"...in this place, there is no boss banging over or taking advantage of us. There is no threat and insult. Most importantly, here is our own factory..."

This is the story of what happened after over 900 workers arrived for work at the Bed & Bath Factory in Bangkok o­n the morning of October 7th 2002 to find that the gates were locked and their bosses had run away, leaving all without o­ne cent of compensation. About 400 workers decided to fight for their rights and took action by camping o­n the ground-floor of the Ministry of Labour Building, where they remained for three months - until the authorities recognised their request in January 2003.

During the months preceeding the closure of the B & B factory the workers were producing for many brand names, in all for some 60 logos. The factory produced for brands like NIKE, ADIDAS, LEVI, HARLEY- DAVIDSON and for many smaller brands and shops in the USA ordering through agencies e.g. HADDAD the largest agency in the USA .

For more information, please visit: http://thailabour.org/index.html

Today, more than a thousand five hundred workers from seven states in Malaysia held a three-hour demonstration at Parliament house. The kind of mobilisation done by the factory and Union Coalition of JERIT o­n a working day would put even political parties and the Trade Union Movement to shame. The Government of Malaysia has declared that its ambition is to go for zero-strike target emphasising that workers' problems in Malaysia has been resolved. Union membership is at an all time low at less than 8%. Meanwhile the Malaysian workers continue to suffer the o­n-going neoliberal slaughter and other anti-working class measures. Under this serious problems facing the Malaysian workers, what is needed is a Workers Movement, which goes to the street to address the rice-bowl issues of the workers. Not a workers movement, which is comfortable in just representing workers for dismissal cases and conduction CA at Industrial courts.