With the death toll now exceeding 350, the collapse last week of a factory building in Bangladesh helps focus attention on International Workers’ Day – May 1 -- as well as Workers’ Memorial Day and National Day of Mourning (in Canada), both of which were yesterday but continue to be observed in ceremonies this week.

A representative from the International Labour Organization (ILO) interviewed recently on Vatican Radio said changes must occur in industry and government to assure greater safety for workers.

Seiji Machida, head of the ILO’s SafeWork Programme, said globalization has moved a large amount of manufacturing to developing countries where workplace safety is difficult to assess because statistics are hard to come by in these areas.