.90 pesos) a week. This is 25.6% of the estimated living wage for a family of four. For a family of four (2 adults and 2 children): $10.42 (127.86 pesos) needed a day, $ 72.95 (895 pesos) a week, of which 78% would be spent on food and accommodation. Philippines 59 (2000-2001) $175 a month in Manila. Between $87 and $ 157 a month outside Manila. According to the Philippines Central Bank, wages have depreciated by 33-47% since the last increase in 1996. In Manila: $146 (P73,500) a month including overtime. Of this, 70% was spent on food and accommodation. Casual workers were earning $108 a month. The IBON Foundation estimated the needs of a family of 6 - at $365 a month, ie double the minimum wage, in Manila; - at between $273.5 and $289 outside Manila, ie between 2 and 3 times the 57 Sources: ³Making The Invisible Visible: a study of the purchasing power of maquila workers in Mexico², Center for Reflection, Education and Action (2001) 58 See Nike and Reebok, pages 15/16 and 18/19 59 Sources: research conducted for Labour Behind the Label by independent consultant Harry Reyes of the Philippines Resource Centre in Manila in October 2000 and September 2001-page-49 minimum wage. Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) Sri Lanka 60 (2000) Outside Export Processing Zones (EPZs), depending on grade and length of service, between $29 and $40. The minimum wage is often unpaid in factories outside EPZs. Inside the EPZs, depending on how skilled worker is, between $39 and $42. Mostly, the minimum wage is paid inside the EPZs. Between $56-$62.50 including overtime pay. This includes overtime of two hours a day, 6-7 hours at peak times. 65% of women surveyed work between 25-40 hours overtime per month. The workers interviewed spent 66% on food and accommodation. Sri Lankan unions estimates a LW at $87.50 a month for a single worker, $250 for a family of four. Of this, 36% would be spent on food and accommodation. Discussions with workers pitched a living wage for a single worker at double to triple the present minimum wage. It is thought that these figures do not include savings. 60 Sources: from research conducted for the Clean Clothes Campaign by Tie-Asia and the Dabindu Collective, in September and December 2000-page-50 Country Legal minimum wage (MW) Actual wage, including overtime Living wage (LW) United Kingdom 61 (2000-01) $6.25 (£4.10) an hour According to Greater Manchester Low pay Unit: All machinists surveyed in the area earned the minimum wage. According to Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades (KFAT) unionand Birmingham-based AEKTA project: there are numerous instances of small and medium enterprises not paying the legal minimum wage. Some workers in Leicester found to be earning $2.45 ( £1.60) an hour. Homeworkers 62 Only 27% of homeworkers surveyed received the legal minimum wage or more. None of the non- white homeworkers surveyed earned the legal minimum. Several unions campaigning for an immediate minimum wage rate of $7.65 (£5). East London Community Organisation campaigning for living wage rate of $9.65 (£6.30) an hour for family of four with one parent in full time work, one parent in part time work. That is 1.5 time the legal minimum wage. 61 Sources: from research conducted for Labour Behind the Label by Women Working Worldwide in July 2001. 62 Survey by National Group on Homeworking, July 2000 and January 2001-page-51 Vietnam 63 Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi (2001) Foreign-owned and joint ventures: Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi: $45 Provinces: $35 State-owned: $15 Numerous articles in the press suggesting the MW is not paid everywhere.. Ho Chi Minh garment workers: 13% earned between $35-50 60% earned between $21-35 25% earned less than $21 Hi Chi Minh footwear workers 64 34% earned between $35-50 65% earned between $21-35 Given that the above figures include overtime, the majority of workers are not paid the legal minimum wage. Ho Chi Minh researcher estimated a LW at $120 a month for a family of three. The Nike Campaign estimates a LW at $3 a day or $91 a month for a single worker. 63 Sources: from research conducted for the CCC-Belgium by Magasins du Monde-Oxfam. 64 From ³Situation of Female Labour Safety and Health in Ho Chi Minh City², Research Centre for Gender and Family, November 2000 ----- new 4-28-02: -- ==== hourly rates for garment workers http://www.pica.ws/cc/orgguide/factfig.htm Approximate hourly base wages in U.S. dollars (source: workers¹ reports to the National Labor Committee) Burma .04 China .23 Dominican Republic .69 El Salvador .59 Guatemala .37-.50 Haiti .30 Honduras .43 Indonesia .10 Mexico .50-.54 Nicaragua .23 Pakistan .20-.26 Philippines .58-.76 United States 8.52 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998) ===== websites http://www.behindthelabel.org/ ------- http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/ ------- ============= exchange rates http://www.xe.com/ucc/ Universal Currency Converter Results Live mid-market rates as of 2002.04.28 19:14:37 GMT. 1.00 IDR Indonesia Rupiahs = 0.000108342 USD United States Dollars 1 IDR = 0.000108342 USD 1 USD = 9,230.00 IDR .com Universal Currency Converter Results Live mid-market rates as of 2002.04.28 19:16:37 GMT. 1.00 MXN Mexico Pesos = 0.107262 USD United States Dollars 1 MXN = 0.107262 USD 1 USD = 9.32300 MXN xe.com Universal Currency Converter Results Live mid-market rates as of 2002.04.28 19:16:37 GMT. 1.00 PHP Philippines Pesos = 0.0196734 USD United States Dollars 1 PHP = 0.0196734 USD 1 USD = 50.8300 PHP xe.com Universal Currency Converter Results Live mid-market rates as of 2002.04.28 19:17:37 GMT. 1.00 THB Thailand Baht = 0.0231407 USD United States Dollars 1 THB = 0.0231407 USD 1 USD = 43.2139 THB xe.com Universal Currency Converter Results Live mid-market rates as of 2002.04.28 19:19:37 GMT. 1.00 VND Vietnam Dong = 0.0000656944 USD United States Dollars 1 VND = 0.0000656944 USD 1 USD = 15,222.00 VND --end--