Thomas Cristofoletti for The New York Times
Published on May 16, 2013
PHNOM
PENH (REUTERS) - At least six people died when a shoe factory collapsed
in Cambodia on Thursday and many were injured, a member of the trade
union at the plant said.
"There were about a hundred people inside the factory when it
collapsed at about 7 a.m. this morning," Ms Sum Sokny, 29, told Reuters.
She said five women and one man died in the plant, owned by Wing Star Shoes Co Ltd.
According to one report, about 50 people were trapped inside the
low-rise building, located in Kampong Speu province to the west of the
capital, Phnom Penh.
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Ceiling Collapse at Shoe Factory in Cambodia Kills 2
HONG KONG — A ceiling at a small factory making shoes on the outskirts
of the capital of Cambodia collapsed on Thursday morning, killing at
least two workers and underlining global worries about factory safety in
poor countries.
Ken Loo, the secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association
in Cambodia, said that steel beams holding up a concrete-floored storage
area at mezzanine height between two buildings had given way. In
addition to the two dead, nine workers were injured, three of them
severely, by falling concrete, Mr. Loo said.
The collapse outside the capital, Phnom Penh, came 22 days after the
collapse of a garment factory complex in Bangladesh killed at least
1,127 people and prompted an international outcry for multinational
retailers to assume more responsibility for the safety of workers at
their suppliers.
Mr. Loo said that the factory had been manufacturing shoes for Asics, a
large Japanese athletic shoe company that is based in Kobe. Naomichi
Hatori, a spokesman for Asics, confirmed that the factory, called Wing
Star Shoes, made sports shoes for the company. He could not immediately
say which market the shoes were shipped to, or whether the plant also
made shoes for other brands.
He said Asics “offered its deepest sympathies” to the victims and their
families, and that the company would consider measures to revamp safety
measures at its overseas suppliers.
Telephone calls to Wing Star Shoes’ offices in Kampong Speu, the
Cambodian province where the accident took place, were not answered on
Thursday, and an e-mail to the company drew no immediate response.
Popular with runners, Asics has been particularly successful in the
United States market, where it emphasizes corporate responsibility.
According to the company’s Web site, the Asics name is an acronym
“derived from the Latin phrase, Anima Sana In Corpore Sano — a sound
mind in a sound body.”
Bradley Gordon, an American lawyer based in Phnom Penh, said that
Cambodia has strong laws on safety and other issues, drafted partly with
help from international advisers over the last two decades, but that
regulatory enforcement is often weak. Many factories in Cambodia have
only been built in the past decade, so building collapses are rare.
Mr. Gordon predicted that the Cambodian government would be genuinely
worried about Thursday’s incident and would put a great deal of effort
into making sure that there would be no further collapses.
“The garment industry is one of the key industries in Cambodia and is
just too important to the government and the population” for a problem
like this not to receive considerable scrutiny, he said.
Worker safety advocates were quick to cite Thursday’s incident as
further evidence of a need for broad changes in how the West’s clothing
and footwear are now made in poor countries.
“The shoe and garment industry is built upon huge profits and little
concern for the well-being of their workers,” said Tessel Pauli, a
spokeswoman for the Clean Clothes Campaign. “It is inherently unsafe and
dangerous to work in. As long as workers are marginalized and deprived
of their basic rights, the situation will not improve.”
Multinational clothing retailers have been considering Cambodia as one
of several countries that could be alternatives to Bangladesh for
manufacturing. Cambodia has some of the lowest labor costs in Asia, with
workers earning $120 a month in salary and benefits before overtime,
but that compares with just $37 in Bangladesh.
Bruce Rockowitz, the group president and chief executive at Hong
Kong-based Li & Fung, one of the world’s largest sourcing companies,
said in a telephone interview on Wednesday, before the Cambodian
factory collapse, that the collapse of the factory in Dhaka had already
taught multinationals that visual inspections of factories’ structural
stability was not enough.
“We visually always inspected them, but you need true engineers,” he said.
The far lower death toll from Thursday’s incident at the Cambodian
factory, a low steel structure, than from the collapse of the
eight-story Rana Plaza complex on the outskirts of Dhaka three weeks ago
could intensify pressure on retailers to avoid buying from multistory
factories. Any such shift could put Bangladesh, India and Pakistan at a
disadvantage.
Factories in South Asia have tended to be taller because countries in
that region have lagged in highway and road construction, and land
prices have soared in those areas that do have good road access. In
Bangladesh, factory owners have also complained of problems in
persuading utilities to provide electricity and water connections
suitable for larger sites.
2 comments:
needs to arrest this constructor company 's owner & bring him to justice.
this careless is no excuses for them,
governments needs to arrest them asap,.
សង្គមដ៏អយុត្តិធម៌ គឺចាប់ផ្ដើមពីការកេងប្រវ័ញ្ច គ្មានការចេះពិចារណា ។ ការកេងកិបបន្លំទុក ដែក ស៊ីម៉ង់ត៍
ការប្រើគ្រឿងសម្ភារៈសំណង់មិនត្រឹមត្រូវតាម កំរឹតខ្នាតសុវត្ថិភាព កង្វះខាតការត្រួតពិនិត្យលើ សាច់ការ
និង មុខជំនាញ ។ ទីបំផុត មនុស្សពុករលួយ បានសប្បាយធូរធារមួយរយៈខ្លី តែផលវិបាកដ៏អាក្រក់ជូរចត់
បានបណ្ដាលឱ្យមនុស្ស ស្លាប់ប្រាសព្រាត់គ្នា របួសពិការ និងអន្តរាយរបស់ ទ្រព្យសម្បត្តិ ហើយមានការ
ប្ដឹងផ្ដល់គ្នាយូរអង្វែង ។ កុំបង្ខំចង់មានចង់បាន លឿនហួសហេតុ ហើយបំភ្លេចចោលនូវអ្វីដែលហៅថា សតិ
សម្បជញ្ញៈ ដ៏ល្អដែលមនុស្សគ្រប់គ្នាមាន ហើយបែរជាឱបក្រសោបយកទុច្ចរិតកម្មជាជំនួសវិញ ។ ទោះបី
ជននោះជាខ្មែរ ឬ វិនិយោគិនបរទេសក្ដី អាជ្ញាធរត្រូវស៊ើបអង្កេតឱ្យល្អិតល្អន់ ហើយដាក់ទោសលើអ្នកដែល
បានប្រព្រឹត្តខុស ៕
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