Coronavirus crisis, Asia and Australia

This 2 April 2020 video from India says about itself:

EXPOSED: Manufacturing Firms Lobby With Government To Procure PPE Contracts; Provide Sub-Standard Gear

The first cases from the coronavirus outbreak in India were recorded in Kerala among students who had returned from China, while those with travel history from Italy formed the second wave. The ‘COVID-19’ novel coronavirus caused its first death in India on March 11, with a 76-year-old in Karnataka succumbing.

From the World Socialist Web Site, 2 April 2020:

India: Assam tea workers demand coronavirus lockdown wages

Tens of thousands of tea plantation workers in India’s north-eastern state of Assam protested on April 28 to demand payment of wages during the coronavirus lockdown. The demonstration involved workers from tea gardens across the state.

Workers said that they have not received their wages even though the central and state governments had ordered on March 29 and April 2 respectively that they should be paid in full during the lockdown period.

The protest was called by the All India Central Council of Trade Unions and supported by Asom Sangrami Chaah Shromik Sangha. Protesting workers said that Tea Board India was silent on the outstanding pay.

Gujarat diamond cutters demonstrate against being forced to work in lockdown

Workers from the Diamond Bourse in Surat, Gujarat stopped work on April 28 in protest against being forced to work during the coronavirus lockdown. They accused management of not being concerned about their safety and demanded that they be sent back home to their original towns and villages.

Migrant workers in Tamil Nadu demand safe transport home

Around 100 workers affected by the coronavirus lockdown protested on April 24 outside the Revenue Divisional Office (RDO) in Sriperumbudur. The workers, most of whom are from Jharkhand state, north of Tamil Nadu, gathered near the office in the morning and demanded safe transport to their family homes.

The protest ended after a RDO official told them that the workers could not be sent back to their homes in Jharkhand state because of the lockdown but claimed they would be provided food and water during this period.

Municipal sanitary workers in Ramanathapuram demand time off

Sanitary workers from Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu held a sit-down protest outside the Ramanathapuram Corporation on April 26 to demand time off during the coronavirus pandemic. They told the media that they needed it because their workload had been increased during the pandemic and that were risking their lives. …

Protests continue in Bangladesh

On Tuesday, garment workers at a factory in Jessore walked off the job and demonstrated warning they would not return to work unless their safety was assured. The protested occurred after workers discovered that a fellow employee had tested positive with COVID-19. …

Other protests over unpaid wages were held last Sunday in Dhaka, Narayanganj, and Savar. Some factories have not paid wages for February and March. The workers were supposed to be paid on April 16 but it was postponed to April 25.

Taiwan medics protest for greater hazard compensation

At-risk healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients demanded hazard subsidies on Tuesday, in line with payments made during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

The protest was held outside of the Center of Disease Control headquarters in Taipei and involved representatives from the Taipei Doctors Union and National Taiwan University Hospital Union.

Hazard pay rates announced last week by the Central Epidemic Command Center are lower than amounts paid in 2003. At that time doctor could receive up to $NT10,000 per day and a nurse $6,000.

The new measures also stipulate that only one doctor per ward and one nurse per shift in a ward could apply for the subsidy. …

Thousands of Cambodian construction workers leave sites, fearing coronavirus infection

The Cambodia Construction Association (CCA) has reported that over the last two months over 90,000 workers have left building sites in fear of contracting COVID-19. The CCA said 300,000 workers are usually employed on construction sites.

Meanwhile, thousands of Cambodian garment workers who have been forced back to work have complained that employers are not providing additional protection against the virus.

The Cambodian embassy in Thailand has urged the two million Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand not to return home fearing that they will spread the highly infectious virus.

Australian government fast-tracks review of lockdown measures. By Oscar Grenfell, 2 May 2020. New clusters have emerged, including among meat workers in Melbourne, as governments seek to prematurely end social-distancing measures.