International
News
- May 2005
 Paris , April 4, 2005 (AFP/USA Today) – Air France
on Friday unveiled a new range of uniforms for its 36,000
staff members designed by couturier Christian Lacroix.
Representing the first makeover in 17 years, the new
line consists of more than 100 items – all in trademark
dark blue – which can be mixed and matched in different
ways “like a woman’s wardrobe,” in the
words of Lacroix. Included in the ensemble are tailored
suits for men and women, some with Chinese-inspired collars
and slim-fitting navy dresses with red bow belts that conjure
up Audrey Hepburn. Christian Lacroix-printed scarves and
red leather gloves add to the ready-to-wear vibe.
“In a way Air France and haute couture inhabit
the same universe – a world where tradition and technology
intermingle, and where the aim is to diffuse and perpetuate
a certain French style of living,” said Air France
president, Jean-Cyril Spinetta.
The cost of the refit was 20 million euros ($26 million
U.S. ) and some 650,000 pieces have been manufactured,
the company said. Pilots, hostesses and counter staff will
begin wearing the uniform on April 5 th.
Tokyo , April 2, 2005 (Reuters) - Japan is to try to
improve morale among its swelling prison population by
giving inmates more attractively colored uniforms and bedding.
Experts have advised the government that the clashing
orange and green striped bedcovers prisons have been using
for more than half a century could make prisoners nervous
and aggressive, Kyodo news agency said.
To ensure a good night’s
sleep, psychologists have recommended bedding in warm colors such as brown
and other earth tones.
Black and white striped
pajamas and yellow-green uniforms were also criticized as "lacking brightness".
The psychologists recommended they be replaced
with mint green and pale blue outfits, to give prisoners a more positive
outlook, Kyodo said.
Japan is rethinking
its treatment of its more than 60 000 prison inmates after uncovering incidents
of fatal abuse by guards at Nagoya Prison in 2001 and 2002.
London , April 27, 2005 (Gulf Times) - Hundreds of thousands
of nurses have too few uniforms to wear a clean outfit
for work each day, it was revealed yesterday. The news
came as the Royal College of Nursing launched a campaign
to tackle the MRSA crisis.
Some nurses have been criticized for wearing uniforms
outside work, which could lead to a spread of infections
picked up on the fabric. But the RCN said yesterday that
members do not have enough uniforms and that some hospitals
are so short of facilities they have to change in patient
lavatories.
Its 10-point plan calls on the next government to invest
hundreds of thousands of pounds in new uniforms, introduce
24-hour cleaning teams and train all staff in infection
control.
The call came as the Tories pledged £10mn to enable
all NHS hospital trusts to introduce state-of-the-art nasal
swab testing technology so MRSA can be diagnosed in hours
rather than days.
General secretary Beverly Malone told the RCN congress
in Harrogate that the problem cannot be solved with hand-washing
measures alone. At least 400,000 extra uniforms were needed,
she said.
“It’s common sense that healthcare staff
should have a separate uniform for every shift they work,” Dr
Malone added, launching the RCN’ Wipe it Out campaign. “But
we know this often isn’t the case - and the implications
for infection control are obvious.”
She also called on the next government to make sure hospitals
provide changing and laundry and facilities so staff do
not have to travel to and from work in their uniforms,
and so they can know the garments have been washed at a
high enough temperature to kill possible infections.
Research in today’s Nursing Standard found that
fewer than half of all NHS hospital trusts provide enough
uniforms.
The study also found that two-thirds of hospitals have
no laundry services for nurses and that 90% of healthcare
staff wash their own uniforms at home.
Malone added: “We have heard an awful lot about
how the different parties would tackle MRSA. But we know
it will be nurses and other healthcare staff who help wipe
it out, not politicians.” - London Evening Standard
Indonesia , April 17, 2005 (The Jakarta Post, as reported
by Reggy Sutanto and Tubagus Arie Rukmantara) - Since the
1970s, civil servants in the capital have been wearing
uniforms purchased by the city administration. Do civil
servants in other cities in Asia wear uniforms?
An informal survey on uniform policies in the capitals
of five neighboring countries in Asia reveals that Jakarta
is one of the few capitals in the region where civil servants
are required to wear uniforms on a daily basis. The only
capital that has a similar policy is Yangon in Myanmar
.
"It's just like Jakarta ," said a Myanmar Embassy
official, adding: "There they wear uniforms from the
top to the bottom level."
In Singapore , according to Dr. Russell Heng, a senior
fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies , aside
from police officers, firemen and military personnel, no
civil servants wear uniforms.
"As a general rule, no one wears uniforms," said
Dr. Russell, who also edits Sojourn, a journal covering
social issues in Southeast Asia .
"It has always been like this," said Russell. "In
the days of the British rule they never wore uniforms and
we just continued from there."
"Uniforms are necessary only when an image of authority
wants to be projected," said Russell. "The other
government employees are providing services on a day to
day basis. They should be measured more for efficiency
rather than authority."
In Vietnam , according to a Vietnam Embassy official
in Jakarta , there is no standard uniform for municipal
employees in Hanoi , nor are uniforms required for employees
in the national civil service. However, she said that the
city employees did observe a dress code, with female employees
wearing various colors of the Ao dai, the traditional
Vietnamese long dress, and men wearing business shirts.
Russell, who has conducted extensive research in Vietnam
, said that uniforms were not mandatory over there at this
time, adding that Vietnamese civil servants had not worn
uniforms on a day to day basis since the 1980s.
"A lot of communist countries went through a revolutionary
stage when they wore uniforms," said Russell. "In
Vietnam , that stage is over now."
"Now the civil servants are very much dressed like
those in Singapore and Malaysia ," said Russell.
In Malaysia , nobody wears uniforms daily except for
law enforcement personnel, such as police or immigration
officers, a staff member at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta
, told The Jakarta Post.
"In principal those
who wear uniforms are those with the authority to enforce
regulations," said the
embassy staffer, who declined to be identified.
Ahmad Rizal, of Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia , who deals with
civil servants there said that the only city employees
wearing uniforms in the capital were low-level employees,
such as cleaning service employees and drivers, and public
order officers.
"It's mainly because the administration wants to
project and portray a certain image," said Rizal,
who works at a charitable children's foundation.
He added that other civil servants owned uniforms, which
were subsidized, but only wore them during specific functions
and meetings.
In Thailand , employees of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
only wear uniforms once a week according, to Sittha Leiptabonsiri,
who works at a university in the Thai capital.
"They have uniforms, but they don't wear them every
day from Monday to Friday," said Sittha. "On
the days they aren't wearing a uniform, they have to wear
a tag with their name and position."
An official at the Thai Embassy in Jakarta concurred. "In
general there are no specific uniforms, just a standard
dress code," said the official. Most government employees
prefer to wear traditional Thai attire.
He added, however, that at some provincial offices, uniforms
were worn, because they were more affordable for the employees.
"A uniform is good because it shows unity and identifies
the organization being represented," said the official. "No
uniform is also good because it shows individuality and
uniqueness."
Melbourne, Australia, April 15, 2005 (Herald Sun, from
correspondents in Kuala Lumpur) - Lustful men and body-hugging
uniforms worn by Malaysia Airlines hostesses split legislators
along gender lines as both came under fire in parliament,
local media reported Friday.
Male lawmaker Idris Haron
complained that "such a tight body-hugging outfit
would result in male passengers sexually harassing the stewardess".
Female legislator Rozaiday Talib, a doctor, responded
by blaming boozy men for sexual harassment on aircraft,
the Sun reported. "When a person is slightly
intoxicated, he becomes bolder and his desires and libido
become stronger," she said.
Rozaiday was supported by another woman parliamentarian,
Tan Liam Hoe, who said: "When the male passengers
board a plane, all they tend to look at are the stewardesses'
bodies. This shows that they do not have strong values."
Another man, Salahudin Ayub, called for the national
carrier in this mainly Muslim country to replace the stewardesses'
elegant, full-length but shapely "kebaya" with "loose-fitting
and sober" dresses.
April 14, 2005 (Emerging Textiles) - A US decision to
reimpose quotas on apparel from China would boost exports
from a small number of low-cost countries, especially in
Asia and the Americas . Since new US limits would be very
rapidly filled, US buyers are expected to shift to sources
other than China without waiting for the final decision
by Washington . Depending on categories, India , Bangladesh
but also Sri Lanka and Central American countries could
take advantage of the China safeguards, as indicated by
our statistical analysis, category per category.
For a series of low-cost countries in Asia , the dream
could become reality. The US could rapidly reimpose quotas
on a large number of products from China after three investigations
that were already launched by US trade administration.
Six others could be decided in the coming days.
In sharp contrast with exports from China , apparel from
other countries would continue benefiting from a quota-free
access to the US market after US limits were phased out
in January.
Depending on categories, India and Bangladesh will be
the two first winners in Asia , followed by Sri Lanka .
Central American countries such as Honduras , El Salvador
and Guatemala could also enjoy a sharp rise in shipments
to the US market. In addition, Mexico ’s historical
decline would be curbed.
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