Latest news with #labourers
The Guardian
01-08-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
China's fast-fashion capital slows down under Trump's trade war
Lingering at a day market for labourers in Panyu, an urban village on the outskirts of Guangzhou, Ms Qiu looks dejected. She is looking for a local factory that will hire her for the day to sew clothes – cheap tops and dresses that will be churned out on to China's e-commerce platforms, or bundled up for export to western shoppers. But she is not having much luck. 'The whole industry is struggling, and now there is a high tariff on Chinese goods because of the trade war. Many foreign clients have decreased their orders from China,' she says, declining to give her first name. Guangzhou, China's southern metropolis and the capital of Guangdong province, is home to nearly 20 million people. It is also the humming, whirring and buzzing heart of the global fast fashion industry. In its urban villages, ramshackle settlements that have been absorbed into the city's sprawl, millions of workers toil day and night in informal workshops to produce cheap garments. In one small, crowded factory, women sit behind sewing machines next to teetering mountains of starched black tutus. In another, pink denim jeans destined to be sold on fast fashion website Shein are piled high on every available worktop. Every morning, workers gather in informal labour markets like the one in Panyu to see if they can find work for the day sewing on hundreds of buttons, or ironing hundreds of collars. Depending on the complexity of the task, workers earn between one and 10 yuan per item, toiling for long hours in cramped conditions. 'This is hard-earned money,' says a worker in his 60s in Datang, another urban village about ten miles north of Panyu. Ironing jackets at 8am, before packaging them up to be exported, the man, who declined to give his name, was part-way through a shift that had started at 11pm the night before. He earned two yuan per jacket, he said. More than a dozen garment workers interviewed by the Guardian all said that a normal working day was 10 to 12 hours, with some saying they only took one rest day each month. While China's domestic e-commerce market has boomed in recent years, it is overseas orders that keep the factory lights on. Around one-quarter of the more than $100bn of textiles and apparel imported to the US came from China last year. Guangdong alone exported more than $7bn, according to data from the Global Trade & Industry Growth Lab by Sinoimex, a commercial data firm. But in April, Donald Trump, the US president, launched a trade war with China, which sent shockwaves through the global economy. Tariffs on Chinese goods reached 145%, with China responding with similar duties and trade restrictions, before the two countries agreed to a 90-day pause in May. With a 12 August deadline looming to reach a deal, workers in Guangzhou are wondering whether or not they'll be able to keep selling clothes to Americans. In Panyu, Yang Ruiping has run his small clothes factory, which specialises in tops and employs about 20 people, for two decades. About 30% of his orders are exported, mostly to Shein and Amazon, down from more than 50% before the pandemic. Although the pause in the trade war has eased the pressure on his business slightly, he still has 'little confidence in the US'. 'In the recent US-China trade war, if the tariffs go up, we need to lower the production costs to combat it,' he says. 'It leaves little room for profit'. With no room to cut wages any lower, Yang says he is already losing money on every top he sells. He keeps accepting the orders in order to keep the factory open, but with the domestic market becoming increasingly competitive, he is aware he might not be able to operate much longer. Shein is everywhere in Panyu. The China-founded, Singapore-headquartered company revolutionised the garment industry in Guangzhou, allowing small manufacturers like Yang to sell directly to western customers, and offering shoppers rock-bottom prices. While big high street brands operate larger, dedicated factories, Shein places small batch orders directly with independent manufacturers, ramping up production for the designs that sell well online. The flexibility of this model has fuelled the company's meteoric rise. Shein accounts for about 50% of the US fast fashion industry, according to Bloomberg Second Measure, a data analytics firm. The company's growth has also been thanks to a loopholes in the US customs regime, which allowed low-value goods to be imported free. In 2022, over 30% of all the small packages imported under the so-called 'de minimis' exemption came from Shein and Temu, another Chinese e-commerce company. On 2 May, Trump closed that loophole for goods from China and Hong Kong. This week, he expanded that ban to goods from all countries, meaning that suppliers can't avoid tariffs by shipping via third countries. A recent analysis by Reuters found that prices on Shein increased by an average of 23% between 24 April and 22 July. The US market is 'volatile and risky,' says Peng Jianshen, the boss of a medium-sized denim clothes factory in Zengcheng, another of Guangzhou's urban villages. 'When tariffs were suddenly increased, the entire US-focused production stopped. No one dared to continue'. Experts say that the uncertainty of the trade war could have a negative impact on working conditions, encouraging workers to add hours to their already punishingly long shifts. 'Generally, when we're talking about the garment industry in China, workers don't have rest days,' says Li Qiang, the founder of China Labor Watch, a US-based NGO. 'They're paid by piece rate. So they work as much as possible when the orders are still there.' But factory bosses in Guangzhou say the trade war is only the latest in a series of problems facing their industry. Global conflicts and low consumer spending in China mean that it's hard to pivot away from the US and towards other markets. Li Jun, a chain-smoking factory boss, runs a denim clothing factory that sells jeans to Russia. He says the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, plus the fact that many of his would-be customers have been drafted to fight in the conflict, have been bad for business. 'The economy is not doing well anywhere,' he says. 'A lot of factories are shutting down.' At his peak he was exporting 100,000 pairs of jeans per month, with more than half going to Russia, but now it's 30,000 to 40,000 pairs each month, meaning that he just about breaks even. Manufacturers in places like Guangzhou have long been the engine room of China's growth. But in recent years, keen to shed the label of being the world's factory, Beijing has been pouring all its political and economic support into hi-tech industries, such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors. 'The Chinese government no longer supports these kinds of light industries or small individual businesses,' Li says. 'It's really hard to keep things going'. Additional research by Lillian Yang
Reuters
22-07-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Tourists and labourers seek respite as Greece and Balkans gripped by heatwave
ATHENS, July 22 (Reuters) - Labourers were pausing outdoor work and tourists seeking out shade on Tuesday as Greece sweltered under its third heatwave of the summer and soaring temperatures gripped the wider Balkan region, fuelling wildfires in Albania. Situated at Europe's southernmost tip, Greece, which attracts dozens of millions of tourists every year, has always had hot and dry summers. But in recent years climate change has led to longer and more severe heatwaves, as well as destructive floods and wildfires. Couriers, food delivery riders and builders in the wider area of the Greek capital Athens and other regions were among those ordered to pause work from midday until 5 p.m., as the mercury was expected to climb as high as 43 degrees Celsius, the labour ministry said. Workers with underlying health issues were advised to work remotely to avoid heat stress. Outside the parliament building in central Athens, a soldier used a towel to wipe the sweat from the face of a presidential guard. Tourists in Athens, one of the most densely populated capitals in Europe sitting on a plain flanked by mountains, sought out air-conditioned restaurants and stores, and some said they were staying inside in the middle of the day. Authorities announced that the Acropolis, which sits on a rocky hill offering barely any shade and is Greece's most visited ancient site, would be closed for five hours from midday on Tuesday and Wednesday, a common step when temperatures soar. The heatwave will continue until Sunday, the Greek meteorological service said. Scorching heat also gripped neighboring Bulgaria on Tuesday, with authorities urging businesses to give away water and cut physical labour during high-risk hours. In Montenegro, major roads were congested as many rushed to the beaches to find relief from the heat. In Albania, firefighters assisted by four aircraft from Italy and Greece battled two wildfires at a national park in the north and near the southwestern village of Dukat. Last month, large parts of Western Europe sweltered in another severe heatwave that left many dead and triggered forest fires and health alerts across the region. Across the globe, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5 Celsius above the pre-industrial era for the first time. Research published last week showed that the soil surface temperature around Athens rose in some places by as much as 10 degrees Celsius since July 2024 after fires destroyed vegetation.
Khaleej Times
19-07-2025
- Climate
- Khaleej Times
Summer in UAE: Ajman Police distribute free ice cream, refreshments to workers
As temperatures soar close to 50°C in the country, most residents look for some respite from the heat. Ajman Police, in a show of compassion and warmth, distributed cold water and other refreshments to labourers in the area. The authority could be seen handing out packets of juice, laban and small cups of ice cream in the labour community. Officers were also handing out these freebies to other residents passing by. Watch the video below: This isn't the first time that the authority has conducted such an initiative. In 2023, it launched the 'We Come to You, Our Summer is Cool' campaign. It visited several sites to meet workers in an attempt to keep workers happy throughout the summer.
Free Malaysia Today
18-07-2025
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India
India's eastern region is prone to annual floods that kill dozens during peak monsoon season. (EPA Images pic) PATNA : Lightning strikes during monsoon storms in eastern India this week killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, officials said today. The deaths in Bihar occurred during fierce storms between Wednesday and yesterday, a state disaster management department statement said, with the victims mostly farmers and labourers working in the open. More heavy rain and lightning are forecast for parts of the state. Bihar state's disaster management minister, Vijay Kumar Mandal, told AFP that officials in vulnerable districts had been directed to 'create awareness to take precautionary steps following an alert on lightning'. The state government announced compensation of 4 million rupees to the families of those killed by lightning. At least 243 died by lightning in 2024 and 275 the year earlier, according to the state government. India's eastern region, including Bihar, is prone to annual floods that kill dozens and displace hundreds of thousands of people during peak monsoon season.
The Independent
29-06-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Two dead and seven missing after cloudburst triggers landslide in Indian Himalayas
At least two labourers were confirmed killed and seven remained missing after a cloudburst triggered a landslide in northern India early on Sunday. The disaster struck near an under-construction hotel in the Silai area of Uttarkashi along the Yamunotri National Highway, a key route leading to one of Hinduism 's holiest pilgrimage sites in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. A labour campsite housing 19 workers was swept away by a torrent of rainwater and debris, with 10 rescued thus far. Most of the victims, engaged in road construction, were believed to be from the neighbouring country of Nepal, PTI news agency reported. The two bodies were recovered around 18km downstream, from the banks of the Yamuna, local police officer Vikram Singh said. Uttarkashi magistrate Prashant Arya said a new landslide zone had formed near where the incident took place. 'There is an under-construction hotel near Silai. Adjacent to it, a new landslide zone has developed where no such incident had occurred before – it was considered a safe area,' he said. 'The rubble cascaded down near the hotel and hit the labourers' campsite.' Mr Arya said rescue operations were underway with teams from the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, and the police working in difficult terrain. 'Yamunotri Marg has also been affected,' he noted, referring to the critical highway leading to the Yamunotri temple. The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand, forecasting heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday. The state has experienced unrelenting rain since Saturday, causing rivers to swell and prompting fears of further landslides and flash floods. Connectivity to several areas of the state has been severely disrupted. A 10m stretch of the Yamunotri Highway has been washed away while key roads near Nandprayag and Bhaneropani have been blocked by landslides. In Rudraprayag, the Sonprayag–Munkatiya road, vital for access to the holy Kedarnath shrine, has been temporarily closed after fresh landslides. The Yamuna's water level has risen significantly, placing nearby settlements at risk. Amid the unfolding crisis, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he was in constant contact with district officials and had directed rescue and relief efforts. In response to the weather alert and hazardous conditions, Uttarakhand suspended the Char Dham Yatra for 24 hours. The pilgrimage, one of the holiest in the Hindu religion, involves visiting the four shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, and draws hundreds of thousands of devotees from across India and abroad each year. Vinay Shankar Pandey, commissioner of the Garhwal division, said that pilgrims were being stopped in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Sonprayag, and Vikasnagar for their safety. "As a precautionary measure, I have given instructions to police and administration officials to stop the pilgrims,' he said, reported the New Indian Express. Authorities were also urging residents and pilgrims to avoid riverbanks and unstable slopes.
