Regarding Bangadesh's exploited workers

eEdition / Subscriber Services

Mobile
Mobile Alerts
RSS



MercuryNews.com





News breaking news

elections



earthquakes

Politics - Local /State

Politics - National

california

nation / world

special reports

education







Publications San Mateo County Times

Palo Alto Daily News

Silicon Valley Community Newspapers:

Campbell Reporter

Cupertino Courier

Fremont Bulletin

Los Gatos Weekly Times

Milpitas Post

Pacifica Tribune

Saratoga News

Sunnyvale Sun

Willow Glen Resident

Rose Garden Resident

Almaden Resident

Cambrian Resident

Site Web Search by YAHOO!





Peninsula POWERED BY







Peninsula readers' letters: May 8



From Daily News Group readers



mercurynews.com

Posted:   05/07/2013 06:45:21 PM PDT

May 8, 2013 8:12 AM GMTUpdated:   05/08/2013 01:12:49 AM PDT





Regarding Bangladesh's exploited workers



Dear Editor: The death toll in Bangladesh has topped 600 after an eight-story garment factory building collapsed with thousands of workers inside. Cracks had been found in the building, but workers say the factory owners forced them to go to work anyway.



Protests broke out in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka as angry workers blocked key highways, marched on several factories, and rallied outside the headquarters of Bangladesh's main manufacturers group. The disaster comes exactly five months after a massive fire killed at least 112 garment workers at Bangladesh's Tazreen factory, which made clothing sold by Wal-Mart, among other companies.



Bangladesh now is the second-largest garment exporter in the world, right after China. Chinese garment factories are moving to Bangladesh because of the low wages -- 14 to 24 cents an hour. The workers work 14 hours a day, often seven days a week. Bangladesh is sacrificing all of these young women, who receive starvation wages. There is no right to organize in Bangladesh.



Ted Rudow III,



Palo Alto











Copyright 2012 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved.