Group items tagged

"Many workers earn just 30p a day and risk permanent injury, say NGOs, as they call for EU crackdown on unfair trading practices"

"SOMETIME in 2013 Lagos will overtake Cairo to become Africa's largest city. This is confirmation of a decisive shift away from the ends of the continent and towards its tropical middle. Within a decade Lagos will have 16m people; Kinshasa, in Congo, will have 15m. The standard view of cities as generators of wealth, diversity and ideas will be challenged in Africa. To become liveable, cities will have to improve public transport, address rising violent crime and generate opportunities for young Africans. In 2013, over half of all city-dwellers will be under 18 and every African election will be decided, statistically at least, by first-time voters. What is certain is that African cities will be the most informal economies in the world in 2013. Some 70% of workers will live on their wits, relying on day labour to make enough to eat, pay rent and send their children to school. That will make cities dynamic and mobile, but also combustible. See full article."

New, cheaper device being produced illegally, non-profit organisation China Labor Watch claims

"Home News by technology Apple faces fresh labor abuse allegations Apple faces fresh labor abuse allegations Apple's in hot water once more By Lily Prasuethsut  September 6th 0 COMMENTS Trouble for the big Apple Related stories iPhone 5S release date set for Sept. 20? T-Mobile workers' holiday plans shelved Double dates? New iPhones may go on sale Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 Was the iPhone 5C caught running iOS 7 on camera? Though the bubbly invitations have been sent for Apple's Sept. 10 Cupertino event where we might finally see the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, recent reports once again, show a darker side of Apple. China Labor Watch released a statement today about the conditions of Jabil Green Point, a U.S. owned factory in Wuxi, China purportedly producing the cheap iPhone. Apple has already been in hot water earlier this summer when the Watch reported labor violations at Pegatron facilities. Poor working and living conditions, and the use of underage employees at Pegatron, were similar to previous investigations of Apple's other major supplier, Foxconn."

"This video is part of a series that won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting on April 15, 2013 bit.ly/11aWqlz. See the entire iECONOMY series here nyti.ms/ZDNRNA For the New York Times | By Jonah M. Kessel In the winter of 2011, I visited the Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China, where many popular Apple products are made. However, I was not greeted with open arms. Foxconn denied any interviews and did not allowed us access to their facility. Employees of Foxconn we found outside the factory gates complained of grimm working conditions. (That report here: vimeo.com/35674511) Over the year, the New York Times and other media outlets reported on this and Apple responded saying they would improve conditions for workers. One year later, I returned to Foxconn with New York Times' Hong Kong Bureau Chief Keith Bradsher as well as factories producing for Hewlett-Packard in Western China, to see what had changed since our initial investigations. This time around, Foxconn in Chengdu allowed us to interview employees as well as visit employee dormitories. Their reaction a year later showed a culture change. While at HP, manufactories there gave us full access to work areas, recreational areas, dormitories and eating facilities. This video documents what we found."

"Millions of Brits drink a cup of Assam tea each day, but it comes at a terrible price. Plantation workers on 12p an hour are easy prey for traffickers who lure away their daughters to India's cities. Now pressure is growing on big tea brands to safeguard better pay"

"Miners who dug ore to supply the military found to be dying of cancers and other illnesses at Rio Tinto's Rössing mine"

"The 'chemical fruit' grown by plantation workers in scandalous conditions are a frontline weapon in Britain's supermarket wars"

"They are known as the mule women of Melilla. Everyday they carry heavy loads across the border between the Spanish enclave and Morocco. Melilla is an important entry point for goods into North Africa - and if the women can carry them, they can be imported into Morocco duty-free"

Record levels of immigration have had "little or no impact" on the economic well-being of Britons, an influential House of Lords committee has said. It says competition from immigrants has had a negative impact on the low paid and training for young UK workers, and has contributed to high house prices.