Spotlight News 02/04/2019

A new report from an international human rights NGO alleges that workers in Pakistan’s garment industry face widespread abuse, including sexual harassment, beatings, and other restrictions stemming from poor working conditions. The NGO interviewed workers and found that many suffered forced overtime and were denied wages, paid and maternity leave, and even restroom breaks. Many also stated that factories did not provide clean drinking water and employers deducted salaries of workers that fell ill. Two major textile and garment industry associations and one government employee disputed the NGO’s report, claiming that no evidence has been identified.

Canadian health officials are investigating the latest salmonella outbreak suspected of being tied to raw chicken products, prompting a recall of chicken nuggets sold in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Officials have so far reported hundreds of cases of salmonella across the entire country. This is the latest salmonella outbreak in Canada linked to raw, and often breaded, chicken products.

Workers at the Port of Veracruz in Mexico are threatening to launch a strike over the refusal by their employer to let them join a major labor union representing other workers at the facility. Although it is unclear how many workers would participate in the strike, it is likely that a labor stoppage in the group would have at least some minor impacts on the flow of cargo through the port. Workers have filed a grievance with the proper authorities in the meantime.

According to the Argentine government, authorities in the province of Mendoza have uncovered over 120 cases of labor exploitation in the last three years. Most of the victims were foreigners from Bolivia and Venezuela, although many were citizens from northern Argentina. All of the cases occurred on farms in Lujan, Maipu, and Tunuyan. The Mendoza government has since encouraged its citizens to report any suspicious situation that may indicate labor exploitation, such as the lack of payment, insufficient safety and hygiene procedures, workplace violence, or child labor.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Nogales, Arizona border crossing seized the largest-ever amount of fentanyl, along with the third-largest quantity of methamphetamine seized in Arizona, after stopping a cargo truck loaded with a shipment of cucumbers. Officers found the estimated 115 kilograms of fentanyl, enough to reportedly produce 100 million lethal doses, and 179 kilograms of methamphetamine in a hidden compartment located in the floor of the trailer.