BEIJING (AP) _ A top Chinese union official is blaming foreign
businesses for alleged labour abuse _ including child labour _ in
the production of official Olympic-licensed products in southern
China.
``We welcome foreign companies that respect Chinese laws and look
after their workers,'' Xie Liangmin, a senior official with the
All-China Federation of Trade Unions, said Tuesday in the state-run
China Daily newspaper. ``Those relying on cheap labour and making
profits by violating workers' rights will finally be ousted.''
The ACFTU is the Communist Party-controlled umbrella group for
government approved unions.
Xie's threat is the latest fallout from a report released by
PlayFair 2008, which alleges children as young as 12 work at
China-based factories producing Olympic-licensed products like bags,
caps and stationery products.
The report also alleges forced overtime and the violation of
minimum-wage rules.
Entitled ``No Medal for the Olympics on Labor Rights,'' the
report was critical of the local Beijing 2008 Olympics organizing
committee _ and the Lausanne-based International Olympic Committee _
for failing to monitor the production.
The 2008 Olympics are dwarfing records for spending, and top IOC
officials expect it to be the most profitable. Beijing is spending
about US$40 billion to modernize the city, and worldwide sponsors
are clamouring to be involved, hoping to tap demand from China's
growing middle class.
The PlayFair report said three of the companies were set up with
capital from Hong Kong, and the other was Taiwan-invested. One of
the companies _ Yue Wing Cheong Light Products (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. _
was listed with its headquarters in the United States.
All four companies reached by The Associated Press denied the
allegations.
Peter Ho, chief executive officer of Mainland Headwear Holdings
Ltd., issued a statement Tuesday.
``The allegations in the report from PlayFair about our factory
are totally groundless,'' the statement said. Ho said the lowest
paid workers in the factory in Shenzhen earned an average of US$145
monthly, above the legal minimum wage of US$90 in southern China.
Embarrassed local organizing officials released a statement
Monday saying they had ``a strict policy for manufacturers of
Olympics-licensed merchandise under a socially responsible
management system.''
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games
acknowledged the four companies have Olympic contracts, which it
said would be cancelled if the companies violated national labour
laws.
``BOCOG will deal with the issue seriously so as to maintain the
image and reputation of the Beijing Olympic Games,'' the statement
said.
The threat to cancel the contracts was criticized by PlayFair,
which said workers would be further harmed.
``The workers in these factories have been subjected to serious
exploitation,'' Brussels-based PlayFair said. ``The Beijing Games
Committee should insist that the companies respect the fundamental
rights of these workers and should not cut and run from a problem
for which the Olympics movement and, in particular, the IOC itself
must take full responsibility.''
The Switzerland-based IOC said it does not have direct control
over all official products that carry the five-ring Olympic label.
It said it has policies on fair labor standards that it expects
Olympic host cities and licensed manufacturers to follow.
The IOC rejected calls from FairPlay for additional monitoring,
saying it already works with associations of sporting goods makers
and retailers on codes of conduct.
In Washington on Monday, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called
for a ``thorough investigation'' by the IOC and the Beijing
organizers.
``The Olympic Charter calls for `respect for universal
fundamental ethical principles,''' Pelosi said. ``It is my hope that
the organizers of the 2008 Olympics and the corporations cited in
the reports will end any practices that are inconsistent with
international labor right standards and the Olympic ideals.''
