Analysts are worried that as inflation continues to rise and factory workers continue to see soaring costs with wages not increasing in line with inflation, this may lead to further strikes in Vietnam. Yesterday's Wall Street Journal reported how workers producing for a major electronics company in the North walked off the floor on the weekend demanding higher wages to cope with inflation. The number of strikes in the first quarter of 2008 have tripled in comparisson to the first quarter of 2007.  In April 21,000 workers at a Taiwanese shoe factory went on strike also demanding higher wages to cope. 

Stuck in debt, over six million rice farming families in Thailand fear that large investors will seize their farmland. In a seminar, Vilit Techapaibul, a businessman-turned-farmer, said that the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) forces farmers to grow rice with chemical fertilisers and pesticides, rather than advocating sustainable farming. He urges the government to allow more farmers access to the Agricultural Development Fund, which is currently accessible by only 4,000 out of 200,000 farmers who took out loans with BAAC. The fund offers a 1% interest rate in comparison to BAAC's 10%. More here.

Indonesia quit the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this week as it is unable to meet domestic demand due to aging wells and declining investment. The country has for decades helped cushion the cost of fuel to protect the poor but slashed subsidies this week causing prices at the pump to jump nearly 30 per cent overnight. To stave off massive street riots like those that quickened former dictator Suharto's downfall after he slashed subsidies in 1998, the government is offering US$10 a month to the country's 19 million poorest families. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has said “Although fuel prices have been raised by 28.7 percent, the government will have more in its budget for the poverty eradication program”. More here and here.

Costing the Community Development Council (CDC) about $6,100 more a month, demand among needy residents in the North West district has more than doubled since December to 363 food packages this month. Mayor Teo Ho Pin's response to the rising need for funds is Club 100 where members which include companies and "more abled" individuals, pledge $100 or more each month towards the North West Food Aid Fund, and leverage on their network of business associates and friends to secure more funds. What sets this apart from the usual fundraisers is that no donations are solicited from the public and invitations to join the club are sent through networking channels and private contacts. More here.