In the News

Prison Labor: The New Slavery

New America Media
09/18/2006

By Chris Levister

As a child Ayana Cole dreamed of becoming a world class fashion designer. Today she is among hundreds of inmates crowded in an Oregon prison factory cranking out designer jeans. For her labor she is paid 45 cents an hour. At a chic Beverly Hills boutique some of the beaded creations carry a $350 price tag. In fact the jeans labeled "Prison Blues" -- proved so popular last year

2 Int'l labor group express concern over workers' plight

Worker's Assistance Center
09/16/2006

With negotiation for their demands for improved benefit stalled, union members of a Korean-owned garment factory gets the backing of two international labor groups.

Now labor rights advocates the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) in the US and the Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN) in Canada have already express concern with the plight of workers on protests at Chong Won Fashion Inc. (CWFI) operating inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ).

Garment Workers Reject Proposed Minimum Wage in Bangladesh

Asia Pulse
09/14/2006

By Narayabganj

Thousands of garment workers staged violent demonstrations in Narayanganj industrial area Wednesday demanding minimum wages at Tk 3,000 (US$43.60), rejecting the Wage Board's recommendation of Tk 1,604, released Tuesday. The National Minimum Wage Board formulated a draft proposal fixing minimum wages for the workers in the export-oriented garment sector at Tk 1,604 at entry level. However, this recommendation was not a consensus decision.

56 empresas emplean a menores

El Comercio, EcuadorInter Press Service
09/13/2006

Redacción Negocios

Por primera vez en la historia laboral del Ecuador, las empresas y los empleadores que ocupan mano de obra infantil serán multados por esta ilegalidad.

Así señaló el ministro de la cartera de Trabajo y Empleo (MTE), José Serrano, al presentar los datos de las inspecciones hechas desde el 17 de agosto pasado.

UN to Help Repossess Another Rubber Plantation

The Analyst
08/30/2006

The United Nations, last Wednesday, vowed to help the government repossess the Sinoe Rubber Plantation.

The repossession of the plantation, which is intended to help Liberia establish security and shore up its economic interests after 14 years of civil war, will bring to two the number of rubber plantations occupied by former fighters.

UN peacekeepers and government security forces recently reclaimed the Guthrie Rubber Plantation in northwest Liberia where about 500 former fighters had lived illegally for three years.

UN to Help Repossess Another Rubber Plantation

The Analyst (Monrovia, Liberia)
08/30/2006

The United Nations, last Wednesday, vowed to help the government repossess the Sinoe Rubber Plantation.

The repossession of the plantation, which is intended to help Liberia establish security and shore up its economic interests after 14 years of civil war, will bring to two the number of rubber plantations occupied by former fighters.

UN peacekeepers and government security forces recently reclaimed the Guthrie Rubber Plantation in northwest Liberia where about 500 former fighters had lived illegally for three years.

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