Inevitably, every single business, no matter small or large, depend on “labor surplus” to survive. Unfortunately, the exploitation of the working class is no longer a new issue we heard about. As the main goal of a business is to achieve maximum profit, employers often force employees to work beyond their limit or try to keep their wages as low as possible. The examples of unfair treatment towards employees of Nike and Apple mentioned by Vinotha in her blog post entitled “Corporate Social Responsibility at Large Firms” are just tip of iceberg.

According to examiner.com, Walmart has filed an unfair labour practice charge against United Good and Commercial Workers union on November 15, accusing that UFCW is challenging its business by encouraging Walmart’s employees to set up a series of protest and strikes at the outset of holiday shopping season. Who is correct and who is wrong?

In fact, Walmart’s employees make less than $10 an hour. Protesting workers are demanding a pay rise from $10 to $13 an hour. Also, health care premiums are reportedly escalating as much as 36% in next year. Workers must meet a $1750 deductible in order to enjoy an 80% cover of their doctors visits, tests, and other required medical services.

Walmart is facing a dilemma: it is difficult to satisfy workers by not increasing its costs for labor wage. Hence, Walmart filing unfair labor practice charge to the union in order to protect its image. Anyhow, Walmart still refuses to rise the salary of its workers as demanded.

As consumer’s awareness is rising, they do care about the image of a company when purchasing their product or service. Hence, CEOs must figure out the best approach to create a win-win situation between business and employees. Corporate’s social responsibility should never be undermined.

Click on the link to learn more about corporate’s social responsibility: http://www.cbsr.ca/