Word: labors
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...silly waste of money. First, the excuses to build it have a lot to do with terrorism. But the [9/11] terrorists didn't come from Mexico. Second, there is the world economy. Everyone is talking about free trade, but the wall doesn't allow for free trade of labor - although it's needed...
...official death toll fell some 20% last year, but as with many government statistics in China, the figures aren't sparking celebrations, even among safety officials. In fact, many industry observers believe that accidents are heavily underreported. Robin Munro, a human-rights activist at the Hong Kong--based China Labor Bulletin, working from an unofficial estimate given by a senior work-safety bureaucrat, thinks as many as 20,000 miners die in accidents each year. And that count doesn't include tens of thousands more of the country's estimated 5 million miners who die of lung afflictions and other...
...toll highlights more than the awful conditions in an industry that the China Labor Bulletin calls "blood coal." It also exposes one of the most critical issues faced by Beijing: the inability of the central government to get local authorities to follow orders. The official Chinese media repeatedly feature stories on how local administrators ignore orders from Beijing on everything from controlling public spending and cracking down on corruption to protecting the environment. "Mining is the perfect case study of central-government relations with local government in China," says Arthur Kroeber, editor of the China Economic Quarterly. "The clash...
...frightening prospect in a country whose future depends on how the current boom is handled. If China's economy continues on its hell-for-leather path, the country's air and water will become even more filthy than they are now, and its workers--many of whom labor in appalling conditions--will never enjoy the fruits of its economic growth. Yet no matter how enlightened Beijing technocrats may be or how thoughtfully new regulations may read, if local governments can do whatever they want, all is lost. Pan Yue, deputy head of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), regularly warns...
...hard-liners. The only immigration bill that Congress managed to push through last session cracked down on illegal border crossing. At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security has stepped up work-site enforcement of laws banning the employment of illegal immigrants. The effect has been a marked labor shortage, especially in agriculture. Growers nationwide blame the shortage for losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. With business leaning on lawmakers to do something, the crackdown has "increased the chances of comprehensive immigration reform," says a senior Senate Republican aide...