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OK, the question ...
If you were told today that a particular diecast manufacturer (for the sake of argument, the company’s name is Marvelous Miniatures) employs slave labor, provides wretched working conditions and pays zilch to its workers—would you continue to purchase their product? Even if that product was mouth-wateringly fabulous?
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Given the scenario you've sketched Gort, no amount of rationalisation or justification can explain away the fact that purchasing items produced under such conditions is both unethical and immoral and demeans us all as human beings ...
(Climbing off my 'high horse' now ...)
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Gort, I would like to reiterate that my answer should be related to the direct crux of your question - highlighted in red. Many of the responses thus far fail to distinguish between low-wage economies and the concepts 'slavery', 'wretched' and 'zilch'
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To the best of my knowledge, most of the diecast we purchase comes from reputable manufacturers that are unlikely to fall within the exact conditions you allude to. That said, I'm sure that if any company is found to be following 'sweatshop' working practices (as happened to Nike some years back) and it is sufficiently publicised, the likely response from collectors would be strong and the offending company would in all probability be forced to improve working conditions/practices and terms of service for its employees ...