Inno Community Development Organisation | Workplace Beyond. Equity Within.

Covid crisis fashion report: 'workers' rights, wellbeing and dignity should not be put on hold'

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 01:55:22 -0700

This article is originally written by Alyx Gorman, first post by The Guardian.

A special report by Baptist World Aid Australia has found that, throughout the Covid pandemic, 35% of fashion companies assessed did not show evidence that they had made regular payments to their suppliers.

This article is originally written by Stephen Frost, first post by GoBlu.

Last week, Inno Community Development Organisation (Inno) in China tackled with a troubling case related to the handling of tuberculosis (TB) in a supplier factory. Since it involves a top Chinese supplier to a luxury brand, the situation would appear to have implications for any brand sourcing from suppliers in China.

TB is an infectious airborne disease and is easily transmitted in crowded environments, such as factory workplaces, dormitories, and offices. It is spread through the air when people who have an active TB infection cough, sneeze, or otherwise transmit respiratory fluids through the air. Most infections do not have symptoms, known as latent tuberculosis. About one in ten latent infections eventually progresses to active disease which, if left untreated, kills more than 50 per cent of those so infected. China has the world’s second largest tuberculosis epidemic (after India), with more than 1.3 million new cases reported every year. Of the 37 notifiable communicable diseases in China, tuberculosis ranks first in terms of notified cases and deaths.

In the spirit of SDG 3 (to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages), Inno seeks to raise awareness on TB in the supply chain, and the procedures that should be in place to ensure a timely and adequate response to TB should it arise in factories.

The case: TB in a Chinese supplier

Last month, Inno’s Handshake Workers Hotline received a call from...Read More

NGOs, advocacy groups key to eliminating hepatitis

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:33:13 -0800

Speed read

A WHO plan to eliminate viral hepatitis is facing hurdles including stigma
NGO involvement is vital as they provide on the ground experience, information
Diagnosis, affordable treatment need to be scaled up to eliminate viral hepatitis

[MANILA] Stigma and marginalisation of people living with viral hepatitis are among barriers to a global plan to eliminate the disease as a public health threat by 2030, a conference in Shanghai, China, heard this month (15—19 February).

A highlight of the conference —convened by the Asia Pacific Association for Study of the Liver (APASL), the Coalition to Eradicate Viral Hepatitis in Asia Pacific (CEVHAP), the World Hepatitis Alliance and the Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control — was a forum participated by 25 NGOs from 13 Asia Pacific countries.

“The NGO sector involved in viral hepatitis provided a unique perspective in representing the needs of other key stakeholders involved in the elimination of viral hepatitis,” says Jinlin Hou, president of APASL and chair of the department of infectious diseases at the Southern Medical University in China. “They provide the on-the-ground, lived experience and the information that ensures that services provided by clinicians are effective and efficient.”

Viral hepatitis is a silent epidemic that kills 1.4 million people each year globally. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for a million of those deaths, a toll three times as much from HIV/AIDS. Around the world, 400 million people live with chronic hepatitis, and that number may rise as more people are screened and tested.

It was in May 2016 that the WHO released the Global Heath Sector Strategy on Viral...Read More

Conduct Guidelines for Children’s Rights Organizations in Mainland China

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 20:25:21 -0800

Introduction

With the rapid development of public welfare in China, public welfare organizations focussed on children’s issues have also grown and as a result have matured. As the guardian of children’s rights, children’s charity groups shall guarantee the rights of every employee as well as minimize possible dangers to children involved in their programs and activities. For this purpose, Save the Children,Beijing Social Organization Development Centre, Beijing Facilitator and Beijing Leadership Matrix Network have jointly drafted the “Guidelines for the conduct of child welfare organizations” (hereafter “the Guidelines”).
The Guidelines aim to improve the governance of children’s charity groups in order to: i) maximize the interests of children; and ii) provide a mechanism by which children’s charity groups can self-regulation and grow.
The Guidelines are based on the following principles and laws: i) the United Nations “Convention on the Rights of the Child”; ii) “The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Minors”; and iii) “Anti-domestic Violence Law of the People’s Republic of China”.

1. Definition, commitment and application

1.1 Definition
The term ‘child’ or ‘children’ in the Guidelines are defined by “The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors” as persons under the age of eighteen.
The term ‘children’s charity groups’ include public welfare organizations that focus on delivering programs or aid to children only, and include but are not limited to the Fund, Social Sector, Social Service Agencies and Social Enterprises.
The term ‘violence against children’ refers to any form of abuse, exploitation and/or violence to children, including corporal punishment, sexual...Read More

The Partnership between Inno and NEC Corporation

Fri, 01 Jan 2016 05:04:12 -0800

In fiscal 2015, NEC is preparing to extend its onsite assessment program to local subsidiaries and manufacturing contractors in China, Thailand and India.

Assessor training given by an NGO

Assessors on a factory inspection

Manager and document check

We have received messages from the two representatives of Inno Community Development Organisation, the NGO that conducted the assessor training in Shanghai, China, on Oct. 28, 2013.

Mr. Dee Lee, Director, Inno
Community Development Organisation

Ms. Haidi Xie, Deputy Director, Inno
Community Development Organisation

Through basic instruction and practice, employees of NEC procurement divisions learned the theory and technique of interviewing supplier employees and acquired a foundation for practical application. Employees were very positive about receiving the training, almost surprisingly so, and they were able to absorb a great deal through lively question-and-answer and discussion sessions. The role-playing with assessors and factory officials offered an exciting challenge that left a real impression.
If there is the opportunity, I hope to be able to sit in on interviews at factories and be of some assistance at actual worksites.

Going forward, I expect to see initiatives and improvements in the area of human rights and labor not only at manufacturing facilities but in other areas of procurement as well.

原文链接：http://www.nec.com/en/global/csr/data/2014/policy/procure-r.html

BMS to fund hepatitis projects in China and India

Thu, 04 Dec 2014 19:21:16 -0800

Bristol-Myers Squibb has awarded nine grants worth over £3.5m to support hepatitis projects in China and India.

The grants were made through BMS' Delivering Hope initiative, which has supported more than 40 projects in China and India since 2002, and will now focus on the most vulnerable and high-risk patient populations in both hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

John Damonti, president of the BMS Foundation and VP of corporate philanthropy at BMS, said: “Delivering Hope continues to increase its focus on hepatitis B and hepatitis B in China and India, the two countries that have the highest incidence of viral hepatitis worldwide.

In China, BMS awarded grants to the Peking University Education Foundation, Hepatitis B Foundation, Wu Jieping Medical Foundation and Inno Community Development Organisation. In India, the All India Institute of Diabetes and Research, MAMTA, United Way of Mumbai and SAMARTH will receive funding.

BMS awarded an additional grant to the World Hepatitis Alliance to develop an e-learning tool that will support patient groups to raise awareness of hepatitis treatment and prevention.

It is estimated that there are 123 millions people living with hepatitis B in China and India combined, while the figure is 60 million for hepatitis C. The problem is exacerbated in these countries as awareness of the virus is low so many patients go untreated.

Despite the continued prevalence of the infection the hepatitis market has been boosted in recent years by significant developments in treatments.

Gilead Sciences' Sovaldi has made more than $8.5bn in 2014 so far

This has been led by Gilead Sciences' record-breaking Sovaldi(sofosbuvir), which has...Read More

BMS awards nine new grants to fight against hepatitis B and C in China and India

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 19:34:36 -0800

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Foundation has awarded nine new grants for the projects in China and India, in a bid to combat Hepatitis B and C infection in both the countries.

The multi-year grants that worth about $3.5m will be used for the projects that focus on hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in high-risk patient populations.

The grants are being provided through the foundation's Delivering Hope initiative that supported about 40 projects in China and India since 2002.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation president John Damonti said: "Delivering Hope continues to increase its focus on HBV and HCV in China and India, the two countries that have the highest incidence of viral hepatitis worldwide."

The grants received in China include Peking University Education Foundation to develop virtual community for chronic hepatitis patients to provide a support system.

Hepatitis B Foundation, along with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, will develop a programme to empower rural patients to become actively involved in their disease management.

Wu Jieping Medical Foundation will conduct a study of the present status of HCV treatment and the factors that influence it and will investigate HCV management and education status among specific at-risk populations.

Inno Community Development Organisation will encourage self-screening and raise awareness among migrant workers, and will establish ten community-based Hepatitis C Intervention Centers for the migrant population in Guangdong Province.

In India, the grants secured include All India Institute of Diabetes and Research for a pilot programme in Mehsana and Sabarkantha, two rural districts in the state of Gujrat that have experienced HBV outbreaks.

MAMTA will provide training in HBV and HCV risk assessment, disease prevention and risk management for health care providers, including doctors, nurses, lab technicians and...Read More

Press | China's Officials Muzzle Labor Activists

Thu, 08 May 2014 04:45:33 -0700

This article was first published on Bloomberg

By Dexter Roberts

What happens to labor advocacy groups that try to help workers organize in China’s factories? For Shenzhen Chunfeng Labor Dispute Service Center, it’s meant repeated evictions from their offices, investigations for tax violations, and police warnings to the staff to stop their work or face unspecified consequences.

When Chunfeng advised striking workers at a Nike supplier in Dongguan, Guangdong, last month, police grabbed two of the center’s staff. “The party is afraid to give authority to the people,” says Chunfeng’s director, Zhang Zhiru, one of the two detained, who was held in a villa for two days. “They are afraid a strong civil society will destabilize their control.” Zhang says his colleague, Lin Dong, is still being held and has been accused of disturbing social order, a criminal offense.
“Civil society” is the slightly wonky term used by social activists worldwide to describe the network of nonprofit, nongovernment organizations, from churches to tenant groups and labor associations, that address people’s needs for faith, food, shelter, justice, health care, and respect in the workplace. Civil society is supposed to turn ordinary people into informed citizens ready to resist encroachments on their rights. In China, civil society has started putting down roots. But a crackdown by the authorities on the boldest civil groups may change that.

In the last few years, as authorities loosen controls, hundreds of thousands of organizations started to spring up. Well-known groups include the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and the health-focused Beijing Yirenping Center. Today more than 1.5 million officially registered groups address pollution, gender discrimination, and prejudice against those with HIV/AIDS, among other causes. Add in groups that aren’t officially designated NGOs, but operate as such, and the total could reach 10...Read More

China's Young Men Act Out in Factories

Fri, 02 May 2014 04:56:35 -0700

By Dexter Roberts @Bloomberg

Foxconn Technology’s factory complex in Longhua, Shenzhen, has three Olympic-size pools, numerous basketball courts, shops selling Haier minifridges and Xiaomi mobile phones, even a teahouse, the Foxconn Café. The Taiwanese company, which experienced a rash of worker suicides four years ago, has tried to make a community for the 135,000 migrant workers assembling iPads and Hewlett-Packard servers.

Twenty-one-year-old Bai Yaojie, a Foxconn worker, says he isn’t impressed. “Sure, wages are higher here than in my hometown, but I have friends and family back there,” says Bai, a native of Gansu province who earns more than 2,000 yuan ($220) a month. “Work here on the line is extremely boring and life feels meaningless,” he says, adding that he plans to return to his village by yearend, get a driver’s license, and start driving his own truck.

As China’s first generation of migrant workers reaches retirement age, their children are taking over factory jobs. In a marked shift from an earlier era when women dominated many production lines, more of these workers are young men. Many are creating new challenges on the factory floor, including increased impatience with rote work and higher turnover rates.

“When the older generation came to the coastal cities, their purpose was relatively simple: making money,” says Louis Woo, special assistant to the chief executive officer of Foxconn, adding that the factory workforce is now about two-thirds male and more “rowdy” than when it was half female five years ago. “The younger generation doesn’t want to continue doing work that is very mundane,” he says. Turnover, at 5 percent to 10 percent a month in the electronics sector, is one of Foxconn’s biggest challenges.

The men bring other problems with them: Seventy percent of the 134 female factory workers surveyed in Guangzhou last fall reported experiencing sexual harassment, including offensive comments, leering, and...Read More

Can China keep its workers happy as strikes and protests rise?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:33:01 -0800

By Mukul Devichand
BBC Radio 4, Crossing Continents

There has been a wave of strikes and riots among migrant workers manning production lines in southern China, but can the government keep the "factory of the world" running smoothly?

Chinese officials are not renowned for giving straight answers. But in Guangzhou, China's manufacturing megacity, they are quite candid about the need to give equal rights to migrant workers.

Is this one of the biggest challenges China is facing, I ask Chen Hao Tian, an official representing the government of China's third city.

"Yes," he says simply.

Migration from the countryside has provided the cheap labour that has fuelled China's boom. Half of the 14 million residents here are migrant workers.

But in recent months, each week has brought news of strikes in factories in Guangzhou and other cities across Guangdong province.

There has been rioting, too. In Zengcheng, an outlying suburb, migrants from Sichuan fought against locals, overturned cars and torched buildings in a sudden outburst this summer.

Rural v city

Chinese factory workers want better pay - and in Guangzhou a number of strikes have achieved this objective.

But another problem for the migrant workers is discrimination under the legal system, which denies them the same rights and access to public services as the city dwellers they live alongside.

The frustration of factory workers matters to Guangdong, which wants to keep migrants coming to the province to keep its factories growing.

But Mr Chen, a senior official at Guangzhou's reform and development commission, says the city is beginning to address the problem.

"Migrant workers live and work in this city and we must provide them with basic rights and benefits," he says.
Our country is developing so quickly, but we...Read More