翻译题 1.Philip Knight, Nike' s multibillionaire Chairman and chief executive, managed to generate a lot of positive press recently when he announced that independent organizations would be allowed to inspect the overseas factories that make his company' s products, that he would toughen the health and safety standards in the factories, and that he would crack down on the use of child labor. There is both merit and a lot of smoke in Knight' s initiative.
The admission into the plants of truly independent observers from local nongovernmental organizations would be a great advance. If Knight follows through in good faith on this promise, the working conditions in the factories are likely to improve, and it will be substantially more difficult for other large apparel companies to resist similar pledges.
The proposed improvements in health and safety standards, which would bring them in line with standards in the United States, are also important. Footwear factories are equipped with heavy machinery that can cause serious injury, and much of the raw material used in the factories is toxic. Many workers at plants turning out shoes for Nike and other international companies spend their days inhaling dangerous fumes.
Knight' s child labor initiative is another matter. It' s a smokescreen. Child labor has not been a big problem with Nike, and Phillip Knight knows that better than anyone. But public relations is public relations so he announces that he' s not going to let the factories hire kids, and suddenly that' s headline.
Knight is like a three-card monte player. You have to keep a close eye on him at all times. The biggest problem with Nike is that its overseas workers make wretched, below-subsistence wages. It' s not the minimum age that needs raising, it' s the minimum wage. Most of the workers in Nike factories in China and Vietnam make less than $ 2 a day, well below the subsistence levels in those countries. In Indonesia, the pay is less than $ 1 a day.