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Last year was not a good one for workers in Asia – collapsing factories, facility fires, stagnant wages and spiralling living costs – and the rest of the world came to know about it. As a result, found research company AsiaInspection, audits of suppliers in countries such as Bangladesh, India and China shot up dramatically, by 61% in Bangladesh. With an astonishing – and frankly repulsive – 78m children of 17 and under in work in the Asia Pacific region alone, according to the US Department of Labor, it is hardly surprising that working conditions, among other things in global supply chains, are expected to come under increased focus this year.