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Horrific Working Conditions
Despite year round tropical temperatures, Ocean Sky sealed all factory windows and keeps doors shut once worker shifts begin. They say dust extractors are installed, but ventilators don't circulate fresh air. In late April, temperatures reached 98 degrees, and assembly lines are so closely packed that sewing machines increase heat levels.
"We feel dizzy from the heat," one worker said. Others complained of headaches and exhaustion by 2PM, and if not for loud music to maintain alertness, they'd doze off from extreme exposure. One sewing machine operator explained:
"We can feel the sweat running down our legs. We sweat so much our shirts stick to our bodies. It feels so uncomfortable. When I get onto the shuttle bus, I am ashamed because I smell so bad every day."
Filthy Drinking Water Not Fit for Washing
Gotten from factory taps, they fill small plastic bottles to use at work stations, but it tastes bad, they say. Yet supervisors call the water "filtered and good to drink." In April and August 2010, lab results showed it contained fecal coli, meaning it was contaminated with raw sewage liable to cause diarrhea and salmonella poisoning. Pseudomona aeruginosa and heterotrophic bacteria were also found, a lab report saying:
"We have found a large amount of bacteria in the water, and it is serious. The water is totally polluted, and can cause sickness in humans such as diarrhea, stomach pain, stomach infections, nausea, vomiting, and can foster conditions for parasites and amoebas. The Pseudomona aeruginosa bacteria can grow in small cuts in the skin and can cause skin infections even for workers who have small cuts on their hands if they wash with this water."
"We recommend an investigation of the water pipes, a cleaning of the pipes using chlorine, and to check and clean the filters, or install new" ones.
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