The High Court in Peshawar has directed the provincial government to not enforce the new minimum wage of US$149 per month. The move is in response to a petition by 19 local garment factories who sued the government alleging that the new minimum wage, enacted on September 9, was done so illegally. The factories also

The South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) says that a growing number of garment and textile factory owners have been hastily liquidating their companies in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays in order to avoid paying bonuses. SACTWU says that 36 facilities have closed their doors between October and December in

The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) says that it will urge U.S. President Barack Obama to reinstate trade preference benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program for Bangladesh because the country is an important sourcing destination for U.S. companies. In an interview with The Daily Star, Nate Herman, Vice-President of International Trade

A new report from Better Work Vietnam says that many major garment factories in the southern part of the country remain non-compliant with national and international fire safety standards despite significant improvements over the past 4 years. The annual report, which looked at 60 factories, says that roughly half of them do not have adequate

A garment worker died from a heart attack while working at a facility in Ashulia on November 25. Workers say he began experiencing severe chest pain while on the job, but was declared dead when he arrived at the hospital. Workers later staged a protest accusing the factory managers of negligence in dealing with the

Both union leaders and factory owner representatives in Cambodia say that the new US$128 minimum wage recently instated by the government is not acceptable. Union representatives claim that amount is still not enough for workers to live on while the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) says that the new wage will increase costs for

Authorities in India recently arrested one of the country’s most wanted fugitives from a garment factory in Tirupur. William A. Sangma, a self-named commander of the Achik National Cooperative Army (ANCA) who escaped from previous custody three months ago, was found working in the factory under an assumed name along with his accomplice. It is

A major fire ripped through a textile factory in the capital city of Riyadh on November 23. Civil defense authorities say that it took 25 fire and rescue teams to douse the blaze, which engulfed over 27,000 sq. ft. of the facility. Authorities say that no one was seriously injured in the blaze and are

A textile worker at a Swaziland factory recently gave birth to a baby boy while on the job. Factory authorities say that the woman was working at her station when contractions began to kick in at around 7:00pm. Her fellow workers immediately responded and helped her to a nearby staircase where she was wrapped in

A Ugandan textile company is pushing the government to implement a new national textile policy aimed at encouraging government buyers to purchase from domestic companies. While government leaders have proposed such a policy, it has yet to be finalized. Industry observers say that the country’s rich supply of cotton puts it in an excellent position