@Risk

Most large US employers are moving forward with plans to make changes to their 2011 health care benefit programs in the wake of both health reform and expected large health benefit cost increases next year, according to a new survey by the National Business Group on Health.

The survey–which collected responses from 72 of the nation’s largest corporations representing more than 3.7 million employees –was conducted in May and June, 2010. The results show that: (more…)

Already reeling because India’s garment manufacturing industry was included on the US Department of Labor’s updated EO 13126 list, the country’s apparel exporters suffered another blow last week when The Observer revealed details of an investigation that uncovered significant worker abuses at Indian “sweatshops.”

According to the article, some of Britain’s biggest retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Gap and Next, are using suppliers who pay workers pennies an hour and force them to work up to 16 hours a day in factories.

From the article: (more…)

For years, various NGOs and other stakeholders in the apparel industry have been working to abolish forced child labor in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan.

Now, a new study from Human Rights Watch has documented 72 cases of child labor, ranging in ages from 10 to 17, on tobacco farms in neighboring Kazakhstan.

The 115-page report, called Hellish Work, reveals dismal conditions on Kazakh farms where as many as 1 million migrant workers are exploited to cultivate, harvest and dry tobacco. It’s tough, physical labor, and because nicotine can be absorbed through the skin when tobacco leaves are handled, it’s also notoriously unhealthy. In fact, the report says that in one day, laborers can absorb nicotine amounts equivalent to smoking 36 cigarettes.  As you might expect, children are especially vulnerable to the deleterious effects of this level of nicotine.

Philip Morris Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of Philip Morris International, is the sole purchaser of the tobacco harvested from these particular farms. The company uses this tobacco for its local brands in central Asia, Russia and Ukraine.

And, to its credit, Philip Morris has already responded to the HRW report.

A spokesman from Philip Morris told the New York Times that the company has been working for years to reduce abusive practices at Kazakh tobacco farms, but that it now recognizes that it must “step up” its efforts to eliminate child labor. Philip Morris says it will start to:

• use third-party monitoring,
• improve training and internal controls, and
• require that farmers have written contracts with all of their workers.

The company also made a commitment to ensure that training for Philip Morris Kazakhstan staff covers child labor, forced labor, illegal passport retention, and the need to make sure children of migrant workers have access to education.

Of course, the government of Kazakhstan also needs to provide monitoring and enforcement.

“Kazakhstan has an obligation under international law to protect all victims of abuse, irrespective of the victim’s migration status or contractual status,” says Jane Buchanan, senior researcher in the Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. “It’s time for the government to stop acting as if migrant workers don’t have rights and take decisive action against abusive employers.”

Mirroring the optimism the Corporate Executive Board found in a survey of business executives earlier this year, a new study by Ernst & Young LLP has found that most senior executives now have a positive attitude and expect economic recovery and increased profitability over the next 12 months.

According to the Ernst & Young Growth Company Leadership survey, which polled 349 senior level executives at US public and private firms in April 2010, business leaders are particularly optimistic about revenue, profitability, technology spending and hiring. For example: (more…)

After a string of work stoppages in May and June, it appeared that factory strikes in China were tapering off.

However, last Friday, Shanghai Daily reported that Chinese factory workers at two more suppliers for foreign automakers had walked out, demanding pay increases.

The strikes occurred at Atsumitec Co, which supplies Honda Motor Co.’s China operations, and at Japanese electronics maker Omron Corp, which supplies switches and ignition keys to Honda, Ford and other carmakers. Each was settled after the workers won what the article calls “hefty pay raises.” (more…)