Campaigning for a Sweat Free Olympics for London 2012
Can you feel the excitement building?
As London gears up to host the 2012 Olympics, we look here at the story behind the glitz and glamour of the occasion and of the increasing pressure some of the biggest sports brands are being put under to make sure these are a “sweat free Olympics”.
In the UK alone, sportswear sales in 2010 were estimated to be A�4.5 billion, with Nike and Adidas the global leaders and Pentland (the makers of Speedo), the largest UK-based brand.
These household names will have a high profile at London 2012 and their sales and profits are predicted to rise as the Games approach.
Yet these are the very brands, it is alleged, who are routinely breaking every rule in the book when it comes to the labour rights of their workers.
Labourers making sportswear still suffer from excessive working hours, unpleasant working conditions, poverty wages, temporary contracts and unstable employment and denial of union rights.
Campaigners are working to raise the bar on these rights. Brands working under the Olympic banner of fairness, equality and respect should be doing more to end slavery and exploitation in the sportswear industry.
As an example, the minimum monthly wage in Indonesia, where a lot of sports gear is manufactured, is A�67, yet a living wage sufficient to feed, clothe, shelter and educate a worker and his or her children is A�129 – roughly double the minimum wage.
In Indonesia, the minimum wage is rarely surpassed – leaving the garment workers struggling well below the poverty line.
And this is all happening right now, in 2012.
Surely this situation needs to change?
If these facts have prompted you to think again about this issue, you can take action today to call on brand leaders such as Adidas, Nike and Pentland to pay workers a living wage, respect union rights and ensure workers have job security, wherever that might be in the world.
You can register your views by simply visiting campaigning websites, such as Labour Behind the Label.
It is part of the campaign coalition formed around this issue and supports garment workers worldwide.
There is much more information available by searching the internet, including videos, latest news and discussions about this concerning and topical issue.
So, thank you for reading. Let`s work together to make these a “sweat free Olympics” that the whole of the UK can be proud of, with a guilt-free conscience.
