The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Some 150 RMG workers from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are being threatened with deportation by their Jordanian factory owner as they protested abuse, cheating them of wages and imprisonment.

The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday reported that a workers-rights group raised the allegation against the subcontractor that makes clothing for Victoria's Secret, a world famous brand.

According to the workers-rights group report released Tuesday, workers said they've been producing Victoria's Secret merchandise for a year, working up to 96 hours per week without overtime pay and being subjected to slapping or beating for making mistakes or missing production targets.

When factory managers increased the workload last month-requiring each worker to sew one garment about every three minutes-some employees protested, saying such demands were impossible to fulfill, the report said.

Six of them were then jailed, prompting the remainder of the factory's 150 workers to go on strike on November 12, according to the group.

The National Labour Committee, which last year published findings from a yearlong investigation into abuses at Jordanian sweatshops, said the factory workers contacted the advocacy group to ask for help.

The committee's findings last year led to congressional hearings on Jordanian trade agreements and promises from that country's government to crack down on labour rights violations.

Jordan, which signed a free-trade agreement with the United States in 2001, has become a hub for apparel making in recent years.