BriefingAfrica

Firestone Faces Criticism From Liberia Over Working Conditions

Firestone Faces Criticism From Liberia Over Working Conditions

HARBEL, Liberia -- White latex oozed from the vein of the rubber tree, dripping into a small plastic bucket. Saa Morris, an illiterate 48 year old and father of nine, used his knife-edged pole to slice into the vein. Then the "tapper" moved on to another tree on one of the world's largest rubber plantations, owned by American tire maker Firestone.

By his own account, Morris taps no less than 750 trees in a day and sometimes as many as 903. That earns him his daily wage of $3.30.

"We doing hard work in the bush here, but no good money for us," Morris said.

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