Wednesday, 13 January 2010
On eve of Vancouver Games, MSN/PlayFair campaign launch website rating sportswear brands on worker rights
This morning, Kevin Thomas of the Maquila Solidarity Network was on CIUT's Take 5 to talk about the launch of the Play Fair website:
"With the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games only weeks away, an international coalition of worker rights organizations has released its rating of commitments made by major sportswear brands to eliminate sweatshop abuses in their global supply chains. The ratings are based on the responses of the sportswear companies, including Nike, Adidas, Puma and others, to a series of demands put forward by the coalition on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics."
It's a complicated business, but sounds like the report has done it justicc - definately worth checking out.
"With the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games only weeks away, an international coalition of worker rights organizations has released its rating of commitments made by major sportswear brands to eliminate sweatshop abuses in their global supply chains. The ratings are based on the responses of the sportswear companies, including Nike, Adidas, Puma and others, to a series of demands put forward by the coalition on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics."
It's a complicated business, but sounds like the report has done it justicc - definately worth checking out.
Labels: 2010 Olympics, Maquila Solidarity Network, sweatshops
Monday, 9 June 2008
Ethical Trading Forum Igniting the Flame for a Sweat-free Olympics
A recent notice from the Maquila Solidarity Network's Ethical Trading Action Group regarding their Igniting the flame for a sweat-free Olympics Ethical Trading Forum:
Forum participants will discuss and debate:
* Can workers making Olympic-branded products expect fair labour practices?
* How far and how fast do sportswear brands need to go to improve wages and working conditions?
* Does "made in China" equal "poor working conditions"?
* What can companies, governments, trade unions and NGOs do to promote and protect worker rights in China?
Speakers at the forum will include:
* Doug Miller, International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation
* Monina Wong, Labour Action China, Hong Kong
* Caitlin Morris, Director of Compliance, Integration and Collaboration, Nike Inc.
* Ann Duffy, Corporate Sustainability Officer, VANOC
* Ginny Coughlin, Global Strategies Director, UNITE HERE!
* Jim Sinclair, President, British Columbia Federation of Labour
* Kevin Thomas, Director of Advocacy, Maquila Solidarity Network
For more information on the forum, as well as a flyer to download,
please go to: http://en.maquilasolidarity.org/en/etf2008
The forum is co-sponsored by the BC Federation of Labour, the Canadian
Labour Congress, the Ethical Trading Action Group, and the New
Westminster and Vancouver labour councils.
To register, please contact the CLC Pacific Regional Office:
pacific@clc-ctc.ca, 604-430-6766. (Registration fee: $30 civil society
organizations; $50 companies; $10 students.)
Thank you.
Lynda Yanz
Coordinator, Maquila Solidarity Network
Secretariat, Ethical Trading Action Group
Forum participants will discuss and debate:
* Can workers making Olympic-branded products expect fair labour practices?
* How far and how fast do sportswear brands need to go to improve wages and working conditions?
* Does "made in China" equal "poor working conditions"?
* What can companies, governments, trade unions and NGOs do to promote and protect worker rights in China?
Speakers at the forum will include:
* Doug Miller, International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation
* Monina Wong, Labour Action China, Hong Kong
* Caitlin Morris, Director of Compliance, Integration and Collaboration, Nike Inc.
* Ann Duffy, Corporate Sustainability Officer, VANOC
* Ginny Coughlin, Global Strategies Director, UNITE HERE!
* Jim Sinclair, President, British Columbia Federation of Labour
* Kevin Thomas, Director of Advocacy, Maquila Solidarity Network
For more information on the forum, as well as a flyer to download,
please go to: http://en.maquilasolidarity.org/en/etf2008
The forum is co-sponsored by the BC Federation of Labour, the Canadian
Labour Congress, the Ethical Trading Action Group, and the New
Westminster and Vancouver labour councils.
To register, please contact the CLC Pacific Regional Office:
pacific@clc-ctc.ca, 604-430-6766. (Registration fee: $30 civil society
organizations; $50 companies; $10 students.)
Thank you.
Lynda Yanz
Coordinator, Maquila Solidarity Network
Secretariat, Ethical Trading Action Group
Labels: 2008 Olympics, sweatshops
Saturday, 15 March 2008
York Students Win No-Sweatshop Commitment with 45-Hour Sit-In
York Students Win No-Sweatshop Commitment with 45-Hour Sit-In:
Students' Victory Marks International Women's Day
TORONTO, March 8 /CNW/ - This morning, York University President Mamdouh
Shoukri met with students who had been holding a sit-in outside of his office
since 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. Shoukri committed to introduce a no-sweatshop
policy for York University by April 2008. "The policy will be at least as
progressive as U of T's and other universities', if not more," said Mamdouh
Shoukri, President of York University. "If other universities have had this
policy and withstood the test of time, I don't see why we can't do it too."
The York University president's commitment is the result of a 45 hour
sit-in by members of the York Sustainable Purchasing Coalition and their supporters.
The Coalition is a student group that has been lobbying York University for a
no-sweatshop policy for the past three years. "We are exhausted but pleased
with this commitment," said Terrance Luscombe, a York University student and
member of the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition. "York students don't want our
university to condone the use of sweatshop labour and we don't understand why
it took so long for university administrators to join the 21st Century and
make this simple commitment."
The Sustainable Purchasing Coalition held a rally Thursday asking the
university to adopt students' proposed 'no-sweat' policy. Immediately
following the rally, the students attempted to deliver a petition containing
more than 1,000 signatures in support of a no-sweatshop policy to President
Shoukri. When they were told the president was unavailable to see them, the
students decided to stay. The sit-in continued with students camping out for
two nights. "This is an excellent way to mark the 100th anniversary of
International Women's Day," said Kelly Holloway, President of the York
University Graduate Students' Association. "Unfortunately millions of workers
around the world, and even in North America, are still paid appallingly low
wages and denied basic workplace rights. We look forward to seeing York's
no-sweatshop policy in place by next month."
International Women's Day commemorates the efforts of 15,000 immigrant
women garment workers who demonstrated on the streets of New York City in
1908 to demand fair pay, shorter work hours, an end to child labour and the
right to vote.
A second meeting between representatives of the Sustainable Purchasing
Coalition and the president of York University will take place on Monday.
For further information: Terrance Luscombe, York Sustainable Purchasing
Coalition, (647) 834-3899; or Kelly Holloway, President, York University
Graduate Students' Association, (647) 886-0729
Students' Victory Marks International Women's Day
TORONTO, March 8 /CNW/ - This morning, York University President Mamdouh
Shoukri met with students who had been holding a sit-in outside of his office
since 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. Shoukri committed to introduce a no-sweatshop
policy for York University by April 2008. "The policy will be at least as
progressive as U of T's and other universities', if not more," said Mamdouh
Shoukri, President of York University. "If other universities have had this
policy and withstood the test of time, I don't see why we can't do it too."
The York University president's commitment is the result of a 45 hour
sit-in by members of the York Sustainable Purchasing Coalition and their supporters.
The Coalition is a student group that has been lobbying York University for a
no-sweatshop policy for the past three years. "We are exhausted but pleased
with this commitment," said Terrance Luscombe, a York University student and
member of the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition. "York students don't want our
university to condone the use of sweatshop labour and we don't understand why
it took so long for university administrators to join the 21st Century and
make this simple commitment."
The Sustainable Purchasing Coalition held a rally Thursday asking the
university to adopt students' proposed 'no-sweat' policy. Immediately
following the rally, the students attempted to deliver a petition containing
more than 1,000 signatures in support of a no-sweatshop policy to President
Shoukri. When they were told the president was unavailable to see them, the
students decided to stay. The sit-in continued with students camping out for
two nights. "This is an excellent way to mark the 100th anniversary of
International Women's Day," said Kelly Holloway, President of the York
University Graduate Students' Association. "Unfortunately millions of workers
around the world, and even in North America, are still paid appallingly low
wages and denied basic workplace rights. We look forward to seeing York's
no-sweatshop policy in place by next month."
International Women's Day commemorates the efforts of 15,000 immigrant
women garment workers who demonstrated on the streets of New York City in
1908 to demand fair pay, shorter work hours, an end to child labour and the
right to vote.
A second meeting between representatives of the Sustainable Purchasing
Coalition and the president of York University will take place on Monday.
For further information: Terrance Luscombe, York Sustainable Purchasing
Coalition, (647) 834-3899; or Kelly Holloway, President, York University
Graduate Students' Association, (647) 886-0729
Labels: sweatshops
Thursday, 1 November 2007
The Gap faces challenges living up to its ethical image
According to an October 28th, 2007 Observer article by Dan McDougall, Child sweatshop shame threatens Gap's ethical image and may cause a withdrawal of clothing ordered for Christmas:
"an undercover Observer investigation in the back streets of New Delhi, reveal a tragic consequence of the West's demand for cheap clothing. It exposes how, despite Gap's rigorous social audit systems launched in 2004 to weed out child labour in its production processes, the system is being abused by unscrupulous subcontractors. The result is that children, in this case working in conditions close to slavery, appear to still be making some of its clothes."
"an undercover Observer investigation in the back streets of New Delhi, reveal a tragic consequence of the West's demand for cheap clothing. It exposes how, despite Gap's rigorous social audit systems launched in 2004 to weed out child labour in its production processes, the system is being abused by unscrupulous subcontractors. The result is that children, in this case working in conditions close to slavery, appear to still be making some of its clothes."
Labels: sweatshops, The Gap
