If her child needs to go to the clinic, the woman must first obtain written permission from the supervisor who does not always give it. They are required to take blood tests to see if they are pregnant or HIV positive. If the results are positive, a reason is found for dismissal. Employees are quickly replaced since the unemployment rate is extremely high. Efforts to organize or form a union also end in dismissal.
Most owners see little difference between the person and the machine.
There is considerable verbal abuse, and strip searches are common on entering and leaving the factory. Yet the women themselves are generally happy to have work and a means of supporting their families. None of this is a pretty picture. There has been a movement in the United States to urge employers and owners of the maquilas to establish internal codes of conduct, to monitor the work situations in other countries. It is not an easy campaign since most owners contract foreign companies to do the work and then say they are not responsible for what happens in another county.