Asbestos consumption on the rise in Asia

Sugio Furuya, coordinator of the Asian Ban Asbestos Network, or A-BAN, has told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific consumption among many Asian countries is still on the rise, although countries like Japan, South Korea and Australia have banned the use of asbestos. "Asbestos consumption in Asia is accounting for 70 per cent of global asbestos consumption," Mr Furuya said. "More than 90 per cent of asbestos is used for construction materials and the people touching asbestos are not informed about [its] hazard." Read More:

BBC News - Foxconn admits labour violation at China factory

Foxconn, the world's biggest contract electronics maker, has admitted student interns worked shifts at a factory in China that were in violation of its company policies. The firm, which makes products for some the world's biggest brands, has been under scrutiny for labour practices. It had admitted to hiring underage interns at the same unit last year. Foxconn said actions had been taken to bring the factory "into full compliance with our code and policies". read more:

South Korean Premiere About Factory Sick Workers a Coup for Independent Film

When South Korean director Kim Tae-yun said he wanted to make a film about workers who came down with leukemia and other rare diseases during the time they worked at Samsung Electronics Co. factories, just about everyone told him he would struggle to secure financial backing. Two years later, the film has premiered at the ongoing Busan International Film Festival‒in part thanks to crowd-sourced funds from nearly 7,000 individuals who paid for more than a quarter of the billion-won ($932,700) budget. Close to half was self-funded and the rest has been made as IOUs. It marks a rare coup for Korean cinema, where independent producers struggle to secure funding without support from major film studios. Critics say close family and business ties between major movie companies and the nation’s biggest corporations prevent films with negative portrayals of those conglomerates from being made. The film has already won a mention in a recent report by U.S. watchdog Freedom House as an example of progress for South Korea’s freedom of expression. Titled “Another Family,” the film is based on a true story of a working-class family whose daughter went to work at Samsung semiconductor factory, contracted leukemia during her time there and died from the disease in 2007.
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[Wall Street Journal] Bangladesh Garment Factories Often Evade Monitoring

On a recent Saturday night, however, bright fluorescent lights flickered well past 10 p.m. as workers inside furiously stitched children's skinny jeans bound for�Gap�Inc.'s Old Navy stores. The company regularly keeps many of its 4,500 workers late-sometimes until 5 a.m.-to meet production targets set by retailers like Gap,�VF�Corp. and Tommy Hilfiger parent PVH Corp. The workers themselves sometimes welcome the extra pay, but the practice apparently conflicts with the retailers' stated policies and a Bangladeshi law that prohibits more than 10 hours of work a day, including two hours of overtime. Read More:

Factory in Bangladesh accused of shocking abuse of pregnant workers in new labour report |

A Bangladesh factory that sews garments for The Gap and Old Navy brands routinely forces workers to work over 100 hours a week and they are slapped, shoved and punched, says a damning report. It also says workers live in penury, earning 20 to 24 cents an hour, and illegal firings are regular. Read more:

Global retailers name 1600 units under BD Safety Pact

The international clothing retailers have released a list of nearly 1,600 garment factories of Bangladesh that will be covered by the Accord on Fire and Building Safety they signed few months back. Friday's release of the participating sites in the safety accord is the first step to improving job conditions and safety in the factories that make garments for the 90 signatories to the accord, which include H&M, Zara, Joe Fresh, Benetton and PVN. Read More

Losing Your Shirt: Cambodia’s Garment Industry

 A move by the International Labour Organisation to name and shame garment producers in Cambodia that flout workers’ rights and safety standards could damage the industry’s reputation and result in a drastic reduction in orders from buyers abroad, according to a senior manufacturing official. A senior official at the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), Cheat Khemara told the Khmer Service of Radio Free Asia last week that the ILO should reconsider its decision to release its findings to buyers and instead seek to resolve factory issues by first informing the government. “The (relevant) government ministry will take measures against any factories found in violation if they refuse to improve their standards,” he is reported as saying. “We don’t want the ILO to immediately inform the buyers.” Beginning January 2014, the ILO is committed to publicly disclosing some of its findings based on the monitoring of over 450 factories under its Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) programme. The BFC would begin disclosing assessment information of individual factories’ compliance with Cambodian labour law and international labour standards, making it the only programme in SE Asia to use greater transparency to accelerate improvements across the garment sector. Read More:

1,000 workers suffer food poisoning in Tien Giang

 About 1,000 workers at Wondo Vina Co Ltd in Cho Gao District, southern Tien Giang province are being treated in many hospitals in the province after suffering from food poisoning symptoms this morning. Wondo Vina Co Ltd is a 100-percent South Korean-owned company that produces outdoor clothing including Gore-Tex jackets, down jackets, skiwear and golfwear, and employs more than 2,500 workers. Read More: