Eighty-two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest 1% of the global population, while the 3.7 b***ion people w** make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth, according to a new Oxfam report released Monday. The report is being launched as political and business elites gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
‘Re***d Work, Not Wealth’ reveals **w the global economy enables a wealthy elite to ac***ulate vast fortunes while hundreds of m***ions of people are struggling to survive on poverty pay.
It s**ws that b***ionaire wealth has risen by an annual average of 13 percent since 2010 – six times faster than the wages of ordinary workers, which have risen by a yearly average of just 2 percent. The number of b***ionaires rose at an unprecedented rate of one every two days between March 2016 and March 2017.
It takes just four days for a CEO from one of the top five global fashion brands to earn what a Bangladeshi garment worker w*** earn in her lifetime. In the US, it takes slightly over one working day for a CEO to earn what an ordinary worker makes in a year, Oxfam says.
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According to the report, it would cost US$2.2 b***ion a year to increase the wages of all 2.5 m***ion Vietnamese garment workers to a living wage. This is about a third of the amount paid out to wealthy share**lders by the top 5 companies in the garment sector in 2016.
Oxfam’s report outlines the key factors driving up re***ds for share**lders and corporate bosses at the expense of workers’ pay and conditions. These include the erosion of workers’ rights; the excessive in***ence of big business over government policy-making; and the relentless corporate drive to minimize costs in order to maximize returns to share**lders.
Across the world, women consistently earn less than men and are usually in the lowest paid and least secure forms of work.
Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: “The b***ionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system. The people w** make our clothes, ***emble our p**nes and grow our food are being exploited to ensure a steady supply of cheap goods, and swell the profits of corporations and b***ionaire investors.”
Women workers often find themselves off at the bottom of the heap. Across the world, women consistently earn less than men and are usually in the lowest paid and least secure forms of work. By comparison, 9 out of 10 b***ionaires are men.
“Oxfam has spoken to women across the world w**se lives are blighted by inequality. Women in Vietnamese garment factories w** work far from **me for poverty pay and don’t get to see their children for months at a time. Women working in the US poultry industry w** are forced to wear nappies because they are den*** toilet breaks,” said Byanyima.
Oxfam is calling for governments to ensure our economies work for everyone and not just the fortunate few:
- Limit returns to share**lders and top executives, and ensure all workers receive a minimum ‘living’ wage that would enable them to have a decent quality of life. For example, in Nigeria, the legal minimum wage would need to be tripled to ensure decent living standards.
- Eliminate the gender pay gap and protect the rights of women workers. At current rates of change, it w*** take 217 years to close the gap in pay and employment opportunities between women and men.
- Ensure the wealthy pay their fair share of tax through higher taxes and a crackdown on tax avoidance, and increase spending on public services such as healthcare and education. Oxfam estimates a global tax of 1.5% on b***ionaires’ wealth could pay for every child to go to sc**ol.
Results of a new global survey commissioned by Oxfam demonstrates a groundswell of support for action on inequality. Of the 70,000 people surveyed in 10 countries, nearly two-thirds of all respondents think the gap between the rich and the poor needs to be urgently addressed.
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“It’s hard to find a political or business leader w** doesn’t say they are worr*** about inequality. It’s even harder to find one w** is doing something about it. Many are actively making things worse by slashing taxes and s****ping labor rights,” said Byanyima.
“People are ready for change. They want to see workers paid a living wage; they want corporations and the super-rich to pay more tax; they want women workers to enjoy the same rights as men; they want a limit on the power and the wealth which sits in the hands of so few. They want action.”
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