Thousands rally for pay and work improvements after Bangladesh disaster reminds of dangers

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Thousands of low-paid workers are rallying in the streets on May Day to demand better pay and improved working conditions a week after a Bangladesh building collapse that was a grim reminder of how lax safety regulations make work a danger in poor countries.

Labourers in Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Turkey and other countries marched and chanted en masse Wednesday. They sounded complaints about being squeezed by big business amid the surging cost of living.

Thousands of garment factory workers in Bangladesh also paraded through the streets screaming for safeguards to be put in place and for the owner of the collapsed building to be punished.