Tripartite meeting vows to ensure fire safety in Bangladesh

The government, employers and labour leaders have vowed to ensure fire safety measures in work place in Bangladesh. To materialise their commitment, all the three parties promised to work together to develop a national tripartite action plan on fire safety by the end of February, said a press release of the ILO published on its website on January 15. Read More

[Pakistan]Poor man’s justice - Karachi Fire tragedy

Before this, the highest number of people killed in a factory fire was 146 in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist garment factory in New York and 187 in the 1993 doll factory fire in Thailand. The factory fire death record remains firmly in Pakistan’s hands. Read More:

JS body trashes BGMEA probe

The parliamentary watchdog on labour yesterday rejected a probe by the garment industry lobby group on the deadly fire at Tazreen Fashions, saying it was biased and intended to protect the factory owner. Read More:

The Copper Age Returns (and Brings a Mess)

 Last Thursday, riot police used water cannons, tear gas, and incendiary devices to attack a peaceful encampment of protesters at the Letpadaung mine site -- an assortment of Buddhist monks, peasants complaining of illegal land seizures, and activists taking advantage of the country’s recent democratic opening -- who had been protesting for months against a proposed billion-dollar expansion. When the raid was over, dozens were injured; videos from a local hospital showed saffron-robed monks disfigured by burns. Read More:

Signs of Changes Taking Hold in Electronics Factories in China - NYTimes.com

“The days of easy globalization are done,” said an Apple executive who, like many people interviewed for this article, requested anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. “We know that we have to get into the muck now.” Read More:

A.M. Best revises estimate for U.S. asbestos insurance losses to $85 billion

 A.M. Best Company Inc. recently released a revised estimate of $85 billion, net of reinsurance, in losses due to asbestos claims to the United States property and casualty insurance industry. Read More:

Asbestos factory demolished in Vaishali, 55 countries have banned asbestos

 Bitter resistance against the cancer causing asbestos based plant of West Bengal based company Utkal Asbestos Limited (UAL) and the insensitivity of the government towards the fatal threat of asbestos fibers to villagers resulted in the blockade of 12 km stretch of Mahuwa-Hazipur Road in Bihar from 6 O’ clock in the morning to 3 O’ clock in the afternoon. Read More: