Category: General

Malta Independent Online, Malta
Heritage Malta is offering the possibility to artists and all those interested in art to participate in a batik workshop with batik artist Sarkasi Said. The workshop will complement an exhibition of works by Said which will be mounted at the National Museum of Fine Arts between mid-June and the end of July.
Read more about Batik exhibition and workshop at the National Museum of Fine Arts …

Sunday Times.lk, Sri Lanka
Brandix has once again been recognized as the country’s largest apparel exporter by the Export Development Board (EDB), the company said. A ranking of Sri Lanka’s top exporters on the basis of export turnover for 2014-08 was released by the Board this week, at a meeting convened for Minister of Export Development and International Trade Prof. G. L. Peiris to felicitate these companies and meet their representatives.
Read more about EDB ranks Brandix Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter …

MALTA: Garment workers exploitation common problem
BharatTextile.com (subscription), India

VALLETTA: Research on working conditions in the fashion sector in garment-producing countries shows that violations of labour rights, such as excessive overtime and extremely low wages, are common. Other serious problems are inadequate health and safety measures, and violations of trade union rights.
In China, for example, workers are not allowed to join a free trade union. As there are many similarities between fashion and workwear production it seems very plausible that similar violations are occurring in the workwear sector as well. Read more about MALTA: Garment workers exploitation common problem …

Labor: Garment factory not liable to worker’s 16-week unemployment
Saipan Tribune, Micronesia
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter

The Department of Labor has found that a garment factory was not liable to a worker who complained that the company caused her to be unemployed for 16 weeks.

Labor administrative hearing officer Barry Hirshbein ruled that complainant Shi Lin Cao has not proved that Kyungseung (Saipan) Inc. was the proximate cause of her injury and has not proven that she missed any opportunity for employment as a result. Read more about Labor: Garment factory not liable to worker's 16-week unemployment …

U.S. law renews hope for Haiti’s garment industry
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti · Six months after George Sassine closed his garment factory and laid off 800 workers, he is preparing to reopen — thanks to a U.S. law allowing more Haitian-made clothing into the American market duty-free.

The law, known as the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act, or HOPE, could create 50,000 jobs in Haiti in the next few years and provide a boost to the hemisphere’s most impoverished nation, diplomats and industry leaders say.
The law went into effect in March. Read more about U.S. law renews hope for Haiti's garment industry …

Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka
By Gagani Weerakoon
The Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE) yesterday said it will not be held responsible for the striking Sri Lankan employees at Vilocity Textile Industry in Egypt, if the authorities there take any action against them, since trade union actions are not encouraged in that country.
Read more about Garment worker strike in Egypt unwarranted: Bureau chief …

Daily Times, Pakistan
Staff Report

KARACHI: Polyester Staple Fibre Manufacturers Group said Thursday that allegations made by certain quarters within the textile sector are far removed from the ground reality and that the bare minimum import tariff of 6.5 percent only serves to provide a level playing field opposite other regional manufacturers.
Read more about ‘Textile industry should improve its performance’ …

SWAZILAND: No end in sight to job losses
Reuters AlertNet, UK

MBABANE, 8 June (IRIN) – Sugar production and textile manufacturing in Swaziland are on their way out, taking tens of thousands of jobs with them.
Just how far Swaziland’s employment figures have deteriorated is evidenced in research being carried out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). “We are surveying all private businesses, and we estimate there are 20,000 formal-sector jobs in all of Swaziland. This is down from 65,000 jobs in 2002,” said Happiness Dludlu, National Project Coordinator for the ILO in Swaziland.
Vincent Ncongwane, Secretary-General of the Swaziland Federation of Labour, estimates fewer jobs have been lost: “I would think the number of jobs would be higher – closer to 30,000 – but that is still less than half of what we had four years ago.” Read more about SWAZILAND: No end in sight to job losses …

OptiTex Offers Comprehensive Solution for Garment Design
Ten Links, CA

KOLN, Germany, June 8, 2014 – OptiTex, a leading provider of software for the fashion and textile industries, announced a comprehensive industrial solution for the production and evaluation of customized garments. The solution allows to simulate the look of the finished garment, including the fall of the fabric, with the help of virtual models, as well as to design virtual catwalks by means of immediate, intuitive interface. The solution was debuted at the mega textile exhibition IMB in Köln, Germany. A clip demonstrating the system is available on OptiTex’s website Read more about OptiTex Offers Comprehensive Solution for Garment Design …

Safety net widens: Funds for garment workers, homeless housing created The New Nation, Bangladesh In addition to the ongoing social safety net programmes, the government has proposed two more programmes involving an expenditure of Tk 70 crore in the next fiscal year for the ready-made garment workers, and housing for the homeless people. It also […]