NEW TECHNOLOGY AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Concern has been growing f o r some time over the effects that workers may suffer from in the production of key new technology components such as semi-conductors and in the uncontrolled use of some electronic machines - word processors and computer visual display unit screens. It appears that in order for some people to be able to enjoy the electronic age others have to pay the price and it is women, many from the Third World, who suffer most.

The environment of the workplace has a huge effect on both workers psychologcal and physical well being, as well as on her ability to effective at her job. With the advent of new technologies the conditions in which many people work and the type of goods they produce are changing.

The workshop on new technologies and occupational health produced many examples where women in particular were subjected to punishing working conditions in which they were often unaware of the dangers of the production processes. Cases have been cited for some time now about the dangers that electronics production line workers, face in working with poisonous chemicals without adequate protection or even knowledge that they are dangerous. At the other end of the production process, office automation often simplifies work and can lead to increased stress, tension, and depression in office workers.

However, it is not always easy to prove that complaints and diseases are work related. People may find it difficult to express what they are suffering from or may confuse the symptoms which might only appear after a few years. Workers are rarely informed about the nature of the materials they use and very little health care is provided in factories even where dangerous chemicals or equipment are used. In the production of electronics, multinational firms

promote a clean and safe image though they appear to show little concern over the health of their workers - as the following case studies illustrate - and medical examinations are rarely given at the start of a worker's contract, making it difficult to prove responsibility for a deterioration in health. Governments compound the problem by rarely enforcing health and safety legislation in sectors where they are encouraging foreign investment. But it is not only multinationals who show little concern for their workers. Locally owned firms are not necessarily more conscientious in ensuring adequate working conditions.

As well as presenting clear evidence of some of the terrible conditions to which women workers are regularly subjected, the workshop came up with several recommendations which would drastically improve working conditions. These included:

* Workers should lobby to gain access to information about the types of processes they are working with, e.g. types of chemicals used, side effects of
chemicals and equipment, etc. In Norway, for example, all companies are obliged by law to list all chemicals used and to keep a record of who worked with which chemical and when.

* Organising among women workers. Due to various social and cultural reasons, women rarely act together. Where they have done so they have been successful.

* The establishment of procedures making it easier for workers to be able to submit claims for, and receive, adequate compensation.

The  Mabuchi  Gassing  Incident

This article is a portion of a paper prepared for the International Hoaen and New Technology Conference by the Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong the electronics industry has become the second largest export earner and huge numbers of women are employed by it. But as i  many developing countries trying to get ahead, little attention is paid to the well- being of the workers. This will fu lcarelessness will have to be changed quickly, however, if terrible accidents like the one about to be describe dare to be avoided.

On the 21st o f January,1983, women on the production line of a Japanese-owned electrical factory - Mabuchi Industry Co. Ltd. - suddenly felt unwell after in haling an obnoxious smelling gas from a newly installed ultra-violet light attached to a printing machine. They experienced violent coughing, nose bleeds , and pain in their lungs. Three days later they again felt unwell and the management got a contractor to install a ventilation system

The workers were instructed not to mention the incident and initially were told that if they asked for sick leave after feeling unwell from the gas leak, they would lose their good attendance bonus. But four days after the initial leak, four women workers felt so sick that they went to seek treatment at a government hospital. All of them were admitted and one of them, Chiu Fung-Lan (aged 19), arrived at the hospital in a semi- conscious state with a high fever. The following day, factory official switched off the ultra-violet light. A day later, three women workers went to file a complaint against the company at the local Labour Department office.

One of them fell unconscious on the way there and they were all rushed to the hospital. Labour Department officials arranged for tests to be carried
out in the factory the following Saturday, when it would be unoccupied. Meanwhile, more of the women from the factory turned up at the hospital every day and many were admitted. Chiu Fung-Lan' s condition deteriorated, she was suffering from toxic poisoning and pneumonia, and went into a coma which lasted four days.

 By the end of January, a total of 115 workers from Mabuchi had been hospitalised and only 33 had been discharged. Two weeks after the leak, 195 Mabuchi workers, mostly women, had sought hospital treatment and 125 were admitted. The gassing received front page coverage in the media, and some independent labour groups voiced their concern about the massive scale of the incident. But it was only on the 1st of February that the Labour Department announced that there was a possibility that the gas ozone had been one of the gasses leaked. Both the factory managers and the government insisted, however, that things were back to "normal" since a ventilation system had been installed and the ultra-violet lights were not being used. Host of the women were discharged from the hospital and the factory management repeatedly told the press that they were taking good care of t he affected workers. In mid-February, all the workers were given a red packet - a traditional Chinese way of giving gifts-containing HK$1,000 at the company"s Chinese New Year dinner and were assured that they would be well taken care of if they remained loyal to the company.

On the 6th of February, a researcher from the Asia Monitor Resource Centre working on chemical hazards in the electronics industry, had alerted the press to the possibility of the presence of phosphene among the leaked gasses which might have been responsible for the toxic gassing. Two days later the report released by the government chemist established that both ozone and phosphene had been present in the factory during the gassing . A leading article a couple of days later discussed the dangers of these gases to pregnant women. At the time of the accident, there were 13 pregnant women at Mabuchi and 11 of them had been admitted to the hospital after the gassing.

A public seminar was held by the Industrial Health Promotion Group two weeks later to urge the authorities to release information to the public on chemicals used in Hong Kong"s industries, together with details of their potential effects on health. The government's chief factory inspect or responded by saying that there were enough laws governing the use of chemicals in industry. But on the 3rd of March, it was reported in the press that one of the pregnant wome from Mabuchi, Mrs. Ng Ho Yuen-mei {aged 20), had been advised by her doctor to terminate the pregnancy. Between March and April, two of the other pregnant women aborted one of the foetuses was deformed

the Silicon War of Freda Castellano By Margarita T. Logarta 

BeloM is an excerpt f r om an article f i r s t published in MHO, a newspaper of the Philippines.

Her decision to join the ranks of the 35,000 Filipinas employed in the electronics industry was one Freda was never to forget. As an operator assigned to the Tin-Dip room of the plastics division, End Line department of Dynetics, a firm with a 55 percent Filipino interest, Freda's job was to soak integrated circuits into chemical solutions designed to rust proof and streng then them. She held no permanent post and did anything that was required. She was competent and worked quickly to meet the stiff daily quota of between 12,000 and 22,000 components.

After a year's service, however, Freda began to experience a general weakening of her body. She complained of headaches, nose bleeds, are curring cold, and a worsening of her sinusitis. A request to be transferred to another section was turned down because her department would have been very hard pressed to meet its quota without her. Freda bore her discomforts for several more months until December 1981 when she was admitted to the hospital with a raging fever and dark blotches on her legs  (hemotoma). She vomited constantly, could not see or speak clearly, and had difficulty supporting herself. However, Freda was discharged for Christmas and was prescribed 100 tablets offer rosulphate daily because it was thought that she had severe anemia.

By Hay the fever had returned, together with nodules in the groin, and a month later Freda was back in the hospital. Her sister tried to follow up Freda's SSS benefits from the factory in order to pay for the expensive hospital treatment, but her request got lost in bureaucratic red tape.

Desperate, she approached the Dynetics Employees Association (OEA) for help. The group discussed Freda' s case and concluded that her illness might have been caused by the conditions in the Tin- Dipstation. The DEA had earlier presented a paper to the management in which they had state d that in that section operators handled acids and other chemicals in a stuf f y, confined area which got terribly hot The management refused to provide any monetary assistance, saying that it would set a precendent for others workers' claims. So the DEA pooled P800 out of their own resources to provide treatment for Freda. The story reached the press and an agressive campaign for Freda, against the Dynetics management, began. This prompted the Dynetics to confront the DEA about its allegations and eventually some money was given to Freda.

Freda's case gave the DEA a rallying point and now meetings are called regularly to discuss the dangers of working in the factory. Much has yet to be done to improve the conditions and the management still denies any connection between the terrible work conditions in the Tin-Dip room and Freda's illness. The electronics industry is relatively new and few studies of occupational hazards have been carried out. ThePhilippine government is doing all it can to encourage investment, and any union action that might frighten investors is heavily restrained.

Chiu Fung-Ian and Mrs. Ng began to f i g h t for compensation and to file a lawsuit against the company, but because they earned so little (HK$1,000 /US$200), they could not afford the legal costs involved . They were still waiting for legal aid in May so that they could file. The two women went back to work at the factory, but when the management heard about their plans to sue the company rather than to accept compensation, they made life very difficult for the women. Inspite of having just left the hospital, they were removed from their old positions and given heavier work to do, and were constantly criticised for very small errors. They were also taunted by the managers that they would never win court case against Habuchi because Mabuchi could afford the best lawyers. Eventually the women had to resign.

The Mabuchi case illustrates how badly women workers can be exploited when they are not organised. These women' s rights were outrageously violated by their government and their company. They were slighted by the company managers, doctors and government labour officials who were virtually all male and all of whoi possessed at least five to ten years more education and earned three times the wages of the women.

The advent of production of new technology products has not improved the conditions of women workers in Hong Kong. Some have become further marginalised as they now have even less control over their working conditions and their rights. Action for change is pressing need.