IT’S MAY DAY: Workers of the world unite for better conditions, slam U.S.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Tens of thousands of low-paid workers took to the streets on May Day to demand higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions a week after a Bangladesh garment factory building collapse killed hundreds — a grim reminder of how lax safety regulations make going to work a danger in many poor countries.
Laborers in Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines and elsewhere marched and chanted en masse Wednesday, sounding complaints about being squeezed by big business amid the surging cost of living. Asia is the manufacturing ground for many of the world’s largest multinational companies.
Thousands of garment factory workers in Bangladesh also paraded through the streets screaming for safeguards to be put in place and for the owner of the collapsed building to be sentenced to death.