柬埔寨鞋廠事故凸顯安全生產隱患

The collapse of a floor piled high with material in a Cambodia sneaker factory killed three people and drew fresh attention to safety problems in low-cost countries serving the world's apparel retailers.

柬埔寨一運動鞋生產廠的一個堆滿材料的樓層坍塌，造成三人死亡。事故引發外界再次關注這些爲全球服裝零售商供應低成本產品的國家的生產安全問題。

Three people died early Thursday and at least six others were injured in a new industry accident, which occurred when a ceiling collapsed in a factory outside the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. An official at Asics Corp., a Japanese sneaker company whose brand is popular among athletes in the U.S. and elsewhere, confirmed that the factory is one of its suppliers. The company said it was investigating and trying to determine what, if any, safety precautions had been taken.

週四清早，柬埔寨首都金邊城外一座工廠的天花板坍塌。這起最新工業事故造成三人死亡，至少六人受傷。日本運動鞋生產商亞瑟士(Asics Corp.)的一位管理人員證實說，這家工廠是其供應商之一。亞瑟士品牌很受美國等國運動員的歡迎。該公司表示，正在調查事故原因，並試圖確定該工廠是否採取了任何安全防範措施。

'We are deeply shocked and saddened to hear of this terrible accident,' Asics spokeswoman Masayo Hasegawa said. 'Safety is of paramount importance for Asics.'

亞瑟士發言人長谷川雅代(Masayo Hasegawa)說，聽到發生了這樣一起可怕事故，我們都深感震驚和悲痛，安全生產對亞瑟士來說是最重要的。

The collapse came on the heels of other, more-deadly garment disasters in recent months, including the collapse of a building housing factories in Bangladesh this month that killed more than 1,000 people. It also shone a light on the role of Asian retailers' attempts to compete with Western brands by expanding production in lower-cost countries.

服裝業這幾個月已陸續發生了一系列致死人數更多的事故，其中包括本月孟加拉國一棟內有數家制衣廠的建築倒塌，造成1,000多人死亡。另外，此事也暴露出亞洲零售商試圖通過在勞動力成本更低的國家擴大生產來與西方品牌競爭所帶來的影響。

The factory involved in Thursday's deaths, Wing Star Shoes, was built a year and a half ago by a joint venture between Asics subsidiary Asics Trading Co. and a Taiwanese partner. A chronic problem at Asics had been production delays and poor-quality products at Chinese factories where it outsourced production, and the new factory was built with the aim to help tighten quality control.

週四發生事故的鞋廠是Wing Star Shoes，一年半前由亞瑟士的子公司Asics Trading Co.與一家臺灣合作伙伴組建的合資企業建造。亞瑟士以前將生產外包給中國工廠時，經常會出現生產延誤和產品質量低下的問題，建柬埔寨這座新工廠的目的就是幫助加強質量控制。

Workers at the scene said the deaths occurred when a mezzanine level used for storage collapsed after bearing too much weight. They said the mezzanine floors were added to the site in the past two months to connect buildings at the factory, which employs more than 6,000 people. Workers performed tasks under the mezzanines, including operating machines cleaning the soles of Asics running shoes.

現場的工人說，被用來儲物的閣樓因承重過大發生坍塌，造成人員傷亡。他們說，閣樓是過去兩個月加蓋的，作用是連接工廠內的樓房。該工廠有員工6,000餘名。員工在閣樓下面工作，包括操作清洗亞瑟士跑步鞋鞋底的機器。

The level that collapsed was stuffed with tons of pallets piled with cardboard boxes, crates of tissue-paper wrappings and other dense, heavy materials.

坍塌的那個閣樓上有數噸貨盤，貨盤上則堆的是硬紙盒、成箱的包裝紙和其它很重的密緻材料。

It wasn't clear whether the addition of the mezzanine met local building codes. Ith Sam Heng, Cambodia's social-affairs minister, told reporters authorities are investigating the addition.

不清楚加蓋的閣樓是否符合當地建築法規。柬埔寨社會事務部長Ith Sam Heng對記者說，當局正在調查加蓋閣樓一事。

The recent spate of accidents in the garment trade, especially in Bangladesh, where in addition to the building collapse more than 100 have also died in factory fires over the past year -- has led labor unions and worker-safety groups to press Western retailers to tighten oversight of their supply chains.

製衣業近來發生的一連串事故導致工會和維護工人安全權利的組織強烈要求西方零售商加強對供應鏈的監管。特別是孟加拉國，除本月倒塌的那棟樓外，過去一年該國有100多人死於工廠火災事故。

The Cambodian accident, while much smaller than other recent disasters, nevertheless fits a pattern of dangerous work conditions in Asian garment factories.

雖然比起製衣業近期發生的事故，柬埔寨的這起事故規模很小，但也是由亞洲製衣廠工作環境危險所致。

Asics's sales are smaller than a global heavyweights like Nike, and it has become increasingly reliant on low-cost manufacturing partners in other parts of Asia. Since 2008, the company has shifted emphasis toward gaining market share overseas -- especially in the Americas.

亞瑟士在銷量上不及耐克(Nike)等全球巨頭，並且愈發依賴亞洲其它地方低成本的製造夥伴，2008年以來，該公司一直在將重點轉移至奪取海外市場份額，特別是美洲市場份額。