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KevinLee937 — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 18:57:00 GMT

KevinLee937 : /* V.I. unemployment climbs above 7% */ nouvelle section

== 17 US Clothing Retailers Sign Bangladesh Factory Safety Pact ==

<html>After a horrific factory collapse last April that killed over 1,100 Bangladeshi workers, 17 North American retailers who depend on the country’s cheap labor force to produce many of their products finally agreed to a five-year pact that would improve safety at production facilities and extend accountability for accidents to the country’s government, as well as factory owners.
Among the 17 companies are household names such as the Gap (GAP), Target (TGT), and Wal-Mart (WMT), as well as Sears Holdings (SHLD), Nordstrom (JWN), Kohl’s (KSS),[http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~h-tanaka/apri/i/bbs/bbs.cgi?res=21798 Dallas SEO- Take Advantage Of The Increasing Onlin], and Macy’s (M). The firms have agreed to a one-year deadline for inspecting all Bangladeshi facilities that make their products, and a three-month deadline for coming up with new safety guidelines.
The pressure on American companies working in Bangladesh to act on concerns about worker safety came from several directions. First, April’s incident followed an earlier catastrophe last November during which 112 workers died after being trapped in the basement of a garment factory that had caught fire.
Second, the April incident elicited a rather quick response from 72 European companies using Bangladeshi labor, who in May signed their own safety pact that was hashed out with local rights groups and trade unions. The objections on the part of US companies to this global pact hinged ostensibly on fears of unlimited liability,[http://www.nsl.co.jp/jinzai/postmail.cgi The Importance of Having a Mobile Website], and,[http://www.px.tsukuba.ac.jp/home/tcm/kyoshida/cgi-bin/postmail.cgi Reach the Top of Search Engines with Site Optimiza], of course, the claim that unions were given too much leverage.
Thus, the companies who did not sign on with their European counterparts were under tremendous pressure to make a credible and public show of concern that could result in substantial corrective action. The new pact involves some 500 Bangladeshi factories, while the previous European version covers up to 1,000 of the country’s estimated 5,000 garment-making facilities.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Wal-Mart’s senior Vice President of global compliance, Jay Jorgensen, stressed how similar the North American and European pacts were, and signaled the willingness of US retailers to “work together with” the European accord. However, workers’ rights groups were immediately skeptical of this claim and accused North American companies of being more concerned about costs and expenses.
The European pact that includes companies such as Benetton and H M requires that each signatory pay as much as $500,000 a year to fund the program, in addition to committing to investment in renovation and safety to the tune of an estimated $600,000 per factory. Furthermore, the Europeans have sought to make their pact not only global but legally binding by creating a board of labor and business representatives who will preside over the resolution of grievances in a manner that is enforceable in the countries in which they do business.
Only a small number of US companies signed on to the global accord, and they include Abercrombie Fitch (ANF), Sean John, and PVH Holdings (PVH), the company that owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.</html>

== V.I. unemployment climbs above 7% ==

<html>ST. THOMAS -- The V.I. Labor Department announced that a seasonal drop in the number of available jobs has triggered eligibility for another of 23 weeks of extended unemployment benefits starting next week.
The eligibility for extended unemployment benefits is analyzed on a rolling basis by the U.S. Labor Department using factors such as the number of employers within a state or territory and the number of initial unemployment claims filed within a 13-week period. Last week, the total unemployment rate rose above 7 percent, the threshold for triggering eligibility for Tiers 1 and 2 of extended benefits, according to V.I. Labor Commissioner Albert Bryan Jr.
The national unemployment rate for May was 7.6 percent, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics.
The V.I. Labor Department holds that the unemployment rate for the Virgin Islands for the month of May was 13.2 percent, the same as that calculated for April. On St. Thomas, the rate was 11.7 percent, and on St. Croix, the rate was 15 percent, actually down about 2 percentage points since March. That decrease was because of fewer people filing initial claims, not to an increase in the number of hires on the island, though, Bryan said.
Eligibility for tiers of extended benefits is evaluated by the U.S. Labor Department every month using numbers based on the previous three months, Bryan said.
Bryan said more than 1,000 people who may have exhausted Tiers 1 or 2 of extended benefits may be able to collect longer because of the new eligibility status.
Extended unemployment benefits begin after 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits have been exhausted. Tier 1 lasts 20 weeks; Tier 2 offers 14 another 14 weeks; and Tier 3 offers an additional nine weeks beyond that.
In late February, the territory lost eligibility for Tier 4 benefits, the last available six-week period of extended unemployment benefits, because the federal government calculated the local unemployment rate to be below 9 percent,[http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=350246075558&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT Article Marketing Ideas To Build Your Content Busi], which Bryan said was because of tourist season jobs being filled.
The Virgin Islands typically dips below thresholds for extended unemployment benefits about the beginning of the year because many of the temporary tourism industry jobs have been filled. However, by the start of the summer,[http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/cgi-bin/user/toshiro/clip.cgi?mode=resmsg&no=547826 Utilizing Offshore Outsourcing to Make Your own Bu], those jobs drive up new claims numbers, allowing the Virgin Islands to extend unemployment benefits beyond Tier 1, Bryan said.
Bryan said it is possible that unemployment numbers could go up another 1 or 2 percentage points,[http://redneckhangout.com/entry.php?165420-Ronaldo-back-to-ranking-first Ronaldo back to ranking first], triggering eligibility for the final tier of benefits, Tier 4. However, Bryan also said there is a strong possibility that the entire extended unemployment benefits package could be withdrawn for 2014 if Congress does not reauthorize them.
Once a recipient begins a tier of benefits, it cannot be withdrawn even if the territory's unemployment rate dips back below the threshold. The threshold applies to new applicants only.
Still, Bryan cautioned those on unemployment benefits from making long-term plans based on the availability of benefits. Once regular benefits have been exhausted, extended benefits are unpredictable.
"People think it is a guaranteed check, but there are no guarantees. We could always trigger back off," Bryan said. "I don't want job seekers to have a false sense of security or to get complacent in their job search."
- Contact Amanda Norris at 714-9104 or email anorris@dailynews.vi.</html>

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KevinLee937 — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 10:33:25 GMT

KevinLee937 : 17 US Clothing Retailers Sign Bangladesh Factory Safety Pact

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