Export Processing Zones

Blast kills nine miners

From South China Morning Post, 6 and 14 March 2001

Sex workers are workers

From Hindustan Times, 5 March 2001

Thirty courageous sex workers gathered on 5 March outside the Census office to protest official slander against them.

Free speech under attack

From South China Morning Post, 8 February 2001

One of the first acts of the government of new Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was to demand the state run ITV news station moderate criticism of him and his nationalist party.

Discrimination, law, and migrant workers

From Asian Migrant Centre and Coalition for Migrants’ Rights, Hong Kong

National Women Day

Solidarity from Aima Mahmood, WWO Secretary

Catering workers demand service charge

From GEFONT bulletins and the Kathmandu Post, 24 February 2001

The government announcement to ban strikes in the hotel, restaurant, resort, and accommodation services, restricts fundamental trade union rights of workers, says the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT).

Walking skeletons produce for J C Penney

From New York Times, 6 February 2001

Hotel reopens with non-union labour

From Labour News Network, 20 February and 3 April 2001; Jakarta Post.com, 20 February and 4 April 2001; and IUF reports

The Jakarta Shangri-La hotel dispute continues (see ALU 37).

Telecom contractors resist dismissal

By Kim Aehwa

Sex workers now all illegal

From South China Morning Post, 28 March 2001

A ‘buffer period’ granted to Taiwan’s 130 licensed prostitutes, giving them a reprieve when the government banned sex work two years ago, expired on 28 February.