Samsung blues
Global action against rights and safety violator Samsung after frequently fatal occupational diseases are exposed. Hazards 142, April-June 2018
Toxic company
The reputation of Samsung, battered by a catastrophic product recall and a bribery scandal that brought down both the company’s heir apparent and Korea’s president, is in tatters. Hazards 137, January-March 2017
Anatomy of a cancer cover up
The UK’s official workplace health and safety watchdog is helping the microelectronics industry cover up worrying evidence of occupational cancer risks, a campaign group has charged. Phase Two, which represents workers who believe their health was damaged by exposures at National Semiconductor’s (NSUK) plant in Greenock, Scotland, was speaking out on the 24 August publication of a Health and Safety Executive-backed study into cancer rates at the factory.
Hazards Green jobs blog, 25 August 2010 • see Hazards coverage Anatomy of a cancer cover up
Samsung's shame
Campaigners have so far collated evidence suggesting 23 Samsung workers in Korea have suffered from haematopoietic cancers like leukaemia or lymphoma, and at least nine workers have died. Hazards 110, April-June 2010
Production lies
After hearing reports that women workers at the National Semiconductor microchip factory in Greenock were serious health problems, local advice worker Jim McCourt set up Phase Two, a group representing sick employees. The company's response was a dirty tricks campaign. Jim tells his story.
Hazards 76, October-December 2006.
DIRTY SECRETS ‘Stories from the Clean Room’ is a documentary from South Korea revealing the dirty secrets of the electronics industry. Twenty-three former factory workers tell their personal stories of toxic workplace exposures, corporate malfeasance, and their fight for justice.
COMPLICIT The film ‘Complcit tells the story of Yi Yeting, a former migrant worker struggling to survive occupational leukaemia in China's electronics factory zone. He discovers a resource centre that helps other workers in similar situations, poisoned by benzene and n-hexane. Deciding to work on the cases of several teenagers stricken while making smartphones he brings his fight against benzene from his hospital room to Silicon Valley and the international stage. Against huge odds Yi directly confronts corporate and government interests, while empowering and inspiring the people around him. http://complicitfilm.org
"Complicit" 2017 Trailer from ComplicitFilm on Vimeo.
Resources
Supporters for the Health and Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry (SHARPS)
Samsung campaign facebook page
Good Electronics
International Campaign for Responsible Technology (ICRT)
Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC)
ITUC Samsung Exposed campaign
Modern Technology, Medieval Conditions, an ITUC report on Samsung’s operations worldwide, September 2016.
Stories of Women Workers in Vietnam’s Electronics Industry, report by CGFED and IPEN, November 2017.
Complicit, a film by Heather White and Lynn Zhang, 2017.
Stories from the clean room, a film by IPEN and SHARPS, 2018.
News
Korea: Samsung finally agrees diseases compensation arbitration
After years of pressure, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has finally agreed to a binding arbitration framework that calls on the multinational corporation to fully compensate victims of its occupational disease cluster. On 21 July, Samsung said it would act unconditionally on an arbitration proposal expected from a mediation committee in October.
SHARPS news report. Hankyoreh. Kyunghyang. JTBC TV. Hong Kong Standard. Risks 859. 28 July 2018
Global: Samsung singled out for its bad chemical practices
One of the giants of consumer electronics is a laggard in chemicals management, with workers particularly badly hit, environmental and workers’ rights groups have said. South Korean multinational Samsung has faced prolonged criticism of its failure to protect factory workers from exposure to dangerous substances.
Chemical Watch, Global Business Briefing, July 2018 [subscription only]. Samsung Sustainability Report 2018. Risks 857. 14 July 2018
ELECTRONICS
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