Working conditions exposed in America's nail salons: New York Governor pledges crackdown to protect manicurists
|
Version 0 of 1. Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, has ordered a crackdown on nail salons amid allegations that while they offer luxury pampering to the mitts and paws of their sometimes deep-pocketed patrons they treat their workers – often undocumented immigrant women – not much better than indentured slaves. Moves to forge a special Enforcement Task Force to bring nail salons into compliance, particularly in New York City where they can seem as ubiquitous as yellow cabs at rush hour, come in the wake of a two-part investigation into the industry and its working conditions published by The New York Times. The newspaper, which interviewed more than 125 manicurists, offered a gruesome glimpse into the world of the nail salon – or spa as they often call themselves – that would give even their most loyal customers pause before returning to get a new shade of rouge for their pinkies or a scraping of their bunions. Salons have tripled in number over the last 15 years to 2,000 in New York City today, while the price of a regular manicure is sometimes as low as $10.50. The fact that the reality of life for the attendants kneeling before you doesn’t square with the airline-lounge-like atmosphere inside – leather seating and whirl-pool footbaths in the shinier establishments – therefore perhaps should not be a great shock. Among the more eye-opening revelations: many of the women, who have no documentation to be living, let alone working, in the US, sleep in flop-houses in poor neighbourhoods, bedrooms filled with multiple bunks, and each day must line up on the street to await transit vans that shuttle them to the salons around the city. Once there, many are forced to work long hours for much less than the minimum wage. The conditions are worst for newcomers to the trade. Many are paid no wage at all as they start out on so-called in-salon apprenticeships and must depend on tips to subsist – the portion of the tips they are entitled to keep. They are often expected to arrive with $100 (£64) in cash as a fee that is paid to the salon owner for the ‘privilege’ of being able to learn, the paper reported. It also detailed the health hazards that come with handling chemicals – glues and solvents – in poorly ventilated shops meant to keep a perfect varnish from fading and a perfect nail from chipping. Skin and respiratory ailments are widely reported. Studies of workers in the trade have given indications of risk from cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lower birthweight. In a statement, Mr Cuomo said that his state has “a long history of confronting wage theft and unfair labour practices head on… We will not stand idly by as workers are deprived of their hard-earned wages and robbed of their most basic rights.” By its own reckoning, of the 300 salons visited by reporters of The New York Times only three were obeying the letter of the law when it comes to paying their workers. “I am worth less than a shoe,” one worker, Quing Lin, told reporter Sarah Maslin Nir. Aged 47, Ms Lin said she and her co-workers were earning no more than $4 an hour, less than half the legal minimum wage. As a first step, the salons will be obliged to provide workers with medical face masks to offer at least some protection from dangerous fumes on the job, as well as gloves to protect them from infection and burns. Salons will have to put up posters in six different languages laying out the rights that workers should expect, including the possibility of compensation. The task force intends to probe each salon, with those that do not comply being shut down. Salon owners have been able to get away with this alleged mistreatment for so long in part because workers are afraid to complain to the authorities because they have no documentation. Officials with Mr Cuomo made it clear that as inspectors fan out to investigate conditions in each of the salons, they will very precisely not be inquiring about the immigration status of any of their workers. |