Tsunami Takes Jobs And Lives

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Some 1 million people in Indonesia and Sri Lanka may have lost their jobs as a result of the December 26 tsunami disaster, according to a report by the United Nations' International Labor Organization (ILO). Most of the jobless worked in fishing, agriculture, tourism or small, informal businesses, the ILO said. The ILO is still assessing the impact of the tsunami on jobs in India, Thailand and other Indian Ocean countries hard hit by the deadly tsunami that claimed more than 200,000 lives. Donations to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center's Tsunami Relief Fund will go directly to union partners in those nations for medium- and long-term reconstruction and development; make checks payable to Solidarity Center Education Fund (marked “Tsunami Relief”) and send to Tsunami Relief Fund, Solidarity Center, 1925 K St., NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006-1105. Click here for more information.