16/10/99 - Sweatshops spring up nationwide

                 Hundreds of Asians are believed to be sewing in Auckland sweatshops after
                 being lured by unscrupulous clothing companies. 

                 A spokeswoman for the Thai Embassy in Wellington said last night that she
                 feared many more illegal sweatshops were springing up in New Zealand. 

                 "Economic difficulties in Thailand mean many women are coming here because
                 they are told they can earn good money. Often they find they are trapped into
                 working for a pittance." 

                 A National Distribution Union spokesman, Mike Coleman, said Thursday's police
                 raid on a Glen Eden factory "merely scratched the surface." 

                 Chinese, Cambodian and Thai women were being forced into contracts. Their
                 passports were taken and they were told they had to work for nothing to pay
                 back their airfares. 

                 "I came across one company where Chinese women were working around the
                 clock and living down in the basement. As one was leaving the bunk, another
                 took her place to get some sleep." 

                 The Auckland City police manager, Howard Broad, said officers were devising a
                 national strategy to help foreign women forced to work for organised crime
                 groups, but it was the Labour Department's job to assist people in sweatshops. 

                 The Labour Department said it investigated all complaints but admitted not
                 knowing the scope of the problem. 

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