Workers sue Wal-Mart over work conditions<\/p>\n
Workers in six countries, including Indonesia, filed a class-
\naction lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday, claiming
\nthe world's largest retailer overlooks sweatshop conditions at
\ntoy and clothing factories from China to Nicaragua.<\/p>\n
The suit, filed in California state court in Los Angeles,
\nlists as plaintiffs 15 workers in Bangladesh, Swaziland,
\nIndonesia, China and Nicaragua. They claim they were paid below
\nminimum wage, forced to work unpaid overtime and in some cases
\neven endured beatings by supervisors.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit also lists four California plaintiffs, including
\ntwo unionized workers at Kroger Co. unit Ralph's and Safeway
\nInd. grocery stores, who claim Wal-Mart's entry into Southern
\nCalifornia forced their employers to reduce pay and benefits.<\/p>\n
The suit could cover anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 workers,
\naccording to attorney Terry Collingsworth of the International
\nLabor Rights Fund, which represents the plaintiffs. Wal-Mart's
\npotential liability could be in the hundreds of millions of
\ndollars, he said.<\/p>\n
Beth Keck, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart's international
\noperations, said the retailer had not been formally served with
\nthe lawsuit, but had received a copy from journalists who
\nobtained it from the lawyers involved.<\/p>\n
\"It's really too early for us to be able to say anything about
\nthis particular complaint,\" Keck said. \"It involves a number of
\ncompanies and manufacturers and we're just beginning our research
\nto learn more. We're just at that beginning research phase.\"<\/p>\n
Wal-Mart became the world's largest retailer by buying cheap,
\nforeign-made goods and selling them to consumers at rock-bottom
\nprices every day.<\/p>\n
Critics, however, say that low-price obsession has pressured
\nstore managers to overwork nonunion employees and the retailer
\nhas been hit with dozens of lawsuits claiming violations of wage-
\nand-hour laws.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, one worker in a facility producing \"George\"
\nlabel clothing for Wal-Mart regularly saw company representatives
\nvisit the factory and overheard her supervisor saying \"with Wal-
\nMart, we cannot have overtime (pay).\"<\/p>\n
In a Bangladeshi dress factory, a pregnant seamstress who
\npaused on the production line was \"kicked hard in her stomach\" by
\nher supervisor, according to the lawsuit. Another was slapped in
\nthe face with pants whenever she was unable to meet a quota of
\n120 pairs per hour.<\/p>\n
The company has also been the target of discrimination
\nlawsuits. Last year, a judge said a lawsuit that charges the
\ncompany discriminated against women in pay, promotions and
\ntraining could proceed as a class action. That suit, the largest
\nworkplace bias lawsuit in U.S. history, covers as many as 1.6
\nmillion current and former female U.S. employees. -- Reuters<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/workers-sue-wal-mart-over-work-conditions-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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