ANROAV Annual Meeting 2007

 

 

The Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Network (ANROAV) annual meeting was co-hosted by AMRC in Hong Kong from 29-31 August, 2007. The three-day meeting was held in conjunction with AMRC’s 30^th Anniversary Conference, and was attended by more than 100 participants from over 25 countries/regions, representing victims groups, labour groups, trade unions, labour NGOs, academia and environmental groups.

ANROAV has been synonymous with strengthening the grassroots OSH movement in Asia and its annual meetings have been providing a unique platform for sharing the organising experiences from all over Asia and providing space to develop joint campaigns on the common issues in the region. 

Over the past few years, ANROAV as a network has witnessed a steady increase in its membership. A majority of the new members are coming from China where the victims’ movement has seen a steady growth to fight against the injustice at the workplace. ANROAV has also been reaching out to similar grassroots networks in other regions like Europe and Americas. It has been in regular contact with the European Hazard network and similar OSH networks in America. This year some groups from North America also participated in the ANROAV meeting and shared some of their work on OSH issues in their region.

The ANROAV annual meeting has been a regular feature in the Asian labour movement now. Over a period of time, with the strengthening and developing of the network, the quality of presentations has also improved. The range of issues being discussed is widening. Activists come from different backgrounds. Each Asian country has different laws and different level of economic development. Cultures and languages are different. Political systems and levels of freedom of expression for workers are different. What are still common experiences are OSH problems and workers’ struggles to change the situation. Be they the migrant workers from Myanmar working in Mae Sot in Thailand, or tribal workers of Jhabua in India working in the neighboring Indian state, or the migrant Chinese workers migrating from North to South China – all have serious complaints about the dirty and unsafe workplaces. From the small contractor at a construction site to the multinational corporations (MNCs) – most employers disregard workers’ safety and put it as least priority.

High accident rates at workplaces kill or seriously injure workers. No one exactly knows how many workers die or get sick from occupational diseases in Asia. The area of occupational health is largely ignored in most Asian countries. Administrators shy away from accepting the truth. What is most shocking is the situation of data on occupational diseases in the world’s largest democracy called India, compared to its counterpart China – where it is alleged that there is no democracy.

We at ANROAV know that there are yet miles to go achieve the desired OSH standards at the workplace, but we have a quality of debate among social partners, preparedness of trade unions to take up OSH issues, and political will to protect workers’ heath and safety at work, which would all be comparable to developed countries. The strategies may not be the same; the literacy rates, consciousness levels, unemployment amd poverty are all beyond comparison. At times, OSH activists in Asian countries get frustrated. But here is where solidarity has a role to play. At this ANROAV meeting, OSH activists from US, Canada and Australia participated not only to share their experiences but also to discuss what actions could be held jointly. Our experience during the three-day meeting has been that in spite of many differences, the core problems remain same across all regions, and to deal with them demands unprecedented solidarity both between Asian groups and between Northern and Southern groups. This meeting provided such a concrete example of North-South solidarity.

ANROAV Annual Meeting: Glimpses

Cadmium poisoning in GP batteries: Gold Peak has over 12 manufacturing facilities to manufacture batteries (which are sold under the ‘GP’ brand). In four of its plants cadmium poisoning has been reported; of these four, three plants are in China and one in Hong Kong. 18 people have been diagnosed as poisoned while 400 have excessive levels of cadmium in their blood. In July 2004 organizations in Hong Kong organized protests in favor of the victims. When the struggle for medical examinations succeeded, women workers were asked to give urine samples in the presence of the person appointed by the management. The women workers protested against such an insulting procedure. In 2004 the company declared 8,000 RMB as additional compensation. (1USD = 7.4 RMB) By the end of 2006 only six workers had gotten benefits from social security. The company has filed a defamation suit against three Hong Kong social organizations. As a result of the continuous struggle, share prices of GP have come down heavily. Incidences of cadmium poisoning are found at three companies including GP, Panasonic and one other company. Presented by May Wong, Globalization Monitor

In Cambodia, there are 400 garment factories employing 38,000 workers. The majority of the workers are migrant women workers. Workers do not know about the legal provisions regarding labour. They are also ignorant about OSH and accident prevention. In small factories no inspection takes place. One of the workers lost his hand in an accident. He was paid US$300 as compensation and was fired. No personal protective equipment is given. Another worker had burn injuries due to steam. He was given expenses only for sending him to the hospital. Now, C.CAWDU (a Cambodian coalition of garment workers’ unions) has prepared an OSH manual in Khmer language and has trained 20 workers in OSH. Presented by Kong Athit, C.CAWDU

In 1972 a committee was formed in Santa Clara (USA) to raise the issues of OSH. In1978 a Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) group was started in Santa Clara. Through it, a campaign against trichloroethylene was started. IBM maintained a list of causes of death for 30,000 workers for 30 years. It was observed that the breast cancer incidence was 2.42 times more among workers in electronic industry than among the general population. Cancers of lymph nodes, kidney and brain also were reported high in this population. The gap between environmental and workplace pollution standards should be minimized. Toxic materials should be replaced by green materials. Presented by Amanda Hawes

In Shenzhen, China, the majority of the factories are Chinese-owned, and not owned by MNCs. In Chinese-owned factories working conditions are generally worse, and more accidents are reported. Overall the number of reported accidents is on the rise. Even managers are exposed to the hazards and they also need training in OSH. After an accident has taken place, some workers will believe that they themselves were responsible for the accident. They are not given training for operating machines. A manual on OSH needs to be prepared which can be useful to the employers also. Presented by Ah Xin

In Thailand, on the areas bordering Myanmar, the majority of the workers are illegal migrants from Myanmar. They are caught by the police and deported, and they come back again the same day. This would continue for years. Inspectors are limited, ineffective and corrupt. The awareness on OSH is very poor. After an accident has taken place, most workers feel that s/he was responsible for the accident. When a worker’s hand was chopped off in band-saw, he said ‘I am responsible, as I was tired’. Nang Deng’s husband died of an electric current while at work on a construction site. He was a legal migrant, having a permit to work. But the Workmen Compensation Fund refused compensation, saying he was an illegal worker. An organization has been pursuing the case. Presented by Andy Hall

In Vietnam, in 2006 there were 50 occupational health centres, 37 occupational health clinics, and 570 employed staff. All of these are supposed to submit their report to the Medical College. In 2006, 30% of workers passed through medical examinations. In this year 30.5% of workers examined were found to have occupational diseases. 17,262 workers were diagnosed to be silicotic (having silicosis). 3,722 workers had noise-induced hearing loss. In 2005 62.33% of the workers having occupational disease could not claim compensation while this figure for the year 2006 has gone down to 33.7%. Presented by Vu Xuan Trung

Only 11% workers are organized in Korea. The Labor party is not powerful; few company unions are strong. The Korean OSH situation is the same as the labour movement. Old OSH problems like physical hazards, chemical hazards and mechanical hazards, have continued and new hazards like cardiovascular disease, stress, violence, and musculo-skeletal diseases have been added. A Killer Company campaign is being carried out by the NGOs and victims groups. Hyundai Construction Co. was judged Killer No. 1 last year. Presented by Dr. Lee Sang-Yoon 

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