What do you expect from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as head of the Olympic family and owner of the Olypmic symbols, when it comes to respecting workers’ rights?

Well, Playfair 2012 expects the IOC to show leadership for starters. No where in the IOC’s Code of Ethics does it mention respect for the human rights of workers involved in delivering the Games. This isn’t just a glaring omission. The IOC has resisted calls from the international Play Fair campaign to make this change to the Code for several years. Yet the Olympic Charter talks about “respect for…. fundamental ethical principles”. So from the IOC’s perspective, does this not  include respect for the rights of these workers? 

The IOC should show leadership by ensuring that contracts between members of the Olympic family and companies providing goods and services to the Games include respect for internationally recognised labour standards. Crucial as this may seem to the delivery of ‘the greatest show on earth’ the IOC’s position is this….

“The IOC does not directly manage and control the production of all Olympic-related products across the world. As you can imagine, there are many products and sporting goods sourced for the Olympic Games, the Organising Committees, the 205 National Olympic Committees and the 35 International Sports Federations. The IOC does, however, encourage all parties within the Olympic Movement to work with suppliers who adhere to fair and ethical labour practices. For branded products managed directly by the IOC, the necessary contractual clauses exist in our supplier purchasing agreements.”  Andrew Mitchell, International Relations Manager, IOC

Translating into….”it’s not our responsibility, even though we own the Olypmic logo and symbols”. Encouraging members of the Olympic family to work with suppliers who adhere to fair and ethical laobur practices is taking a soft approach to respecting workers’ human rights.

The exploitative working conditions documented in Toying with Workers’ Rights (Play Fair, 2012) demonstrates that the IOC’s approach isn’t working, and hasn’t been working for some time – given the similar conditions found in Olympic production for Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004.

Play Fair will continue to call on the IOC to take concrete steps to protect workers’ rights (see Toying with Workers’ Rights for more details), and to build on the progress made by London 2012. It’s time for the IOC to stop abdicating responsibility for ensuring that the human rights of workers involved in delivering the Games are respected.

March 30th, 2012 Sharon Sukhram

Playfair 2012’s online/card action calls on Adidas (the official sportswear sponsor for London 2012), Nike and Speedo (Pentland) to:

• pay a living wage
• take a positive approach to trade unions
• provide job security
• build long-term relationships with their suppliers.

This action will be closing on 1 April 2012, after which thousands of cards signed by Playfair 2012 supporters will be handed over to representatives from Adidas, Nike and Speedo in London.

Thank you if you have already taken this action. If you haven’t please do, and share it with friends and family: Tell Adidas, Nike and Speedo to stop fooling around with workers’ rights. Unfortunately, we aren’t closing the action because the brands have raised the bar on workers’ rights. In fact, they have made little progress on ensuring that the human rights of workers making their goods are respected. This table summaries what the brands say they are doing, and why it’s not nearly enough.

Playfair 2012 will be launching a new action targeting the big sportswear brands soon – so watch this space…

March 23rd, 2012 Sharon Sukhram

Extracts from Toying with Workers’ Rights (Play Fair, 2012) 

Worker making London 2012 pin badges in China

The Olympic movement states that it aims to “build a better world through sport”, but for  workers making the Olympic mascots and London 2012 pin badges, this translates into poverty pay, long hours and poor health and safety.

Wang, 29 years old, works in a factory which made London 2012 pin badges for Olympic licensee, Honav. He lives with his wife in a small rented room outside the factory where he works.

Workers like Wang, who were making London 2012 pin badges in China, could be paid as little as 64 pence an hour. Wang would have to work for around 10 hours just to afford to buy 1 pin badge, which retails in the UK for around £6.50.

On their low wages, Wang and his wife can’t afford for their son to live with them, so he stays with Wang’s mother in their home village. They only get to visit their son once a year at Chinese New Year.

“Sometimes I buy a lottery ticket and hope I get some luck.” says Wang.

Zhang, 28 years-old, works in a factory making Olympic mascots Manderville and Wenlock for licensee Golden Bear. She’s paid a piece rate, and her basic pay can be around £170 a month, for a 40-hour working week. And yet, a wage that allows Zhang and others working in this area of China to cover their basic needs and have some extra, is estimated at around £225 a month.

 “I hope the Olympic Games Committee can tell us how much a plush toy is sold for and gives us a fair unit price.” says Zhang.

Zhang sends most of her wages home to her family in her home village, where her two children live. On her days off she stays in her room to avoid spending money, and during peak season, she does two to four hours overtime a day to top up her low pay.

In the factory where she worked, some workers were not even being paid the legal minimum wage, and temporary workers in both factories were paid below the legal rates. 

Under Chinese law, workers are entitled to social insurance benefits, including pensions, work-related injury insurance and medical insurance. In the factory making pin badges, many workers thought that they were protected by social insurance, but investigations revealed that only a small proportion of workers were enrolled on the scheme. Workers under 30 years-old making the Olympic mascots were being discriminated against, with no social insurance payments being made, affecting the majority of the workforce.

In China, workers should get a pay-slip under labour law, but those making the Olympic mascots didn’t receive a pay-slip at all, and most workers interviewed said they had no idea how their wages were calculated. Those making pin-badges did get a pay slip, but it didn’t provide a clear breakdown of how wages were calculated.

Workers making goods for the ‘greatest show on earth’ shouldn’t need to depend on the lottery to enable them and their families to live in dignity, and at minimum, they should have their human rights and legal rights respected.

Extract from Toying with Workers’ Rights (Play Fair, 2012). Following publication of this report the organisers of the London Games signed a ground-breaking agreement with the TUC on behalf of the Playfair 2012 campaign to take a number of actions to protect the rights of workers making Olympic goods in its supply chains. This is a positive step forward and the campaign will be working closely with the London 2012 organisers on delivering these commitments. Playfair 2012 is also working with Golden Bear Toys to help try to improve conditions in the factory investigated. But to ensure the lessons learned from London 2012 benefit Rio 2016 and all future Games, the International Olympic Committee needs to take responsibility and to act (see page 21), to ensure that no workers are exploited in the name of the Olympics.

March 9th, 2012 Sharon Sukhram

February 28th, 2012

A new law, PLS728-11, that has being analyzed by the Commission of Education, Culture and Sports of the Brazilian upper legislative house .It aims to “improve the safety of the Confederations Cup 2013 and World Cup 2014″ creating 8 new types of crimes and changing the regulation of the right to strike of workers, three months before and during this mega sporting events in Brazil.

March 7th, 2012 Sharon Sukhram

The organisers of the London Games have today (24.2.12) published the names and addresses of factories in the UK and China producing Olympic goods until June 2012, covering 72% of production. This follows the ground-breaking agreement signed between the TUC/Playfair 2012 campaign and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

The Playfair 2012 campaign recognises that LOCOG is the first Games organiser to take this step towards transparency and we welcome the progress that the organisers and some companies have now made in this respect. Companies listed are: Adidas (disclosed July 2011); Golden Bear Toys; Haymarket Publishing; Honav; Hornby Hobbies Ltd; Innovative Sports Limited; Merrythought; Samlerhuset; The Royal Mail; The Royal Mint; and WWRD.  We hope that more London 2012 licensees/suppliers will follow suit and agree to be more open about where their goods are made and the conditions in which they are produced. Read more…

February 24th, 2012 Sharon Sukhram

In response to the evidence of exploitation of workers producing goods for London 2012, detailed in the new report Toying with Workers’ Rights (Play Fair, 2012), the organisers of the London Games have signed a ground-breaking agreement with the Playfair 2012 campaign to protect the rights of workers in its supply chains.

“Consumers may feel the Olypmic mascots are fun and cute, they will never think of the hard work, low wages…..we have in the    factory.” Worker making London 2012 mascots, China. (Play Fair, 2012) Read more…

February 23rd, 2012 Sharon Sukhram

Four Shot in Svay Rieng

The Phnom Penh Post (20 February 2012)

At least four workers were shot this morning during a protest outside a shoe factory in Cambodia that supplies the sportswear brand PUMA, leaving two in critical condition.

Workers have alleged that a police officer opened fire on protestors outside the Kaoway Sports Ltd. factory in Bavet town, Svay Rieng province, near Cambodia’s border with Vietnam.

More than 6,000 workers were throwing rocks at the factory in protest of unfair working conditions, police said, but denied an officer had shot anyone.

PUMA has said it is investigating the case and will issue an official statement shortly.

Government officials have thus far declined to comment or been unavailable.

Kaoway Sports Ltd. have not been available for comment.

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It has since been confirmed that one worker, at least, has died following this incident

February 20th, 2012 Sharon Sukhram

December 21st, 2011 Sharon Sukhram

Playfair 2012 and the international Play Fair campaign have maintained regular dialogue with Adidas, the official sportswear sponsor for London 2012; Nike and Pentland (makers of Speedo) on respecting workers’ rights in their global supply chains. Dialogue has focused on our key demands – paying a living wage; taking a positive approach to trade unionism; providing job security; and building long-term relationships with suppliers. The campaigns have made practical suggestions about how positive changes can be made.

While the brands have made some improvements in some areas, and mainly on paper, they still aren’t pulling their weight when it comes to respecting the human rights of the workers who make their products. 

Read about what Adidas, Nike and Speedo say they are doing on respecting workers’ rights – and Play Fair’s response

December 21st, 2011 Sharon Sukhram

Workers making sportswear for the major brands should have their rights respected. But this continues to be a distant reality for many workers. With the London Games just around the corner, Olympic values like respect, equality and fair play, should extend to the workers who help make the Games possible.

Interview with Asalettin Arslanoglu, Director of Organising, Textile, Knitting and Clothing Workers’ Union of Turkey (TEKSIF) Read more…

November 29th, 2011 Sharon Sukhram