From London 2012

Paying a living wage to adults can help eliminate child labour
Making a sports jacket – paying a living wage to adults can help eliminate child labour

To ensure the London Olympics provides Decent Work for all, Playfair 2012 has asked the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, to take a number of actions, these include:

  • Contracts between the London organisers and sponsors of the Games, such as Adidas; and suppliers of Olympic goods must include obligations to meet internationally recognised labour standards.
  • Factory supplier locations and audit results be disclosed.
  • If workers’ rights are violated, there should be a procedure which enables workers to make a complaint and for this be dealt with. This should involve trade unions and local labour rights organisations.

“I make around 20 yuan*per day. We have to keep track of our own output, so we can verify our numbers with the company’s to make sure they pay us the right amount at the end for the month.”

(*approx £1.88. Worker making Olympic branded bags for Beijing 2008, Yue Wing Cheong Light Products, China)

Campaign progress:

As a result of ongoing talks between Playfair 2012 and the organisers of the London Games (LOCOG), the organisers agreed to include adherence to the Ethical Trading Initiative base code in their Sourcing Code which covers all contracts with their suppliers/licensees. Therefore, suppliers/licensees must “comply” with these standards, which include payment of a living wage, respect for the right to freedom of association and safe and healthy working conditions.

This is a big step forward, and the first time this has ever happened for a major world sporting event.

However, the real test is whether these standards are actaully being respected in the workplace. The London Organisers tell us that their suppliers are meeting high ethical standards and are abiding by the Ethical Trading Initiative code. But until the organisers publicly disclose their global supply chains, including the actual production sites, Playfair 2012 is unable to verify their claims through work with local unions and labour rights organisations on the ground. Playfair 2012 continues to engage with LOCOG on the importance of transparency in the interests of workers’ rights and public accountability.

Playfair 2012 has also been successful in persuading LOCOG of the need for a complaints mechanism to enable workers in their global supply chains to report any violations of their rights and for these to be investigated and resolved. The mechanism is now finalised and included in LOCOG’s Sustainable Sourcing Code. But LOCOG has yet to systematically communicate information about the mechanism to its suppliers, even though Olympic merchandise is already on sale on our high streets. The campaign is also calling on LOCOG to ensure  that workers receive training about their rights and information about how to use the mechanism, in their local languages.

Playfair 2012 continues to engage with LOCOG on outstanding issues.

In more depth: Olympics and workers’ rights: the story so far (2008)