Re: [Anroev: 1964] Pakistan: Nurses Strike for Rights

Latest from Nurses' Strike:

The strike ended yesterday after government announced an initial 3 year contract and then to regularize the jobs of nurses. These were 2,800 contract nurses in Punjab province government hospital who went on strike when Punjab government started sacking them and asked them to apply again for jobs through Public Service Commission. These nurses were hired in last few years as the need for new nurses arose in government hospitals. 

These brave nurses were on roads day and night for 8 consecutive days, which is a historical struggle in Pakistan. I have added few pictures of their sit-in on The Mall Road in Lahore on my facebook (https://www.facebook.com/khalid.malik.13).

Best,

Khalid 

______________

Khalid Mahmood

Director
Labour Education Foundation
House# 97-C, Ahbab Park, Habibullah Road, Garhi Shahu, Lahore, Pakistan. 
Tel: +92 42 36303808, Fax: +92 42 36271149
Mobile: +92 321 9402322
www.lef.org.pk
khalid@lef.org.pk

Skyp: khalidmalik13 

On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 2:51 PM, Mohit Gupta <mohit.gup@gmail.com> wrote:

16 March 2014: Hundreds of nurses are still occupying Lahore main Mall Road Lahore. They are demanding permanent jobs instead of adhoc appointments. Yesterday police had lathi charged the but nurses fought back. Today most of the trade unions and political parties came to express solidarity. Punjab government has not yet accepted their demands and nurses has announced to continue struggle. All Pakistan Para Medical Staff Federation and young doctors are here to be with them. See report below from Pakistan Today, an editorial from Daily Times and URLS to other reports]

 

http://www.sacw.net/article7948.html

 

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Hill of death

During a film shoot at the beautiful Roro hill in Jharkhand’s Chaibasa district, the villain takes out his gun to kill a young man. The moment he shoots, onlooker Rango Deogam bursts into laughter and yells at the camera crew, “You are shooting a death scene on the hill of death.”

The shoot is stopped because of his outrageous act and Deogam is escorted out when he starts coughing blood.

The 65-year-old resident of the Roro village then clears his throat and says, “That’s death.” Deogam is not the only one in the Roro village who is coughing blood. An estimated 200 people in the 14 villages near the Roro hill are dying slowly from a lung disease called abestosis because of an abandoned crysotile asbestos mine in the area. “The exact number of the victims can only be known after an extensive medical camp is held in the affected villages,” says Punit Minz, convener of Bindrai Institute for Research Study and Action (BIRSA), a non-profit that has been working in the area for the past decade to educate the residents about the problems with asbestos.

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/hill-death

 

Pakistan: Nurses Strike for Rights

16 March 2014: Hundreds of nurses are still occupying Lahore main Mall Road Lahore. They are demanding permanent jobs instead of adhoc appointments. Yesterday police had lathi charged the but nurses fought back. Today most of the trade unions and political parties came to express solidarity. Punjab government has not yet accepted their demands and nurses has announced to continue struggle. All Pakistan Para Medical Staff Federation and young doctors are here to be with them. See report below from Pakistan Today, an editorial from Daily Times and URLS to other reports]

 

http://www.sacw.net/article7948.html

 

The Chemicals That Stick Around in the Body

Most Americans do carry traces of dozens—possibly hundreds—of potentially toxic chemicals in their bodies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tests blood and urine samples in thousands of citizens as part of its continuing public-health surveys.

But just because a chemical is present doesn't mean it will cause health problems, the CDC says. In many cases, scientists don't know what level of exposure might pose harm or to what extent people's individual genes, age, weight and other factors vary the risk.

Many of the chemicals people are exposed to in food, air and water exit the body via waste or sweat within hours, experts say. Some of the most hazardous don't—and can't be removed with a detox diet, soaking in ionized water or purging the colon frequently.

"There is very little hard scientific data to support that these cleansing tools eliminate significant levels of these chemicals," says Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Studies, the federal agency that investigates environmental effects on health.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304360704579417241249848968

[Silicosis Panna]Give reasons reasons for delay in relief: HRC

INDORE: Taking an exception to the deaths from silicosis in Panna, the National Human Rights Commission ( NHRC) issued a notice on Thursday to the chief secretary asking him to explain the reasons for not giving relief to the kin of the deceased on time.

The state government has been given eight weeks’ time to reply to the notice. The NHRC also wanted to know from the government the measures it is taking for the workers down with the disease.

The commission feels that the state has failed to protect lives of three Panna workers: Bal Krishna Durga, Ramjan Khan and Asharam Gaund.

The NHRC also said the chief secretary should ask the Panna district magistrate to get all the quarry workers examined by a team of doctors and submit a report. The team should also mention the names of the employers/firms they are working with.

The commission said the district magistrate should be asked to ensure free treatment to the rest of the workers.

The commission observed: “The administration should also find out the possibility of an alternative employment for those suffering from silicosis.”

Earlier, there were reports that only Jhabua and Alirajpur were racked with silicosis. In August, 2011, Environics Trust had held a medical camp in Panna, and out of 40 workers examined 36 were found to have been afflicted with silicosis.

In January 2012, the trust had submitted a complaint to the NHRC requesting it to direct the state government to take steps for their treatment and compensation to the family of one person out of 36 who died after the check-up.

Read More

 

Poisonous Mine Shut Down in China's Hunan Province

Asia’s largest realgar mine has been shut down, leaving behind massive arsenic contamination with ill and dying people in surrounding villages.

The 1,500 year-old mine, located in Baiyun Township, Shimen County, in China’s Hunan Province, once a source for a Chinese medicinal supplement, has gradually become a toxic wasteland during the past six decades. 

Arsenic contaminated soil and water within 9 square kilometers (5.5 square miles) of the mine has poisoned more than a thousand villagers, according to a report by Legal Weekly, a mainland Chinese media.

Hu Lizhen, a local villager, said five of her 11 family members have already been diagnosed with arsenic poisoning, but not all of them have been checked yet.

Another villager said the water is not drinkable, and they have to get water from outside.

People from surrounding areas won’t buy vegetables from these contaminated villages. So, residents have no choice but to eat their own crops due to financial hardship. 

People who suffer from arsenic poisoning are usually bedridden, unable to straighten their fingers, and their skin is marked with dark bumps. If the arsenic poisoning is not treated early, it develops into skin or lung cancer. 

Read More

Reforms slow in Bangladesh's toxic tanneries

Dhaka (AFP) - Standing knee deep in toxic chemicals, Mokter Hossain loads animal hides into huge drums filled with still more dangerous liquids at a tannery in the Bangladesh capital.

Barefoot and sick with fever, Hossain stops every now and then to cough, a legacy of the job that his doctors warn could one day kill him.

"Some days I am too ill to work," said Hossain, 25, who has spent years inhaling fumes from the hexavalent chromium and other chemicals used to turn the raw hides into soft leather.

"I take medicine to control my skin diseases. If I don't, it gets worse," Hossain adds, gesturing to his arms and legs which are covered in rashes and black spots.

Hossain's tannery is one of 200 in Hazaribagh in Dhaka, where some 25,000 workers toil for as little as $50 a month to produce leather for shoes and other goods for stores in Europe and the United States.

Ten months ago, Western retailers were forced into action after a garment factory complex collapsed killing 1,135 people, one of a string of tragedies that have shone a global spotlight on that sector's shocking labour and safety conditions.

But there are few signs of reform at Bangladesh's leather industry, where conditions are equally atrocious and business is booming thanks to the West's growing demand for cheap leather items.

Top local activist Rizwana Hasan blames a lack of headline grabbing disasters in the industry that could make consumers think twice about where their shoes and bags are made.

 

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/world/a/21780324/reforms-slow-in-bangladeshs-toxic-tanneries/

 

[Cambodia] Phone project shows worker knowledge improving

Findings from the second phase of a pioneering mobile phone call-in project in Cambodia suggest garment and footwear workers are improving their knowledge about labour rights, occupational safety and health, and personal health.

The Kamako Chhnoeum ("Outstanding Worker" in Khmer) project is organised by the International Labour Organization's Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) programme.

Launched on 1 September last year, it gathers information about the level of knowledge the workers possess, as well as recorded factory-specific information. Initial results were released in a report in late October.

Results of the second phase covering November and December showed 1,991 valid calls were received - a drop on the 3,245 recoded in the first two months, which the BFC partially blamed on widespread strikes and factory closures across the industry.

Key findings show 24% of the callers incorrectly believe that workers on strike are entitled to receive wages - although this figure is an improvement over the previous reporting period in which 32% of callers answered this question incorrectly.

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