Teen 'overworked to death' in jeans factory

[ejbr]

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

A Bangladeshi teenager who died in a garment factory that supplies cheap jeans for export to Europe was "overworked to death", a rights group said.

Fatema Akter, an 18-year-old garment worker in the port city of Chittagong, died during her shift in December last year, according to the US-based National Labor Committee (NCL).

"Forced to work 13 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, Fatema was sick and exhausted, with pains in her chest and arms," the report said, adding that her job was to clean 90 to 100 pairs of finished jeans per hour.

"Rather than grant her a sick day (her supervisor) slapped her face very hard and ordered her to continue working."

The committee said an investigation showed that 14-hour shifts with few breaks were common at the factory, overtime was compulsory and workers were regularly beaten by their superiors.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/teen-overworked-to-death-in-jeans-factory-20090514-b3j1.html

---

Presumably, this factory had a contract with a German company.

[ThomCat]

1. It doesn't say if any legal action was taken in Bangladesh.

I wonder if it was considered an unfortunate but natural death by authorities there, or if they investigated held the sweatshop responsible for contributing to her death?

At the very least, that supervisor should be arrested. Assault is a crime. And if not for him/her Fatema Akter might have seen a doctor and still been alive. :(

[struggle4progress]

4. Where I come from, we call that slavery

[billyoc]

6. Earth?

:hi:

[struggle4progress]

7. Yep. You've heard of it? Sometimes I really wonder how I ended up here

[billyoc]

9. Can't say I like what you've done with the place.

[imdjh]

11. Naw- slaves only worked 7 days a week during planting and harvest

I think I would rather be a field hand in Virginia than a factory worker in Bangladesh, but I could be wrong.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Regret My New Name]

15. hmmm...

odd.

[John Q. Citizen]

18. Laughing out loud about a teens death is sort of strange, IMHO. Maybe a

personality disorder?

[Regret My New Name]

14. Can't argue with that.

[suzy creemcheeze]

27. Right on! I finally got to see that Wal-Mart documentary

and it is just appalling how some people are making a living in 2009. Sickening, really...

[Alameda]

2. Think about this when you shop for cheap jeans and other

items. I come from a family of tailors. I am highly trained in all aspects of tailoring. I'm not working in that field now, can't afford to. I'm amazed at how cheaply things are sold for. There is no way a fair wage can be paid with the low price of most items. People complain about the high cost of haute couture garments, but they are worth it. Even then, the ones who produce them are not wealthy.

[lildreamer316]

21. So are you going to 1)send me the money for a good pair, or 2)make me some?

Because I can't afford anything BUT cheap jeans.
Nice.

[Alameda]

29. It seems you missed this:

"I'm not working in that field now, can't afford to."....nor can I afford to send you money or make you some. You could learn how to make your own.

[EndersDame]

32. Goodwill Baby!

You can get a decent pair of jeans for a low price , help fund job training programs,recycle products and your dollars dont go to corporations using sweat shops.Thats what I do. I have found pairs with the price tags still on! If you live in a college town there is usually a consignment store that will sell trendier clothes

[bitchkitty]

26. Unbelievably cheap.

And the cloth often can cause severe dermatitis because it's not properly processed and sanitized.

It makes me long for the days when we lived abroad and Mom made all my clothes. Everything fit perfectly - not easy for me, I'm tall, short waisted and small boned, with long legs. Until manufacturers started making tall sizes, I was always in the water if I wore women's jeans! lol

[Alameda]

30. True...even if you purchase new fabric...you have to be

careful. Most of it is impregnated with chemicals to keep insects from eating it, formaldehyde being one of the main ingredients. My grandmother taught me to reuse fabrics from other garments. Why don't you try learning to make your own? There are some neat pattern making programs now. Here is one: http://www.patternmakerusa.com/

[bitchkitty]

31. Thanks! Great site! n/t

[OhioChick]

3. Free trade is working out so well for everyone. n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

5. someone should market 'death-free jeans' - I'd buy a pair - Guiltless Jeans I'd call it

they'd be more expensive - yes.
but the people who sell them (and buy them) would have no blood on their hands

[billyoc]

8. Buy Union made.

http://www.allamericanclothing.com/products/25305.html

[Jkid]

10. Amazing, just when I thought that almost EVERYTHING has been outsourced from this country.

n/t

[billyoc]

12. Actually, when you hear "We don't make anything here anymore",

it's an attempt to make you just give up. Don't.

[BreweryYardRat]

22. Cool, thanks.

I'll give that a shot next time I'm in the market for a pair.

[tabbycat31]

28. good site

I just wish they would go a little more trendy. Those jeans are not exactly ones that would flatter me, and make me not look ten years older.

[AlphaCentauri]

16. RIP

[tomreedtoon]

17. This must happen 20 times a day. What's the big deal?

And since Americans can't afford these jeans any more, should we feel less guilty? Shouldn't the Germans have all the anger about these jeans?

[RandomKoolzip]

19. This is exactly the kind of labor situation the right desires for America.

If we ever let the right wing gain control of the government again, somewhere down the line, this kind of shit will be commonplace in this country. Ah, but don't worry, it's just the "free market" at work, in all its self-regulating genius....

[bobburgster]

20. This crap bothers the hell out of me!

Thanks for the union link to bloodless jeans.

[Old Hob]

23. slavery has been an essential component of world economies for thousands of years

and seems to be just as prevalent today as it ever was.
typo

[moez]

24. But, MAN!

Those jeans make my ass look hot...

[willing dwarf]

25. Since I can't reach over and slap the Bangladesh factory supervisors

nor does my reach extend to the company which produced these jeans or other factories much like it, I decided several years ago to sew my own clothes. (I'm still working on working out a decent bra pattern). The hunger of the developed world is eating alive the young of the developing world, and I want no part of it.

I know it would be more effective to organize against these people, but I can't stomach doing it while wearing clothes and using good that are gotten through "disposable" labor.

[DU GrovelBot]

33. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

This week is our second quarter 2009 fund drive.
Donate and you'll be automatically entered into our daily contest.
New prizes daily!



No purchase or donation necessary. Void where prohibited. Click here for more information.