Have we started to slip back into the dark ages when it comes to paying fair wages?
As a freelance writer, I’ve recently come across a lot of unfair and unacceptable pay practices when it comes to getting paid fairly for outsourced work.
Lots of people offer to work for less than five dollars an hour. In fact, there are even websites dedicated to getting paid five bucks for lots of outrageous things. These are slightly different, most of these people charge five dollars for the first hour and then it will cost regular wages to employ them full time. This is more of a promotional type thing and I can see the value in doing it.
What I don’t see value in is getting paid less than you’re worth when you’re an expert in your field, no matter where you live.
While these people continue to work for such ridiculous wages, many experts around the world are unable to get jobs, let alone be paid what a job is actually worth. Like me, many freelancers often have no choice but to accept lower pay than we would normally consider, just to continue earning a living. Freelancing that was once a dream is slowly turning into a nightmare for many of us.
I don’t blame the workers, they are trying to get a job at all costs. I can certainly understand that. I myself have had to take work for far less than I should have. Although, there is a minimum that I can and will accept.
I blame the system for allowing this type of unfair practice to continue.
I think outsourcing companies like Odesk and Elance should require a basic minimum wage that any worker is allowed to pay. It should reflect the minimum wage in the country in which you are operating. They are charging people to work, at the very least they should also be protecting them from abusive practices. There are no current regulations on this matter that I am aware of, but I will investigate further.
It’s considered illegal and unconstitutional to pay someone less than minimum wage in this country, so why doesn’t it matter when that work is done online? Do online workers deserve less?
In my opinion, it is nothing less than slave labor.
Think about it, what’s so different about someone in North America paying someone around the world less than they should in this country? Don’t people care that most of those workers are forced to accept these unfair wages just to survive? Would you be so willing to pay for slave labor, if you knew that for sure?
Do you just ignore it because there is no real proof of that?
Many people will argue that small business owners need these kinds of services to outsource jobs they otherwise couldn’t do themselves. If you can’t pay to have someone else do a task, you have to do it yourself until you can.
I know I’m not at the point where I can reasonably pay someone to do some of the tasks that I do. I have my own business and I do all the work myself, if I have to work overtime to do it I do it, simple as that. When the time comes that I can afford to do it, I will hire someone to help me. I can guarantee that I will not pay them less than they are worth, I will not promote slave labor.
If you want to hire me you will have to pay me what I am worth or you can just find someone else. I am a freelance writer, I have many skills and I am worth every penny. I urge you to consider this the next time you want to hire someone: follow the golden rule; pay them what you would like to be paid for the same job. Because? Because you know it’s the right thing to do!