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Cambodia shoe factory collapse kills two, injures six

Updated: May 16, 2013 01:11:31pm
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New Delhi, May 16 (KNN):  With part of a concrete roof of a shoe factory collapsing in Cambodia, leaving at least six dead and six injured, workplace safety in countries involved in the garment industry continues to be in the spotlight, especially as it comes on the heels of the recent building collapse in Bangladesh that took 1,100 lives.

Over a 100 people may have been working in the factory when the collapse occurred, and it is still unclear how many are still trapped under the debris, according to a BBC report. 

Even as teams have been working to rescue people from the rubble, officials think that the weight of equipment stored on the roof of the shoe factory in Kampong Speu province, west of Phnom Penh could have caused the mishap.

Incidentally, the garment industry that employs over half a million people, is Cambodia's biggest employer and export earner.  Minimum monthly wage of workers in those factories which manufacture clothes for the US and European markets was recently increased from USD 61 to USD 75.

The factory, according to BBC is owned by a Taiwanese manufacturer.

It goes on to say that following the Bangladesh tragedy, more than a dozen European companies, including discount clothing company Primark and UK supermarket chain Tesco, have signed up to a new legally-binding deal aimed at improving factory conditions in Bangladesh.

However, many key US companies, including Gap Inc and Walmart, are not on board.  (KNN)

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