Archive for October, 2007
Washington DC: As Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn takes up his position at the head of the IMF, development and aid agency Oxfam International called on him to implement much needed and long overdue institutional reforms. Oxfam called on the new managing director to show early support for governance reform in a manner that would genuinely allow all developing countries a fair voice in the institution.
29
Oct
Disney in China
Disney's Children's Books Made with the Blood, Sweat and Tears of Young Workers in China
A report by
Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (Sacom)Room 1204, Wing Lee Industrial Building54-58 Tong Mi Road, Mangkok, KowloonHONG KONG
www.sacom.org.hkTel: 852-6726-7342sacom@sacom.org.hk
National Labor Committee75 Varick Street, Ste. 1500New York, NY 10013Tel: 212-242-3002Fax: 212-242-3821www.nlcnet.org
August 18, 2005
One would hardly associate Disney’s children’s books with crushed and broken fingers, lacerated hands, broken legs and even deaths. But disturbingly, that is the case at the Hung Hing plant in China—where Disney is the major client—and where serious work injuries are almost a daily occurrence.
In China, young women and men are forced to work 10 to 13 hours a day producing Disney’s children’s books six and seven days a week, working a grueling 60 to 90 hours a week. The workers are paid just 33 to 41 cents an hour, trapping them in misery. It is common for the workers to be cheated of their overtime pay. In some factories, women are denied their legal maternity rights. Eight to 12 workers are housed in primitive dorm rooms sleeping on double level bunk beds and fed horrible food at the factory canteen. Workers often faint from exhaustion and the unbearably stifling heat in the factories. Workers have no health insurance, no pension, no rights. They have no right to freedom of association or to organize.
But the workers are fighting back in search of basic justice. And—in what is a hugely important development—students and scholars in Hong Kong (formed as SACOM—Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior) are joining their sisters and brothers in China in this struggle.
The National Labor Committee, together with SACOM and our NGO partners in Hong Kong, intend to launch an international campaign to shame Disney into doing the right thing.
The demands of the Chinese workers are simple and doable. Disney must release the names and addresses of the factories they use across China to make their goods. Disney must allow SACOM and other human, women’s and worker rights NGOs access to these plants to train the workers so they can play the key role in monitoring these factories. This will bring an end to the violations.
Please join the campaign and spread the word.
29
Oct
Disney in China
Disney's Children's Books Made with the Blood, Sweat and Tears of Young Workers in China
A report by
Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (Sacom)Room 1204, Wing Lee Industrial Building54-58 Tong Mi Road, Mangkok, KowloonHONG KONG
www.sacom.org.hkTel: 852-6726-7342sacom@sacom.org.hk
National Labor Committee75 Varick Street, Ste. 1500New York, NY 10013Tel: 212-242-3002Fax: 212-242-3821www.nlcnet.org
August 18, 2005
One would hardly associate Disney’s children’s books with crushed and broken fingers, lacerated hands, broken legs and even deaths. But disturbingly, that is the case at the Hung Hing plant in China—where Disney is the major client—and where serious work injuries are almost a daily occurrence.
In China, young women and men are forced to work 10 to 13 hours a day producing Disney’s children’s books six and seven days a week, working a grueling 60 to 90 hours a week. The workers are paid just 33 to 41 cents an hour, trapping them in misery. It is common for the workers to be cheated of their overtime pay. In some factories, women are denied their legal maternity rights. Eight to 12 workers are housed in primitive dorm rooms sleeping on double level bunk beds and fed horrible food at the factory canteen. Workers often faint from exhaustion and the unbearably stifling heat in the factories. Workers have no health insurance, no pension, no rights. They have no right to freedom of association or to organize.
But the workers are fighting back in search of basic justice. And—in what is a hugely important development—students and scholars in Hong Kong (formed as SACOM—Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior) are joining their sisters and brothers in China in this struggle.
The National Labor Committee, together with SACOM and our NGO partners in Hong Kong, intend to launch an international campaign to shame Disney into doing the right thing.
The demands of the Chinese workers are simple and doable. Disney must release the names and addresses of the factories they use across China to make their goods. Disney must allow SACOM and other human, women’s and worker rights NGOs access to these plants to train the workers so they can play the key role in monitoring these factories. This will bring an end to the violations.
Please join the campaign and spread the word.
LabourStart headline - Source: ITUC
LabourStart headline - Source: ZimOnline
LabourStart headline - Source: UNI
28
Oct
Australia: Federal election is an opportunity to protect the rights of working families says ACTU
LabourStart headline - Source: ACTU
LabourStart headline - Source: UFCW
LabourStart headline - Source: BBC
LabourStart headline - Source: ITUC
