Cambodia shoe factory collapse kills 2

A ceiling collapsed at a Cambodian shoe factory on Thursday, killing at least two workers, police said, with regional industrial safety in the spotlight after last month's disaster in Bangladesh. "Two workers -- a man and a woman -- were killed and six others were injured," Khem Pannara, district police chief for the area in the southern province of Kampong Speu told AFP. "We cannot say how many were trapped under the debris," he said, adding that the area under the collapsed ceiling was a walkway. Last month a nine-storey factory complex outside Dhaka collapsed, killing 1,127 people in one of the world's worst industrial disasters and prompting pressure on Western retailers that rely on cheap labour in the region, where safety standards are often poor. One worker at the Cambodian factory said police and some staff were working to rescue people from the rubble. "Every day more than a hundred people work under that area, but I don't know how many were working this morning," said Sokny, 29. "I was so shocked. I am crying. I saw blood in the debris," she said. Cambodia earned $4.6 billion from its garment exports last year but a series of strikes has pointed to festering discontent over low wages and tough conditions. Protests by workers have also turned ugly. Three women, employees of Puma supplier Kaoway Sports, were wounded when a gunman opened fire on protesters demanding better working conditions at factories in February last year. The shooting prompted Puma, Gap and H&M to express their "deep concern" and urged a thorough investigation. But discontent lingers on the factory floor where 400,000 people of the 650,000 people employed in the industry work for foreign firms. The monthly minimum wage for the hundreds of thousands of workers who make clothes for firms such as Levi Strauss of the United States and Sweden's H&M this month rose from $61 to $75 after months of protest. Following the Bangladesh disaster top retailers this month pledged to make that country's factories safer. Top global brands including Benetton, Carrefour and Marks & Spencer joined clothing giants Inditex of Spain and H&M on Tuesday in signing on for the deal to improve fire and building safety to avert future disasters.