ASIA
* ADB says loan fund for poor nations may reach $12B:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Friday funding for its concessional loan facility for low-income countries may increase by about 6 percent to around $12 billion despite economic and fiscal constraints faced by donor countries. read more.
15:18:59 local time 
MONGOLIA
* Sudden drop in cashmere prices raises concern:
The following is an interview with State Great Khural Member Ts.
Sedvanchig on the drop of cashmere prices. read more.
15:18:59 local time 
CHINA
* Foreign trade situation ‘far from optimistic’:
China’s foreign trade this year faces situations “far from optimistic” due to thwarted global demand, rising costs at home and a harsh trading environment, according to an official report released Friday. read more.
15:18:59 local time 
PHILIPPINES
* Solon urges wage hike:
WAGE hike should follow the tuition increase.
This is according to Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino as he called on the government to consider the demands of the workers to substantially increase wages.
Palatino said that in order to avoid dropouts as a result of tuition increase, the daily wage should be adjusted. read more.
* PNP on heightened alert for Labor Day protests:
The Philippine National Police (PNP) will place all its units in Luzon and Visayas on heightened alert beginning in the afternoon of April 30 in anticipation of Labor Day rallies, an official said on Sunday.
PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. said all Police Regional Offices in Luzon and Visayas, as well as national support units, will be on heightened alert effective 5 p.m. Monday.
The whole of Mindanao and the Special Action Forces, meanwhile, will remain on full alert, Cerbo said. “We strongly encourage concerned units to initiate the dialogues involving the local government units and participating groups for the smooth and peaceful celebration of Labor Day,” Cerbo said in a statement. read more.
* Local shoe company thrives amid competition from malls, imports:
Nowadays, designer shoes are readily available for the well-heeled, while cheap footwear from China have protected the soles of the ordinary folk.
But a local store offering made-to-order shoes continues to thrive despite the competition. read more.
* Factor Inflation In Computation For Wage Increases, Says Labor Group:
The Associated Labor Unions-TUCP is asking the wage board to heed the voice of the workers for a salary increase due to the ever in-creasing prices of basic commodities and services.
“Filipino wage earners are lowly paid. In fact, it has been always so low for some time now that wage earning workers have been vulnerable to all kinds of temptations and miseries in their attempt to survive. They engage in gambling, indulge in vices, and tend to commit crimes. They are always susceptible to graft and corruption practices,” said Alan Tanjusay, ALU policy advocacy officer. read more.
14:18:59 local time 
LAOS
* Cabinet discusses way to improve salary :
A regular cabinet meeting for April held in Vientiane over a period of three day, 23-25 April has considered and agreed in the principle to approve the results of the research on improving the salary and incentive for government official from 2013-2015.
The improving aims to meet with the expansion of the social-economic development and to create a better condition for government official to complete their assigned tasks.
14:18:59 local time 
THAILAND
* Workers ‘unable to pay bills’ despite pay rise:
Despite the increase in the daily minimum wage to Bt300, blue-collar workers’ debts have risen this year due to the effects of last year’s floods and the rising cost of living, according to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
* Workers suffer despite wage rise:
Rising prices for food, electricity, other essentials offset higher earnings.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her economic chieftains hope higher minimum wages and civil service salaries will help reduce the income gap, spur productivity gains and consumption and push the economy up a level. read more.
15:18:59 local time 
INDONESIA
* Labor Ruling Looks Set to Boost May Day Rallies:
A recent ruling in favor of workers in a labor dispute is expected to boost Tuesday’s planned massive May Day rallies as police and military prepare to impose a heavy security presence on the streets across the country. read more.
* Thousands of laborers to join May Day rallies:
Labor unions in different cities across Indonesia have pledged to stage massive rallies in different places on May Day, which falls on Tuesday.
Bekasi-based labor activist Obon Tabroni confirmed on Sunday that some 35,000 laborers from Bekasi would join the May Day massive rally in the heart of Jakarta.
read more.
13:18:59 local time 
BANGLA DESH
* Seminar on child labour held:
About 1.29 million Children involve in hazardous works in Bangladesh.
Children are involved in child labour due to existing situation of country and society. Child labour is harmful for children’s health and development.
Elimination of child labour is possible through participation of all in the society, said the speakers in a seminar held at local hotel on Saturday, says a press release.
read more in Business/Economy.
* Bangladesh should be world’s largest RMG exporter:
US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena on Saturday said Bangladesh should be
the world’s largest readymade garment exporter.
“Bangladesh could be and should be the world’s largest readymade garment exporter, the world’s largest household textiles exporter and a major global player in building freighters, in information technology, in producing pharmaceuticals, in manufacturing finished leather goods, in exporting seafood, in producing and processing silk, in finding new uses for the fiber of tomorrow jute … and the list goes on and on,” he
said. read more.
* BLF observes ‘World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace’:
Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation (BLF) observed ‘World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace’ on Saturday with the theme of promoting safety and health issues in a green economy. On the occasion of the day, BLF organised a discussion meeting and formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club, says a press release.
(..)
At their speeches, the speakers placed various demands including ensuring safety and health issues in the work places, creating a trust fund to settle compensation of affected workers, implement of labour law, stopping child labour, etc. read more.
* ‘1.29 m children involved in hazardous works in Bangladesh’:
About 1.29 million children are involved in hazardous works in Bangladesh.
Children are involved in child labour due to existing situation of country and society.
Child labour is harmful for children’s health and development.
Elimination of Child labour is possible through participation of all in the society, said the speakers.
People’s Oriented Programme Implementation (POPI) an NGO and Learning for Life, UK based organisation jointly organised a workshop on ‘Child Labour Elimiantion in Bangladesh’ held at Hotel Rupushi Bangla in the capital on Saturday noon. read more.
* Bangladesh eyes more cotton from Uzbekistan:
A business delegation will fly to Uzbekistan on May 4 to find ways to sign an agreement to ensure smooth supply of cotton as India has banned exports of the item.
read more.
12:48:59 local time 
INDIA
* Faridabad textile industry weave Growth; focusing more on exports:
The textile industry has always been a key pillar of Faridabad’s economy.Now, on the back of double-digit growth rate and high volumes trade, the industry keeps the local economy on a still stronger footing. The compound annual growth rate of 20 percent is proof that the industry is a key growth driver for Faridabad. read more.
* Board of Trade likely to meet before Foreign Trade Policy:
The Board of Trade, chaired by Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma, is likely to meet soon before finalising the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) to discuss measures to arrest the slowdown in export growth and contain the rising trade deficit. read more.
* Green norms: Crackdown on top firms for violation:
In a crackdown on big players for flouting environment norms, the pollution control department sealed the kitchen and diesel genset of a reputed hotel in Manesar and sealed equipment of two major garment export factories. read more.
* Garment makers eye emerging markets:
Apparel export companies in India are eyeing emerging markets like South Africa and Latin America, as demand in traditional markets such as Europe and the US has come down considerably in the last one year.
While value of exports increased by 18% to $13.7 billion, exporters said the increase has been primarily because of rise in prices of raw materials.
According to the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), volume of apparel exports fell by nearly 8% due to lack of demand in Europe. read more.
* 2 minor girls working as helps rescued in Gurgaon:
In yet another case of minor girls being employed as domestic helps, two teenagers were rescued from the house of a garment factory owner in Sushant Lok I, Block D, on Thursday.
While one of the rescued girls is a citizen of Nepal, the other hails from Madhepura district in Bihar. The Nepalese girl claimed that she was neither getting any salary nor allowed to speak to or visit her parents. read more.
12:18:59 local time 
PAKISTAN
* Lint trading remains firm at cotton market:
Lint trading remained firm on higher demand amid fine lint in focus with strong physical prices past week, traders at the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) said on Saturday.
During past week buyers bought lint of all grades while sellers with fine grades offered their produce on slightly higher prices at around Rs 6,900 per maund, traders said.
14:18:59 local time 
CAMBODIA
* Garment sector peace sought:
Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on unions, employers and the Ministry of Labour to take a collaborative approach to stamping out violent protests in the garment industry, a unionist said yesterday.
During a Saturday conference involving 4,000 people from more than 60 union groups, Hun Sen said each group must work to “improve the atmosphere in the garment sector”, according to Som Aun, president of the Cambodian Labour Union Federation.
read more .
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* River Rich Textile gets $1m claim after fire:
Asia Insurance (Cambodia) Plc on Friday paid US$1.1 million to a garment manufacturer after a fire destroyed a company warehouse in late March last year.
A River Rich Textile warehouse, holding the company’s products in Kandal province, burned down after an electrical circuit caused a fire, the company said during a press conference on Friday. read more.
* Chut Wutty’s wife says he was target for murder:
The wife of slain environmental activist Chut Wutty today rejected early police accounts of the circumstances around his shooting death, saying she believed he had been targeted for death for his work in protecting Cambodia’s endangered forests.
read more.
* Investigations mount in Chut Wutty slaying:
Eyewitness accounts that emerged this weekend shone significant light on last Thursday’s slaying of environmentalist Chut Wutty, but large questions remain, such as the name of the “company” an official said sent military police there to intervene in the first place. read more.
* Activist Chut Wutty foresaw tragic end:
With her three children sitting beside her in front of their deceased father’s photo, Chut Wutty’s wife, 40-year-old Sam Chanthy, told reporters at her husband’s funeral yesterday that he had barely seen them before his death because he had been so devoted to the cause he fought for. read more.
